Halford & Brough in the Morning - Former Canucks Defenseman Dan Hamhuis

Episode Date: July 10, 2025

In hour three, Mike & Jason chat with former Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis (1:26), who is getting set for his induction into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame, plus the boys tell us what they learned (27:00). 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.

Music 8-0-1 on a Thursday. Happy Thursday everybody. Halford Broughuh sports net 650. Halford and bruh for the morning is brought to you by Sands and associates BCs first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3000 five star reviews. Visit them online at sans dash trustee.com. We are now in our three of the program long time Canucks defenseman and incoming hockey BC hockey hall of fame inductee Dan Ham. He's is going to join us in just a moment here

to kick off our three. Our three of this program is brought to you by Campbell & Pound Real Estate Appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit them on the internet at Campbell-pound.com today. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you in step.

Guests on Sportsnet 650 call in on the hotline powered by Power West Industries. Don't get caught in the dark when it matters most. Visit them at powerwest.ca today. They keep the lights on. Our next guest is a 16 year NHL veteran, longtime Vancouver Canuck 2014 gold medalist with Canada. And now going into the BC hockey hall of fame, Dan Hamuse joins us now on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Morning Dan, how are you? Morning guys, doing well thanks. Thanks for taking the time to do this this morning we

appreciate it. First off, congrats. I know the announcement was a while ago but this weekend will be the official induction into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame and it's times like this where you always look back over the course of your playing career and you're asked to reminisce and everything. How does that feel now that you're just you know hours days away from going into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame? Well I'm actually thinking about the speech that I have to make. That's also part of it yeah. Yeah but you know it's actually kind of a neat opportunity to like you said to reflect on on the career. It was awesome.

We really enjoyed the journey. There's just so many people along the way that made it really special. Some experiences, different teams that I got to play on that made it special. I feel pretty grateful to be involved with three really great organizations over the course of my career with Nashville, Dallas, and Vancouver. And then, um, you know, being involved with hockey Canada as well. I think I had nine, um, tournaments with them at different levels, world juniors, Olympics and world championships.

And so many great things to reflect on. And so many great people, uh, along the way that were a part of it that we got to share and enjoy it. And a lot of great people along the way that were a part of it that we got to share and enjoy it. And a lot of great people along the way that shaped, shaped that experience for me too and shaped me. There's been a lot of talk this off season in Vancouver about players wanting or not wanting to play in Vancouver. And I know as a guy that, you know,

was from Smithers and a BC boy, you got the opportunity to play for the team from where you were from. How important was it for you? And how great was it for you to be able to play in Vancouver? Yeah, it was pretty special for me. I mean, when I signed, I didn't know that we were gonna go to the Stanley Cup final that next year,

have the success that our teams had while I was here in Vancouver. There was some unknowns. Um, but it was, uh, there's just so many things that the organization was doing well at the time, um, and it was, it's just a great city to live in as a team that I grew up playing for and, um, there were ever other offers out there for me at Free Agency in 2010. I chose to play for the Canucks at a lower number, somewhere that I thought was a great fit for our family, a place that I wanted to play and I grew up watching this team.

So maybe for me it was a little bit of the opposite. I really wanted to be a part of it and looking looking back, I mean, I'm so glad we made that decision. It was, yeah, it was really worth it. And the experience was fun to probably turn out better than I could ever imagine with the success we had, but the teammates and the organization was just first class. Were there challenges that went along with it as well

that were different than maybe playing in Nashville? Um, yeah, sure. I mean, there's, there's a little more, I would say a little more outside pressure with the team. I mean, um, you know, there's. Then there's a lot more media exposure as well in Canada. And I think there's more time on radio, more space in newspapers that need to get filled in Canadian markets and then a place like Nashville.

Nashville, we kind of had one main writer follow us and one main radio station that kind of covered the team and they would follow kind of the main story that was going on. And sometimes in Vancouver or these bigger Canadian cities, they have more space to print and you're kind of looking for stories and sometimes, uh, he, when, when media can dig into those, they're not always the most fun. And, um, uh, as players, if things are, aren't going well, there can be, uh, you know, there's just a little bit more exposure to being a negative articles written or radio thing.

So for me, I heard about it. I talked to other guys that dealt with it and I made it, tried to make a big effort just to not expose myself to it. I didn't listen to the radio on the way into the rink or to practice. I didn't want to read the newspaper articles. I didn't want to let that be an extra pressure to deal with. I think it's even harder now for guys because at that time social media wasn't as big. But now it's everywhere.

