Halford & Brough in the Morning - HalBro Answer Canucks Hypotheticals From Listeners

Episode Date: September 5, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason do some Ask Us Anythings (3:00), plus they preview tonight's BC Lions matchup at Ottawa, as radio commentator Bob "The Moj" Marjanovich joins the show (26:44). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

It's up the middle, bulky position perfectly, boots it, and that's going to be an E6. 7.01 on a Friday, Fiesta Friday. You got that one in there, A Laddie? Halford Brough, SportsNet 650. Alfred and Brad for the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. B.C.'s first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 5-star reviews.

This is them online at sands dash trustee.com. It was a two-minute compilation. And you just got it down to that? Yeah. Is that Volpe? That was Volpe. Tough. We are in hour two of the program.

AJ from AJ's Pizza is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is about to be Jason hominick at Jason. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason. We're coming to live from the Kintech studio, Kintech, footwear, and orthotics working together with you in step. Let's go now to the Power West Industries hotline. It takes us all the way to New York. from AJ's Pizza, join this live boots on the ground

from the Big Apple. What up, AJ? That's not nice, laddie. Hey, I'm just jealous. You're going to go get to see it in person soon. I am going. I am going tomorrow. I'm going to the open today. Okay, so let's go watch. I'm going to go watch Joker and, yeah. Lay out the schedule for us because this is, I was insanely jealous when you told me you were about to do this.

Is prime time to go to New York, you're going to see the open. You're going to see the Jays and the Yankees. But how does the schedule lay itself out? Well, it's crazy because originally we bought tickets to the night game or to the night match, which is now great, which is Center and our beautiful kid from Canada. But we're going to head up. We got grounds passes, so we're going to go watch. We're going to go watch Outgreens the Joker and then tomorrow watch the Yankees beat the Jays significantly.

The AL East gets decided this weekend. Like, I'm pretty convinced. I think so. I think so, too. When are you back? And are you going to be back in time to experience everything that both sides of AJ's pizza has this weekend for all of us football fans? I, you know what? I sadly won't, but we were rocking last night.

I know Drance was there having a fun time. My Cowboys almost pulled that out. And yeah, you know, happy hour all day for a Sunday of full football game tonight, plus the Jay's Yankees. So we got it all covered. Sports are back, buddy. I'm so excited. Sports are absolutely back. They are absolutely back.

Hey, when is the Ryder Cup? uh two weekends from now right yeah all right two weekends from now and that i knew i knew bruff would know that's that's that's gonna well maybe it's wait a minute it might be three weekends from now because i got this wrong with i got this wrong with with brady yeah it's three weekends from now okay it's the 26 to the 28th a jay i was there yeah wish you the best all weekend uh have one of those fun honeydew drinks at the u.s open you know what i will send you a picture i will totally send you a picture of that. I'm going to have a few, I'm sure. Enjoy it, buddy. Have a good one. See, buddy. Take care. Take care. Bye.

AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. Go visit them this weekend, especially Sunday. Happy hour all day. That leads right up into that amazing Sunday night football game between the Ravens and the Bills. Okay, let's do some Ask Us Anythings. Ask Us Anything. This is unsigned, but it says with all the sports and headlines, the question on everyone's mind has to be, hey, what was the deal with the sandwiches yesterday. Okay. We did, by the way, I want to first shout out A-Dog. Maybe the most investigative work he's ever done.

We watched him work the phones to figure out where these mystery sandwiches that showed up to the studio yesterday came. By far the most work I've ever done on this show. He was professional, but also, like, kind of biting and very, like, he was probing. He was a regular Colombo. It was because I was hungry

and I really wanted to eat the sandwiches, but I just wanted to make sure they were safe. to eat first. You know what he showed? He showed some edge. Yeah. You know what I showed some edge. You got hung up on. When I'm hungry, nothing gets in my way. So they were from Columbus. Columbus Meets on Nainmo in East Van, a signature staple of East Vancouver. It is an amazing butcher meat market and everything. But in addition to all this, they also have hot food and they do sandwiches. And they're sandwiches, they were awesome. Yeah. So we got some mortadale. We got some Bershute, it was good.