It's right in your back pocket and on your phone there all the time. So yeah, there's certain challenges, but I think there is ways to manage it. It just takes quite a bit of discipline to do it. Yeah. You always seem to have the personality to deal with it. Is that, you always, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong here, but you always came across like a humble guy that knew the important things in life. Was that something that was, you know, you were

born with or something you had to learn along the way? Well, it helped having Kevin B. Exa beside me as my D partner. He did a wonderful job handling the media all the time, took the pressure off of me. And he's still doing a great job with it. So, you know what, it was, yeah,, it was never really my favorite thing to kind of have the attention around, but you know, I try to have good relationships with all the

media guys. I mean, it's their job too. That's their livelihood and they're trying to do their job and try to treat them with respect and it would be a two-way street. Who were some of the people that really helped you along the way? Maybe when you were younger, getting into hockey and then realizing, oh, I can make a career out of this. Well, early on, my parents would have been the biggest influence and they were all in fully committed. Um, my mom and dad, dad coaching a bit, um, mom running the concession, doing their duties as very involved Smithers Minor hockey parents and they were the parents that came on every road trip and any opportunity in the summer. Thankfully, back then we didn't play 12 months a year, like a lot of kids are

now it was more of a six month season, but I do one or two summer camps. And they would drive me to that. And that would be my sister's sacrifice too, is that would be our summer holidays, wherever my hockey, hockey school was. And so, yeah, they were, they were a huge part of that. And then in junior, uh, my head coach had Dempsey there and he, he seen something. He gave me a few extra chances, I think, to make the, make the team and get established there in Prince George.

And, um, and that led to a really great junior career and then into the NHL. And, um, my organization in Nashville was outstanding for me early. If they were patient, um, Barry Trotz is just a fantastic guy. Um, and yeah, he, he had a lot of, I'd say, you know, his work ethic. He's a small town Canadian guy that kind of, I think he understood me where I came from and helped me out a lot along the way. And yeah, there's just, there's so many coaches that just, you know, I felt cared for as a, as an individual and as a person,

just as much as they obviously were in it to, they wanted me to be the best hockey player I could because it benefited them, benefited the team, benefited me, but there was also, you know, a lot of guys that I care about and felt, I felt that they cared about me as a person. And I think that made a huge difference and probably made me a better hockey player too in the end.

We're speaking to former Canucks defenseman and BC hockey hall of fame, inductee Dan Ham, who's here on the Alfred and Bref show on sports net six 50. Uh, you alluded to PXO there, uh, Dan, who are some of the guys or former teammates or buddies on that 2011 team specifically that you still keep in touch with? Um, yeah, I mean, a few of those guys that are still in the Vancouver area really cross paths every once

in a while, so it's nice to stay in touch. Stay in touch with Manny Maholtra, and he just came off a fantastic season as head coach of the Avisford Canucks and winning the Calder Cup there. I don't wanna say, I can't say I'm really surprised because he, uh, he's just a fantastic player. He was, he was that guy in our dressing room in 2010 and he, uh, took such a big leadership role as a first year player, not in the NHL, but first year player with the team. And, uh, just a natural leader, such great energy.

And his wife and my wife are really good friends. We stay in touch and then, uh, yeah I get a chance to see the Sedin's. When I'm down there Kevin and I talk out there and there's a whole slew of guys from that team that you are still around still involved in hockey and we stay in touch with. Specifically with Manny what are some of the characteristics or traits that guys have in their playing days that can really resonate to being good head coaches like Manny's become in the American League? Man, there's just so many things that would go into it.

And I think with Manny, he's got this realistic positivity, I would say. Well, he just carries this great energy. Um, he has this perseverance and resilience and he can go through hard times with a, with that positive outlook, um, that I think inspires people to want to jump on board with him and go through it with them. Um, yeah, he, he's just, he's a guy as a player that pursued excellence every day. Like he was always looking for the edge. He took care of the details and his preparation and his work ethic and

understanding the game, um, confidence speaking up in the dressing room, whether he, I mean, I think it was fairly natural to him, but he knew that's what it took to win and that, uh, he had something to share the guys needed to hear. How can we be better? took to win and that he had something to share the guys needed to hear, how can we be better? And yeah, his consistency in that messaging, his work ethic, his attitude and his personality, so many of those things come together and yeah, he's got a lot of the tools to be an outstanding head coach. When you talk about resiliency and facing adversity and going through it, how much did him coming back from the injury to suit up and play again,

resonate with you guys in the room at that time? Yeah, it's pretty incredible. That was a really scary injury with that puck to the eye that he had. And, um, you know, he never has been the same sense with that either still, um, some blind spots there, but he did everything he could to make that work. And he played in the NHL after that.

You know, he extended his career quite a bit longer than probably anyone expected, probably certainly the eye doctor is expected. And yeah, it's pretty amazing what he was able to accomplish. And when you're a teammate of his and you see the work that he puts in every day to be able to make that happen. And there's a lot of hard days going through something like that, a lot of frustrations. But you just see him grinding and working, trying to get back. It certainly makes you appreciate being healthy and in the lineup.