So we're thanking Dennis, who's a listener at Columbus. And so Adog called up and got put on hold while the whole thing was being investigated because the person then answered the phone was like, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'll try and find out. And then Adog got hung up on. I don't know if it was just a miscommunication over there or they were just like, yeah, there's some crazy guy asking about sandwiches dump. A dog calls back and goes

Hi, you hung up on me I need to find out Where these sandwiches are from And eventually you know what Your edge Your edge got you an answer It was Dennis Spoke to the owner

He's like we heard you guys mention us We were really impressed I just wanted to say thank you Sometimes I forget our line of work And get us free food If we just mentioned them on the air I know I know

We could eat for free I know We just do that more Let's do a Canucks related ask us anything here. This one comes in from Jay and he did everything right. He hashtaged at AUA. He put a pizza emoji into the text. He asks, which of the following quote unquote long shots is most likely to happen and which would be the most impactful? These are, these are interesting. They're long shots all right. One, Atu Ratu scoring 20 goals. Two, Linus Carlson scoring 20 goals.

Three, Willander or Mancini playing top pair of minutes alongside Hughes. or D, Heidel scoring 70 points. All of these are long shots. I like where you're going with it, Jay, because it does bring some very interesting conversations to the table. The first thing that I thought would be Heedl scoring 70 points. That's the last one for me. You don't think that would be the most impactful?

Oh, impactful or possible? Impactful. Oh, impactful. Yes. Oh, Heedle. That's why it's the less likely. When I read that, I was like, what's the most possible? Yeah.

Because here's the thing. If Heedle would get to 70 points, it would mean two things. One, you would have bona fide 2C production. That's great for a 2C in the NHL. But the guys he's playing with are obviously getting points too. You know what else it means? That he's probably healthy the entire year if he's getting to 70. And that would be huge for this team.

Unless it means that he was forced into the 1C position because someone else wasn't capable of it. I love working with brough. Like how Suter has. that great season last year. A touche. Because he was getting all the opportunities. Like Heel was out there

on PP1. This is one of the things that would ask us on anything Friday. When you open the door and you open the box, you don't know where it's going to go. It can be a Pandora's box sometimes. Let's read that one the way

that I thought it was. Sure. What do you think is the most possible? I don't know. I don't think Rothsch is scoring 20. Maybe, maybe, I can't see. They like Carlson. and Carlson scored

and Carlson was probably the most consistent offensive producer in the Colvin Cup playoffs a ton of goals in the playoffs I really like that guy but I don't know if he I don't know if he's got 20 goal

potential in the NHL I really don't yeah probably Willander pairing with Hughes so apparently he was a standout yesterday at UBC yeah yeah informal scrimage

I don't think Mancini's going to make the team but I think Willander I think a lot of these things is like what does the team want you know and I think they want

will and on the team by all the things that are reported but been reported including by the likes of Thomas Trance they want Willender on the team and they think he's capable of of doing it and you know he is a he is a right shot let's do it maybe you could put him with Quinn Hughes let's do another Canucks ask us anything Pete by the way um you can tell that we're back sports are back people are back in their regular routines because we're getting a ton of ask us in this good job everybody well done listeners, Austin and Langley, for example, texts in hashtag AUA with the pizza emoji. Who plays more games at

2C this year? Philip Heedle or the field? Austin then ends his text by saying, I'm now sad Canucks hockey is back. It's a great question. The field. It's a great question. It is and it's I think Heidel. I know he'd have to stay healthy and be capable of playing that position. But, But, yeah, I just don't see many options. And people are like, well, what if they signed Roselvik?

Like the 3C? Yeah. You know, I... There happened two years of the National Hockey League, two NHL seasons where Hedels played 75 and 74 games. So there is at least some statistical evidence that it can be done. The issue, of course, is that if you go back over the last one and a half two seasons, he's been in and out of the lineup

with such frequency that it's hard to predict anything. And I will remind everyone, one of those years in which he played 75 games was his rookie season. I know he broke in one year at the Rangers and played nine, but his first full season in the NHL, he played 75 and then the injuries really hit. We got

a triggering AUA. Okay. Will Brough issue a public apology to Elias Pedersen if he scores 90 points? I don't think this texter understands what was said about Elias Pedersen. There was no predictive stuff that was said.

I never said that he will never get back to these heights. And the reason I criticized him so aggressively last season is because I've seen what he can do. So will I issue a public apology if it turns out, that Elias Pedersen has put in a bunch of work in the off season and gotten back to the level that he's been at before? No, I will say, I told you so. He's got to save his public apology for Evander Cain.

The Pedersen thing is so interesting because people assume that because a player gets criticized that that player, like, I don't know, like, doesn't, do people out there still believe that Pedersen didn't deserve criticism last season? I think that the conversation and constant wondering and all of it, it led the conversation about Pedersen into a lot of different direction. And I think a lot of people heard things and inferred a lot of things because it was so constant

and there were no answers and people were grasping at straws to figure out what was going wrong that the conversation lent itself to um like what you're suggesting but but but i i think it lent itself to um a lot of people thinking that there was either unjust criticism or too much criticism or not criticizing the right sort of things the on ice product and it started because it did bleed into what's he doing away from the rink where is his menthol's at all that stuff i i'm just very curious how people and this includes myself with my opinions right like I thought a lot

about this last season of course I did but I'm just curious if there's anyone out there that thinks that Elias Pedersen was free of blame because the amount of it's something else besides Pedersen not putting the work in

I mean even Evander Kane said yesterday he's like you know Pedersen I think he's got a slightly different attitude. And that's why that was my whole thing. And, you know, I thought it was a confidence issue with him. But there are other people out there that

seem to work to blame so many others. I mean, J.T. Miller probably deserves some of the blame for sure. I don't think he created a very safe work environment for Elias Pedersen. But people will blame, well, I was talk at hockey. You know, I see Tocket ruined Pedersen. And I just roll my eyes at that.

And then there are other people that are very much convinced that it was all injuries. He was just injured. And the evidence that they provide for that, and it is compelling, is the stats where his skating speed was down and his shot velocity was down. But for me, I also think that is a confidence issue. Like, I don't think he, I don't think he was feeling it. Ask us anything here. Unsigned, but it's got an AUA and a pizza emoji. So close.

So close, unsigned texter. What do you guys think about minor hockey rep tryouts being closed off to parents? I don't participate in youth hockey, minor hockey, but I can understand the genesis and the essence of doing this. Nothing will screw up youth sports more than a parent. It's just a fact. It sucks because the parents are the one that. are emotionally invested and financially invested and want to see their kids thrive. I think most of it probably comes from a good place, but the amount of times that I've

seen a parent screw up a youth sport, it's in the hundreds. By the time I'm done, I'll probably be in the thousands. I think that a lot of parents, and we've talked about this on the show before, it's very difficult for them to look at something objectively and take that 10,000-foot view when their kids involved in it, especially when it comes to things like tryouts where the end game is you either make it or you don't, you either belong or you don't, you're in or you're out.

I think parents have a hard time with that sort of black and white. And I think the feeling of rejection, you want to shelter your kid from it, which is a good and noble thing. But it can really be problematic when parents are right there, either right on the glass or on the sidelines or whatever. Closing, I mean, I think a lot of youth sports would probably better serve that the parents were kept far away,

from where the action was being played. You're talking about banning parents from watching their kids play hockey? Not banning from watching, but maybe not necessarily having them like right there. Like, for example, I was at a tournament on the weekend. Well, they don't, what do you mean right there? They're not playing in the first.