And it also makes you want to be better and get the most out of yourself when you see a guy like that doing that. Well, how hard was it for you to miss most of the Stanley Cup final in 2011? Yeah, that wasn't fun. That was tough to watch sitting on the side and you can't do much anymore. And, you know, it's kind of a dream

to be able to play in that situation in a Stanley Cup final. For me, it was just once in my dream to be able to play in that situation in a Stanley Cup final. For me, it was just once in my career to be able to get there and it was unfortunate that I went out. Yeah, it was, I think you're left after that, especially when you don't win, you're left with a lot of years thinking what if and, you know, what could have been different. But, you know what, you never know, it's part of the game. I was playing aggressively, it was a great hit. Fortunately it took me out.

Do you just have to make peace with it, I guess? Yep, I mean there's not much you can do. I mean, that was a pretty extensive injury, so I had a summer full of rehab and it was a shortened summer. I think we were done on like June 14 or 15 that year. And so I had to get my act together to make sure I was ready for a training camp next year. So that was my, my focus was to get healthy and back playing and trying to get in the next year.

So it's kind of, it's hard to move on, but you have to move on. For that 2011 group, we're speaking to Dan Hamhuis, former Canucks defenseman and BC Hockey Hall of Fame inductee here on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. For that 2011 group, even though you came the one win short of winning the Stanley Cup, the legacy and the impact that that group has had,

I'm sure you're aware of it with regards to when you talk to fans or of course now you're going into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame, but how cognizant are you of this current crop of really high-end, talented NHLers from the lower mainland? Specifically, I'm thinking of guys like Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini, who, you know, they grew up as huge Canucks fans,

and they idolized that 2011 group. Are you cognitive of the impact that you've had on this current crop of NHLers? You know, I never really thought about that too much, but I know that for me as a kid, the 1994 Canucks team had a major impact on me watching that. I was 94, I was 12 years old watching that and right in the prime of my hockey watching days as a kid and oh man, we got Kirk McLean, Trevor Linden and that whole group was really inspiring for me. So I would imagine the 2010 group was very similar for a lot of young guys and it'd be

pretty cool if we inspired them. I mean, there's some pretty high end talent coming out of BC right now, which is cool and neat to see. Well, Dan, we want to do a couple of things here. One, we want to thank you for taking the time to do this this morning. We really appreciate it. And two, offer congrats on behalf of the entire show

for going into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame. It's very well deserved. Thanks a lot for doing this today. We really appreciate it. All right, guys, well, yeah, thanks for having me. That was fun. Thank you. That's Dan Hamhuis, former Connex Defenseman here on the Hellford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

The whole interview, I was like, do I ask him about missing the Stanley Cup final? And then he kind of, he talked about what man he went through. I was like, here's a chance. I didn't want to do it. You knifed him down. He's like, well, haven't thought about that for a while. Thanks guys. Yeah, but like, I'm down. He's like, well, haven't thought about that for a while. Thanks guys. Yeah, but like, I'm sure he was.

Every time we have one of these guys from the 2011 team on, you know, I don't know if we're obligated to do it, but it almost feels like, you know, like that's, that's a big part of the story. Yeah, you gotta do it. I mean, people would be more upset if you didn't ask. Yeah, like when we had Aaron Rome on the show back in 1040.

When we made him cry. How about we talk about the only thing we wanna talk about, right? I mean, let's be real, with Rome especially. I just, Dan was just like, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you have to make peace with it? He's like, yeah.

Yeah. For, I haven't, but I guess I should. Thanks for bringing it up. Yeah, 14 years later. I, you know, I did wanna ask him about, as I've continued this ongoing narrative at the Haliford and Bref show about the impact that that 2011 team had on the current crop. Yeah, you put a good positive spin on it.

Thank you for doing that. Yeah, but that's. Did it scar this current crop of BC hockey players for life like it did us? Well, I do wonder if it, you know, if you're ever going to talk, look, if you're ever going gonna talk about the silver lining of that not getting the job done in 2011,

one day it'll be that there will, I am confident of this, that there will be some guy out there or some player out there that was inspired by that to go and finish the job and come back to either play in Vancouver or to win the cup in Vancouver. Because there was countless people. Finish the job. Finish the job, come back to either play in Vancouver or to win the cup in Vancouver. Because there was countless people.

Finish the job. Finish the job. That's at 10 years old. They were determined. I'm going to finish this job. 10 or 12 year old radicalized me. His origin story was game seven while the city burned and he's like, I'm going to put out the flames one day, it's going to come back to Vancouver.

I'll be in a sign with the Canucks. I'll be in the basement working out mom. That's going to be, it's either celebrating or BDAR. You choose, choose your own adventure kids. But one of them will do it one day. That is, I would love to see it happen. I think that would be a great narrative because there was, there's always going to be that,

and it's a perfect script. There was a group of players that were so beloved by the city, and the one thing that kept it from being the true storybook ending was that they didn't win in game seven. It was being one of those sports, you know, there are a bunch of sports movies out there where the heroes didn't win, or like,

the protagonist loses in the end. Yeah. Right, I mean, that was the whole Friday Night Lights thing. Yeah. Right, so you get emotionally involved in this team and all the players, and then they come up short in the end. Yeah. Right. I mean, that was the whole Friday night lights thing. Yeah. As you get emotionally involved in this team and all the players, and then they come up short in the final game. It's a pretty classic.

Is it? Narrative is a pretty classic trope, but it rings so true with that group. But isn't it sometimes the lesson that you don't need a silver lining? Do you know what I mean? It's like you can search for it if you want, but sometimes it's okay to just admit like, yeah, there's massive hole there, emotional sports hole there, that you just kind of have to like,

yeah, that happened. I'd agree with that. Do you know what I mean? Like sometimes I feel like there's always this need to put this silver lining, positive spin on it. And I'm not saying that it doesn't exist, but we don't always have to force ourselves to feel

better about something. Like it's just, yeah, that happened. The Conox lost. Yep. It was really painful. That sucks. Yeah. Period.

Yeah. No, I agree with you. You know? Like you don't, yeah, like you don't always have to try, well, there was always this or. Yeah. Period. Yeah. No, I agree with you. You know? Like you don't, yeah. Like you don't always have to try it. Well, there was always this or. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I know that.

Great times along the way. It was like, yeah, we did, but still it was disappointing the way it ended. Oh, it's funny. Cause as a. And just, and just go like, yeah. As an avid consumer of the sports documentary, I often find too many of them try to end it with like, but there was a silver lining. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But there was a bright spot. Because people want that. Right. And the reality of life is there aren't. Now I think- That's what I loved about Friday Night Lights. I think- You saw them, you saw them, you know, it was very painful that they lost this game.

Sure. And then you got the stories of all the guys and what they went on to do. Yeah. And the idea was like- And not all of it was great. Right, but the idea was that all of it was great. Right. The idea was that that chapter ended another chapter began. I think that no matter whether the lining is silver

or whatever the opposite of silver lining is that there's always a knock on effect. And there's always something that happens in the aftermath. And you know, I mean, I'm trying to paint a picture to make it, you know, glass half full and positive with you've inspired 2011 group. You've inspired a next generation of hockey players and maybe they will try and finish the job for you guys. I mean, that's just me projecting onto it,

but losing in 2011 has a knock on effect, good, bad, or otherwise. There will always be something from that pivotal moment. And I think that's what we were talking about. I sometimes think that when new executives come to the team, well actually I'll just say specifically this one, I don't know if they fully appreciate the history of the Canucks. Probably not.

It'd be hard to, wouldn't it? Like the tumultuous history you mean? Yeah, like what we've been through as a fan base. Jim Rutherford kinda came in and in he's like yeah, you know I know I know Canucks fans want to win a Stanley Cup and it's kind of like yes But you know how damaged we are but do you know do you know how badly yeah? We want to win really understand like do you really do you really understand? Wow, do you really understand how how hard that was?

I don't unless you're from here and you've been following the team your whole life Probably not because they come in here You can and then they're like, yeah the media here and the fan base here is is wild. I'm like There's a reason. Yeah, I don't think anyone is ever truly prepared a very tough childhood I don't think anyone's ever really truly prepared when they come in here Especially from an American city to come in and it's like it's not a sports market and it's not a hockey market. It's a Canucks market and those, all those three things are very different, right?

You can be the Philadelphia's and New York's and the Boston Boston's that are crazy passionate about their sports teams, right? And then you've got certain places that are crazy about hockey. Like if you go to Ontario, some markets in Ontario, it's like, well, they're also deeply ingrained with like junior hockey and stuff like that. Here, it is the Canucks. That's it. And I mean, we've worked in it long enough

that I can say that like pretty definitively. And I think that catches a lot of outsiders off guard when they come. Is it's like, whoa, this is, it's not like, conversations about other teams always have to be tied back to what's going on with the Canucks. Or if you're talking about sports, it's how do we come back to the Canucks?

They're the biggest brand in the province at times, sports or otherwise. And that I think throws people for a loop. It's even different from the rest of the Canadian markets, I would say, right? I just don't think it's like that in other Canadian markets. And a lot of it has to do with 50 years of anguish. Like Calgary, sometimes I wonder if they're just, yeah, we won that cup once. It was pretty

cool. Got over the hump, 89, did it. Yep. And they're happy. Expense of the Canucks. Should we go to the Stampede? And then they're fine. Everyone's having a good time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like the Oilers just lost back to back Stanley Cups. Can you imagine how painful that was? And yet I feel like that Canucks loss in 2011 was worse than back to back for the Oilers because the Oilers have won five cups. Yeah. Someone texted in the young people that were like didn't experience that they at least know that well as an organization

We we've won before well someone texted in they said could the consecutive back-to-back Stanley Cup losses Scar Edmonton in the same way. I'm like not Edmonton dry subtle and McDavid Yeah, cuz that's their personal journey and their personal narrative, but not the organization. Well, we were talking about that when it happened to the Oilers, like the Canucks losing game seven in the Stanley Cup finals. Imagine they did that two years in a row. I know.