For example, I was just going to tell you. For example, I was at a tournament on the weekend, a soccer tournament. And the parents were all on the touchline, right? And two of the parents from one of the teams were, and it was two dads, which made it worse, were openly arguing, and berating the referee who is like,

I don't know if she was a teenage girl, but it was a young girl that was obviously learning how to, and she was doing a fine job, right? And I remember thinking, like, if there was something where these guys weren't on the touchline and were further away, like it would make this experience so much, because they're not doing anything positive at that point.

It's not helping the team. They're not cheering on their kids. And they're reacting in the moment, right? They were upset because the calls weren't going their way. And I get that part of it. There does need to be a divide of some level there. But you're right. You can't go to the lengths of,

well, we're just going to ban you from watching your kids. Yeah. You're paying the money. You want to see your kid play. Well, here's the other thing. Your kid wants to see you there. Yeah. Although I have noticed that the higher levels that there's a lot of,

the kids that look over at their parents when their coach tells them one thing. You must have seen this. Oh, yeah, I've seen it all the time. You know, coach tells you one thing and all of a sudden you see the kid's side eyeing to his parent and the parents doing elaborate hand gestures in the stands. Yeah. Well, the parents have got to stop trying to coach from the sidelines. That's a big problem too.

That's a problem. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I'm not saying ban them. But I'm saying bam. And when I say them, I mean me. Yeah. Now that I'm no longer coaching from behind the bench.

The boy is going through rep hockey tryouts for the first time. Yeah. And the tension among the parents is hilarious. And I'm trying to stay cool because I think that translates to the kids sometimes. And if you're nervous as a parent, your kid's going to be nervous too. And it's going to show up and probably not in a good way. No, absolutely. Just go and say, go out there and do your.

best. And it's a young age to do this too. And if you don't make it, well, things are going to change. And no, but no one, yeah. And that's the thing. Say bye to your turtle. But there are there's stakes involved for kids at a very young age because they don't have like the fully formed, I think emotional response, brains, whatever to deal with rejection. Yeah. You know, and there and the neither do the parents. And the parents don't either. You know the best way to get used to rejection. Get rejected a lot. Like, I've seen a parent show up in tears after their kid got cut from a team. Which is pathetic, honestly.

And it's like you can't do it. Even if you feel that way, even if you feel like crying, you've got to hold it together for the kid because the kid needs to understand that this isn't the end of the world. When he sees his parent reacting as if it is, what do you think their response is going to be? Like, it's KIT. Keep it together. You have to do it. You know, you kind of have to be the emotional regulator for your kid. And yes, it's hard. And we all react in the moment

and react emotionally and viscerally. It happens. But for your kids' sake, like, KIT, keep it together. And the anger, too. That's the other thing. The ones I get angry after their kid gets cut. Like, I've been on the side of having to cut kids. And it's never easy.

It's the hardest part of being a coach. Especially when you get out to the final ones. Yeah, and you're cutting kids that you like. And then their parent reacts angrily on top of that. It's just a bad situation for everyone involved. Yeah. I think the best thing to do is just to stay in the car

well I think for the organization they really have to be careful about how the news is delivered and also to provide feedback yeah it's a big one and just be like you know what I think you've got great hockey sense and great good hands

but you need to work on your skating you know this is this is this is going to be really fast hockey and so at least you give that kid something to work on and then come back maybe the next year or maybe there's a call-up situation where you've worked on your skating or whatever it is you need to work on

and then you can be like, I worked on this and make sure the coaches know that you worked on it and hopefully they make it. You owe it to the family to do that. The cowardly way out for coaches, I hate it is the list on the door and then they walk away.

That's crazy, man. That doesn't happen. That's happened to me multiple times Yeah, I don't know if that happens much anymore. I want to talk about this one because I find this funny. Okay. And I want to ask kind of listeners if you ever do something like this. Ask us anything, if you guys at your age right now, which is in our 40s. Late 40s.

All of a sudden, it's just in our 40s. All of a sudden developed prime Connor McDavid hockey skills for the next five years. Do you think you'd be able to make the NHL? If so, how would you go about it? So is this everything? You get the speed? I think so. So you guys in your near 50s,

if you became Connor McDavid-level hockey players. But we're still 50. How would you go about it, I think, is they're asking? I would... This is two... Okay, hold on. The biggest... I would organize a media skate and Rogers Arena.

Look at me go. And I'd be like, who's that young buck down there? He's really good. And then it would be like a movie. It would be like that movie where the kid got the crazy arm. Rookie of the Year. Rookie of the Year. Right?

Yeah, great movie. Okay. Now I'm going to throw out a question to some of the listeners. Do any of you guys in the back of your minds still wonder like, maybe if I just worked on this? Got some untapped potential. Okay. I think it's different. In hockey, I never do that.

Okay. I never even did it as a kid. Right. But sometimes, sometimes when I'm golfing and I hit some good shots or I think I figured something out and it always happens that I actually haven't figured out anything. But I think I figured something out. I do think Champions Tour, 50 and above. Wow. No, like it's not realistic, but it just flashes across my mind.

It just flashes there. Just like, what if I'm an amazing sports story? I think what I would do is I would somehow sneak on to the ice during a game. Raphael style. Steal the puck from a player. They'd be like, who is this fan? He's better than all the NHELers. He's skated circles around them.

Right. Sign this man. Yeah, yeah. And I'll be like, thank you. Yeah. Or I would do the David Booth way and go to Australia, go to that league and just rip it up like he did. You know, 40 goals and 20 games or whatever. Yeah.

We signed him for only $300 a dollar a day. It's a long way to go to Australia. for, to do it to show up for skills. There's more rinks here. Who's signing a 50 year old, though? You got to go somewhere out of the ordinary. Just get a tryout somehow. Just lie about it.

Just be like, hey, I'm 20. Back to the original one. I guess the issue is if I was to somehow wake up in the Henry Rowan Gardner-esque, and I had all of the attributes of McDavid. I'd still be 46. And I guess I'd still be prone to the injuries that a 46-year-old gets, like when you get out of bed and you turn your ankle or, you know, all the ailments that

No, I don't think you would be I think you just have Connor McDavid skills Like your body would somehow have found something Okay, I mean Yeah, but you'd still be your age So you'd still get injured No, you wouldn't So it's already, it's also a Conner McDavid

It's also a de-aging question then Yeah, kind of Well, how else are you gonna get Connor McDavid skills all of a sudden They drop them into your body Because there's lots of unathletal Imagine fighting some guy at a beer league Playing like a Connor McDavid levels

but it's like in his 50s. I've never, you know what, like watching, if you ever watch a pro, the best thing to do is to watch a pro athlete do a sport that isn't their professional sport, like watch them do something else. Yeah.

And watch how unbelievably the athletic they are. In some cases. Some guys aren't. In some cases, the Europeans with throwing. That's really bad. Because there's not, there's not,

I get, what are the throwing sports in Europe? Cricket, Cricket, shot put. Yeah. Yeah. Do you remember we brought this up on the show before? And this is back,

this is like 2011 Canucks. They went and played a touch football game. Yep. And they filmed it and put it on the website or whatever. And it was one of the European defensemen. Either Edler or Erhoff tried to throw a football. Yeah. And I was like,

there's no way you're a professional athlete. He handled it like a watermelon. Like I'd never seen anything like it. It was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, It was like if he was in your elementary school, you'd be like, definitely not picking that guy. Well, it just shows you how much technique is important, right? These guys are world-class athletes.