To the same team, no less. Can you imagine? The city wouldn't be here anymore. There'd be no more Vancouver. Like it would have just been a nightmare. All right, get you what we learned into the Dunbar-Lumber text line, 650 650. We'll read them on the other side and Halfords got some business to take us through. Yeah,

before we go to break, I need to tell you about the BC Lions. July 27th, bring the family to celebrate generations of Lions fans at the family traditions game as your Lions take on the Thai Cats. Get your tickets at bclions.com. You're listening to the Halford and Breff show on Sportsnet 650. It's what we learn time. It's what we learn time. It's what we learn time. On the show. 8.32 on a Thursday. Happy Thursday everybody. Halford Ruff Sportsnet 650. Halford and Ruff of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates.

Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% with no more interest. Visit them online at sans-trustee.com. We are in hour three of the program. It is what we learn time. Hour three is brought to you by Campbell & Pound real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound.

Visit them on the internet at Campbell-Pound.com today. We're going to do some What We Learns from our side of the table first, then we'll turn it over to the humanoids. A reminder, get yours in. Dunbar Lumbertex line is 650-650. Tell us what you learned over the last 24 hours in sports. Hashtag it WWL. It's your chance to be on the radio. We're going to start with an Elon, what we learned. I loved Elon, what we learned. We loved Elon, what we learned. We never know what direction he's going to go. He's young, he's hip, he knows stuff.

It's usually basketball. Usually basketball. Good call. Good call, yeah. Is it basketball? So one of the GOAT commentators, Kevin Harlan, just signed a contract to call games for Amazon Prime Video upcoming this fall. Amazon's getting into basketball?

Yeah. They've got a stacked cast. They got D Wade, Steve Nash, Candice Parker, Blake Griffin, now Kevin Harlan. Del Curry, Brent Berry. Yep. Wow. Stacked cast.

I didn't even, how did I miss this? I didn't even know that Amazon got into basketball. And NBC next year too. Yeah, I knew NBC because they're bringing back round ball rock. Yeah, but I didn't know. Wow, I'm really out to the... Who's calling in for NBC?

That's a great question. I'm doing it. Okay. Wow, I really out to the other ones. Who's calling in for NBC? That's a great question. I'm doing it. Okay, no, we don't need to do this. Is that your favorite announcer? Kevin Harlan, I would say so. I mean, even his versatility doing NFL too. That's what I always find amazing, the guys that can call multiple sports easily too.

The one I always go to is gymnats because you can do NFL, college basketball, and then go right to the masters and be almost perfect at it. Mike Tirico is going to be the number one chair for NBA on NBC. He's another great broadcaster. NBC Sports bumping not Ian Eagle, but his son Noah Eagle. Oh my god to the number two chair How many times do you think he had to say it's it's I am not yeah, I We we We worked worked is being generous, but we worked March Madness a couple times and Ion Eagle was doing college basketball games.

And if I remember correctly, I think he was on a tandem with former 76ers behemoth Mike Juminski, who is like seven foot one or something like that. And I remember in the media area, standing next to Mike Juminski, I'm like, this is the biggest human being I've ever seen in my life. And you know what else I remember is he had a bad back

so he would take his shoes off and kick his feet back all the time. And he had these gigantic lizard suspenders. They had suspenders with lizards on them. I don't know why I remember it, but it was, he was just this gigantic person. And I, like you were paying attention to every like fiber of his being,

cause he was so huge. Basketball players are, people always say like in hockey like is that guy big I'm like not really not gonna basketball person but basketball players they are enormous I also remember being in the airport when the Washington State basketball team was traveling commercial in the sky and it was you're like you guys are a basketball team aren't you couldn't be anything else. The shortest guy was 6'6". It'd be funny if you're like, no, we're not. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We're badminton team. Traveling. Wow. You guys must be good at the net. Anyway, I learned a lot. Thanks to Elon, I learned that Amazon picked up NBA games. And now I knew who's calling them, NBA and NBC. That's good.

OK, Mukau, you. Ah. Can I do a quick one? Yeah. Former CEO and president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Tim Laiwiki. I remember him. Has been indicted by the US Department of Justice for allegedly orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process for an arena at a public university in Austin, Texas.

Oh. Yeah. This is a big deal. This is a big deal. This just happened. Yeah. I remember when Leibniz was president of MLSE and it was kind of like,

oh, this guy feels like a bit of a salesman. Also an alleged criminal. Right. Wow, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do we have any further details or should we just mook how Leigh Wickey's Department of Justice indictment?

Well, I'll get Adog to explain the Sherman Act. It's an antitrust. You know what antitrust is, right? Yeah, when you don't trust someone. Yeah, you know what, that's right. You antitrust. Yeah, is, right? Yeah, when you don't trust someone. Yeah, you know what, that's right. Antitrust. Yeah, when you lack trust. Anyway. Bobby Sherman was a very famous chess player and caused an incident where he lacked trust

in his opponent and there was a big trial around that because he didn't trust the people he was playing against in chess and they formed these antitrust laws around chess tournaments all over the world. You know what? You nailed it. It wasn't too bad. You nailed it. Anyway, he's charged with a violation of section one of the Sherman Act, which is?