They can't just pick up a football and be amazing at it. There's a, you got to learn. There's a learning curve. Yeah, some of the guys, though. I remember someone, was it you telling me? Remember the former Minnesota wild goalie, Josh Harding? I remember someone telling me that he could pretty much pick up anything he ever wanted to do. I hate those guys.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, like, and he just was, like, naturally good at it. I heard a story about him playing golf. and then they were playing golf on I think it was him they were playing golf on and there was like a big hill and they were like

do you think we could run to the top of that and then they had a race and he just like bounded up there like a mountain goat like what the hell was that making the noise yeah it was crazy by the way Gonzo and Delta

text in anytime I get two strikes in a row bowling I start to think maybe I could do this professionally that's what I'm talking about a sport like that a sport like that you're kind of like what if I could just what if I could just lock this in if I keep the hockey sack up for more than five minutes at a time I'm like you know what I should have gone pro is there though big money in a hockey sack yeah man major sponsorships

really from hemp companies okay we got to go to break when we come back I get that hemp money Moge is going to join us it's the red blacks and your BC lines tonight at 430 Friday night football, the Canadian variety. That's coming up next. It's the Moge on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet, 6.50. It's the Moj. I did not eat four burgers. Yes, it's the Moch.

I don't want to go to Winnipeg. Nobody wants to go to Winnipeg. Yes, I love food. It's the moch. I went online and kind of did a little serving. Jamalaya. Yes, it's the Moj. Halpert's fine, but, you know, Bruff is just grumpy all the time.

Moch, Moch, Moch, Moge. Mooch, mooch, mooch, mooch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, it's the moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, it's the moch, moch, moch, it's the moch. 733 on a Friday, happy Friday, everybody, Halperbrough, SportsNet 650. California and Brough in the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks. Visit them online at sands-trustee.com. We are in our two of the program. We're at the midway point of the show.

Bob the Moj, Marjanovic, you're going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to by Jason Hominoch at jason. At jason.morgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason. dot mortgage. The BC Lions are in action tonight. Lots of good football on tap tonight. The Lions kick off at 4.30 from TD Place in Ottawa against the Red Blacks. Joining us now, Bob the Moge Marjohnovich, play-by-play voice of the BC Lions here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sports

9650. What up, Moge? You know what? It's so much easier, so much better doing this hit when it's like, well, 10.30 local time. Rather than say 7.30 in the morning, it's 10.30. I'm a little awake. right now. I'm kind of like functioning, so I should have a good hit today. Sounds like it's off to a great start. How is Ottawa Moge? You know what? Well, we flew in last night, and it was cold. It was wet. It was like 12, 13 degrees, some light rain. Had a really good barbecue last night at a place called Stop Boys, which we can talk about later. But waking up today and looking out, I haven't gone out yet, but I'm looking at my hotel room window and it's sunny. So expecting, I think, kickoff, they're saying something like 23,

degrees, 24 degrees. It's not going to rain today, so that's a good sign. The last time the Lions were in action, it was a long time ago. It was August. It was a totally different month. They gave up 52 points on the road in Toronto. What are the Lions going to do to, quote, unquote, dumb it down on defense tonight? Well, I think, you know, having that by week gave them some time to reflect and do some self-scouting. And no matter what sport, when you struggle, you've got to go back to the basics, right? I mean, you've got to go back to your foundational principles and see if you're adhering to those foundational principles. And I think even this instance with the lines, and I talk to

Mike Benavides or defensive coordinator this week, it's a fine balance because you, and what we're talking about by dumbing it down is making things simpler for players and allowing them to play with confidence and to play with aggressiveness, right? The thing that you don't want is what we called paralysis by analysis, which occurs when players are thinking and not reacting. And I think in terms of dumbing it down, yeah, okay, they'll focus a little bit more on the fundamentals of their defense and try to allow their players to play with a lot more aggressiveness rather than going out there and, you know, thinking about what their assignment is on a play. But, you know, as Mike Benavides pointed out, there's a fine line, right?