The worst section. That's the worst section. That's the worst one. And he's facing 10 years in prison. Just like Bobby Sherman. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and a $1 million fine, which Sherman couldn't come up with. That's right.

We didn't trust anyone to give them the money. So it's part of the antitrust problem. Let's move get this before we make any more mistakes. All right. Mine shockingly, I'm going to go to the world of soccer. Soccer. I got two of them, both involving Canadian football. First, Canadian men continue to reach new heights

under head coach Jesse Marsh. Despite the recent failings at the gold cup, Canada climbed two spots in the latest FIFA world rankings. Do you get points for losing to Guatemala? So this is kind of the inherent flaw with the FIFA rankings, but hold on. I'll explain it. The news, what we learned is that Canada is now a program best career high, if you will, 28th in the latest FIFA rankings. When Marsh took over, they were 49. They've since

climbed again and again and again. And yes, they did lose to Guatemala in very disappointing fashion at the gold cup. But in this most recent phase, they did beat Ukraine 4-2. They did take Cote d'Ivoire to a penalty shootout. They did beat Honduras 6-0. They did beat El Salvador 2-0. So those results gained them enough FIFA points to move up all the way.

What did they get for drawing Curacao? That probably didn't help. But here's the weird thing about FIFA rankings. You also get points just for playing. Oh, okay. Just for showing up. Yeah, like an inactive period does not help you. They should just book friendlies every day.

It'll be number one in the world. Okay, good segue. Speaking of friendlies, Canada has a whole bunch of them coming up as they try and prep for the 2026 World Cup. That number 28 ranking could go even higher because currently they've got friendlies against number 14 in the world, Columbia,

number 24, Australia, number 31, Wales, and number 48, Romania. So should they get results against those as multiple pundits are pointing out, including TSN's Matthew Shinetti, there's a very real chance that going into the World Cup, Canada could be a top 25 FIFA ranked team if the results go their way against those teams.

Will you be disappointed? Like what are your expectations for the team at the World Cup? Like you know how we went into this last World Cup and it's like score a goal. And they did. And then they did. And that was awesome, but they didn't do much beyond that.

Is it now win a game or is it get out of the group? I think with the expanded field and let's be honest, what it is, it's a watered down field. With that many more teams. Let's get out of the group, right? Let's get out of the group and try and win a knockout round game. And I think it's feasible.

I really do. I know. So does it go to a round of 32? You got it. Right. It's a, the tournament- Well they should, they're right there then. The tournament is gonna last approximately six months.

It's going to take forever to play the twenty twenty six World Cup. Canada should have. With the opportunity to play on home soil, I don't think we can really state how profoundly important that is. Part of the reason that that team played so well in the six nothing destruction of Honduras was that team played so well in the six nothing destruction of Honduras was that it was a decidedly decidedly. Let me say it one more time.

Decidedly pro Canada crowd. It was twenty five thousand people intended to be see place. They put down grass and they responded with the kind of energy you would expect when you've got that many people cheering for you. I don't want to make excuses, but when they went and played games against curse out in the sweltering heat in Houston Yeah, there was no atmosphere there There was a handful of fans period Canada Canadian or otherwise like there's something to be said for The energy that it brings when you're playing in front of that many people So, you know, I'm optimistic that they can get out of the group

and maybe win a knockout stage game. OK, Muka, that one, because I got another one. Ah, still cooking. I have learned also that Italy's top flight, Saria, Jason might not have one Canadian player, but two Canadian players. OK, so who else? Jonathan David's with Juventus.

We talked about that earlier in the week. They call them Yuve. Yeah, right. It is true. Tejan Buchanan is apparently on the verge of joining Sasuolo, who has been promoted from Serie B. Who swallows? Sasuolo, a Sasuolo.

I gotta say that slower. Let's call him Sas for short. He's playing for Sas. He was with Inter. He transferred to Villarreal, and now Inter is talking about doing a sale to the newly promoted club. So we could have two Canadians in Serie A next year. So he went Inter, Villarreal, which is La Liga.

Yeah, he barely played at Inter. Right. It was a lot different from Jonathan David, because David's being signed as a high profile. We're counting on this guy when intersigned Buchanan it was more like a speculative let's see if this works do you think David is up for it I do yeah the expectations huge huge challenge because you're talking about competing for a skedetto doing things in Champions League big things big things, like he's going to be counted upon. And they had another striker, Vlavic, that didn't,

you know, it was very underwhelming. He performed well in Champions League though, didn't he? He's got a ton of goals in Champions League. Do you think that was a big reason, I mean, obviously it was a big reason why. It was. But like, just him at that level, not necessarily domestic, but when he was playing

in the Champions League. Sure. The week in, week out of Saria is going to be very difficult because there's so many talented teams and it's so tight defensively. It's going to be a challenge, but I think if everything works out great, it'll really make it like take him to another level. So he's really in prime form when the 26 world cup rolls around. And like, I'll say it, like I think I said on the show before, I think he's more important to Canada's success than Alfonso Davies.

Yeah, fair enough. Yeah, like I think he is at this point because he's the guy that's got to score the goals and he's the marksman. And you just don't I mean, I know Alfonso is a singular special talent, but you count on him for other things. You count on David to poach and to finish and to be that striker that's going gonna score goals. Moot count me again. Ah!

And now we fire up the dot matrix humanoid edition, what we learns. These as always are brought to you by AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. Expand your palette with AJ's white pies made with rosemary and infused with cream sauce or garlic oil only at AJ's pizza order online at AJ's dot pizza.

Kirk the unemployed cracker factory worker just texts in what we learned. Hugh Grant has gone viral for falling asleep during a Wimbledon match. I did see this. Have you ever fallen asleep at a sporting event? Nope. never. I can only sleep in a bed. I can't sleep on planes. I can barely sleep on the couch.

Busts is anything. I marvel and at times I'm insanely jealous of people that can fall asleep anywhere. Oh, I'm insanely jealous of them all the time. Not at times. I had an ex-girlfriend that fell asleep during a Beck concert. I don't know how he did it. I know she just got back on a flight and she was tired. Well, he's really loud in here.

I don't know how you fell asleep. I mean, Beck has some lower key, lower vibe songs, but I'm like, it's loud. It's a concert. I don't know how you fell asleep during this. I usually can't fall asleep either. I don't know how you fell asleep during this. I usually can't fall asleep either. The only time I remember myself closing my eyes at a sporting event, and this is a massive upset too,

during a Seahawks game. Really? Yes, because I'd had a very big night out. Okay, now that makes sense, that tracks. The night before. And you know you're at a Seahawks game and people are like, you gotta make noise. I'm like, I'm barely alive right now.

Do not talk to me. I've had a few Seahawks games. Let's get through this. How many people have gone to Seahawks games and just been like, I know this is the main reason I came down here, but I am hurting right now. So here's the thing with the Vancouver to Seattle trip. Go down on the Saturday and you're not putting you're not putting in a neutral your

Pedal to the metal full full speed ahead on the Saturday. You're like I gotta get ready Then you wake up one o'clock one o'clock comes really quickly Yeah, and usually you can do a fair bit of pre-gaming to get your spirits back up a little hair of the dog Then kickoff happens. And those yawns come fast and furious. Do you know what the worst part is? And then you're like, oh, I gotta sit through a drive home now.

The longest bus ride I've ever been on was home from a Seahawks game on a Sunday night. It lasted 27 hours. I will never do one of those bus trips again. It was three hours, but it was also 27 hours. We've talked about that before on the show, and there was one guy that was still trying to get after it. Yep.

And he was being very, very loud in the back of the bus. I even did the train ride back once after a game and it was, I thought it'd be, Oh, at the very least, like I could strike. Nope. It's still terrible. Really? Yeah. It was still terrible.

The longest ride. Uh, this one is from Nick, the truck driver, hashtag WWL. What we learned. Nick says flames fan here boo I learned that Craig Conroy is too damn nice He is gonna perpetuate players running teams and it makes me really sad if this turns into how LeBron runs the NBA It'll ruin hockey for me Craig use your GM powers and trade people damn it I create Craig does seem like a very nice guy though, doesn't he?

Craig Conroy was a super nice player. He was always friendly with the media and a good guy. I wouldn't be surprised if he was one of Lady Bing along the way. Everyone liked him. And everyone likes him as a GM. He's always got a big smile on his face. I have heard this sentiment from Flames fans

that they don't love how the Rasmus Anderson thing is playing out. They feel like Anderson is too much in control of the process and that Conroy needs to break his will a little bit. And you also see so many cut through GMs across the leagues. It's a big asset for them too. And if he's not going to resign, they need to get something significant for him. You see-

Especially from a team. Even if Vegas, he's in control of it, does he have a no move clause? Right. And he's saying Vegas is the place to go. And Conrad's like, but there could be other places where we could get even better assets. It's like Vegas gets really hot. Yeah, and you see around the league what the cutthroat GMs do. And I mean, I think Vegas right away with McCrimmon, I think Julian Brizbois in Tampa Bay.

The guys that are cold blooded generally translate with some level of success because when you stop looking at it as like, we're trying to do right by the player, more like a business, you tend to make pretty decent decisions off that. Adam, with what we learned, I learned that after listening to your interview this morning about

the Mike Tyson book and listening to Jim Lampley on Joe Rogan earlier this week, I'm starting to become a fan of old school boxing. The stories and the characters in boxing are second to none. Like you couldn't make some of them up. Don King, you know, I mean, it's fascinating.

And it was so, this is again a cliche word, but unfiltered. Yep. You know, like now everything we hear from people is so careful. It's so careful. Back then, the point was not to be careful almost. It was to be controversial. It was to be controversial.

And if you think about Mike Tyson's life, you will, you were like, oh yeah, okay, name the top 10 things that happened to Mike Tyson, right? You'd come up with 10 and then you'd forget 20 crazy ones. Yeah, a lot of honorable mentions. By the way, download our one of the podcasts because we had Mark Kriegel on the show, author, journalist, perhaps the finest boxing writer in America. He's the author of the new book, Baddest Man, the making of Mike Tyson, New York Times bestselling author was on the show. Download the hour one podcast.

I encourage you to listen to the interview. It's great. He goes into great detail about writing about Tyson, having covered them in the nineties, including covering his rape trial in Indianapolis and then writing a book covered him in the 90s, including covering his rape trial in Indianapolis, and then writing a book about him in the aftermath. So yeah, that's the seven o'clock, sorry, six o'clock hour, hour one podcast. It's available for download now.

Rick in Richmond, Texas. And I spent my first 15 years in Windsor, Ontario. My dad was not a sports fan, but I was. He would take me to baseball games in Detroit. He would fall asleep and I would wake him when the games were over. Rick, you've got a good dad that was willing to go do in Detroit. He would fall asleep and I would wake him when the games were over. Rick, you've got a good dad that was willing to go do that thing.

I've told this story a few times about the times, the time that I dragged my dad or made him take me to the motocross. Right, which is what he, bucket list for him really, what he always wanted to do. He's like, ah, I'm in BC place and it's super loud and you can really taste the fumes. This is heaven.

My son is a big disappointment. Yeah. Tyler, hashtag WWO what we learned. There's a big e-sport event going on in the heart of downtown Vancouver Pacific Coliseum. Good call back there, you know, Pacific Coliseum, the heart of Vancouver. Although I respect e-sports, it is still crazy. It's downtown adjacent. To see an event with 20,000 people showing up

for something like this. There won't be 20,000 people there. There is one thing that I will probably, I try and look at what the youths are doing, at least try and understand it, not be one of those old men yelling at clouds, but I cannot understand watching other people play video games I will never ever I will never ever ever seem wilder I'm with you and I I play

video games yeah and I'm like I don't get it I'm with you and I'm young yeah I don't get it I'm watching that my kid does it all the time he had because he plays FIFA religiously and there is an entire industry of FIFA influencers are they learning are they learning how to play the game watching them are they is there are they explaining how they're playing there's so many different genres okay like within that very narrow genre of guys that you know this is their particular hook and that's their particular hook it's unbelievable I guess it's just at the end of the day I'm getting I'm googling more on this and it so it's League of Legends, which is actually a game

I'm not super familiar with but it's one of the most maybe the most popular eSport They've stream streaming averages of about 40 million people daily for the big big events Yeah, and there are there are events for this game around the world that do bring in, they do sell at arenas. I'm not saying it's League of Legends. I don't know if it'll sell out here, but I mean obviously like in Korea is huge, China, Japan, lots of parts of Europe, and parts of the states.

I looked on StubHub for the tickets to this thing at Pacific Coliseum. Sure, they're not expensive. They are. Oh, are they? Yeah, well on the secondary market, they are. Because it looks like the way they've configured the Coliseum, there's maybe 5,000 or 6,000 seats.

Oh, OK. But they're like a couple hundred bucks. Well, it's only 6,000 seats. I could see it selling out easily, though. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I thought it was going to be much bigger. They're just going to open it all up. Like the whole, you know, man. Well, they do that.

That's why I was saying, like, as some of these e-sport events, they literally will open up the entire stadium and it'll sell out. Sheldon from Surrey, what we learned the other day on the Pat McAfee show, Gary Betman said, the most important thing is having ownership that invests in the team and mentioned having a good practice facility is key as well. Whenever the Canucks open that practice facility, man, it'll be almost as big as whenever they eventually win the Stanley Cup. Seriously, there's going to be a ticker tape parade.

Everything will be there. I have never ever in my life seen so much conversation. It's this magical place where Stanley cups are made. I was gonna, like, there's gonna be more than a ribbon cutting ceremony. Like, it's gonna be unbelievable. The amount of times this summer that the practice facility has come up,

and it never seems to go away. And again, I get it. When you're the only one that doesn't have one, it does stick out like a sore thumb And the team that wins the Stanley Cup and back-to-back years can't stop talking about their own brand new Multi million dollar practice facility that connection must have been like oh come on and then you surely there's a team that could win the Stanley Cup with just an average practice rink facility get a parade I like

Right I'd like to point out the fact that their coach left and then the new team that he signed with immediately started talking about the practice facility. It's amazing. Multiple rinks. Wow. What technology. All right. That's it. There's a room and everything for video. Crazy. That's wild. We got to get out of here for today, but we might be back tomorrow. I'm off for sure. We'll see who's going to be in the chairs, but whatever the case, I encourage you to listen because it's always a fun show. Signing out for now though, I have been Mike Alfred, he's been Jason Brough, he's been

Adog and he's been producer Elon. This has been the Alfred and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.