I mean, you can't dumb it down to the point where it's so simple that anybody can go out there and, you know, convert against you. it's professional football. So it's a fine line in terms of trying to make it as complex as it could possibly be at the same time, allowing your players having that balance to allow your players to play with aggressiveness and confidence. What's led the red blacks to a three and eight record? Oh, man. People like to shred on the lines.

I just look at this Ottawa team and I just see them shooting themselves in the foot all time, whether it's coaches decisions, whether it's just bad plays at bad times. We went over dinner last night with their play-by-play guy, AJ Jacobic, and, you know, he said, take your pick with Ottawa, right? Whether it's the offensive line, the defensive line, you know, they thought their defensive line was going to be a lot more dominant. It has injuries that played a huge role with the red blacks this year. Of course, Drew Brown won't play tonight.

Their quarterback, he's been dinged up a couple of times now. Their secondary is a complete mess. so that that comes into play as well but you know it's just I feel for the fans in Ottawa guys I mean they've had three winning seasons since 1980 think about that three winning seasons of football

and when I'm talking about winning I'm talking about you know having a winning percentage above 500 not 500 so it's I feel for them because I think there's a real good fan base in Ottawa the setup that they have in terms of their stadium outstanding. So it's been renovated of course, Citi Place. And they've got a whole

slew of restaurants surrounding the stadium that, you know, people can go have, you know, make an event out of it. But yeah, I feel for the fans in Ottawa and hopefully they turn their ship around at some point. I've actually never been to Ottawa. It's one of the few cities in Canada I've never been to the capital. What's it like?

Well, here's the thing. And A.J. Jacobich tells us this whole the time, he says, the NHL, the people that cover the NHL that come into Ottawa, they're going like, well, whatever, right, me. It's cold, it's jury. My daughter used to go to school here, so I'm pretty familiar coming here in the winter and making the occasional visit. So it's like, it's cold and jury in the winter.

But if you come here in the summer, it's awesome. I mean, it's sunny. Usually for us, I mean, we're located downtown, so we walk up to the parliament buildings, which is really cool. Just, you know, seeing all the history of our country with the parliament buildings. And you walk down the parliament buildings towards what they call the B word. market and it's a market area that has a whole bunch of restaurants little patios and such and in the summer it's it's tremendous because you know you go down there you have lunch sit on the patio there's a real cool vibe to it um so it's it's underrated and you know if you're a history

buff um i had an opportunity to check out the war museum uh i think it was about three years ago and it was phenomenal right so if you're into history or if you're into like you know culture stuff like that um it's a great city It really is. I wouldn't stay here for a week, but, you know, two, three-day weekend thing would be tremendous. We're speaking to Bob the Mojimarjanovich here on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. I did want to circle back to one question about the defensive line in particular, because I know getting after the quarterback has been a problem. I know the Lions signed a defensive end, Levi Bell. Is that sort of in response maybe in a shot to Matthew Betts, who's getting paid a lot of money and isn't getting back to the, isn't getting in the backfield and to the,

quarterback enough because of all the changes they could have made on defense, I didn't think it was interesting that they brought in another defensive end. Well, I think one of the things with Matthew Betts, if you look at some of the numbers, he is getting quarterback pressures, according to the folks at pro football focus. But, you know, he hasn't produced those into sacks. And a lot of times that's also dependent on the tackles pushing the pocket back. You can get to the quarterback, but if he has the ability to step up because your interior alignment haven't pushed the pocket back, it's not going to matter. I mean, a pass rush is a four-man unit, right?

So, yeah, do you want to see more production out of bets? Yeah, but I think at the same time, if everybody else kind of raises their level, I think you're going to see a lot more production out of bets and Kamoko Terai off the edge. But, you know, the interesting thing is, as well, as you look at his team, this, you know, we talk about the pass rush. Cione Tui Hemma is on the injured list now with a pack injury, so he's out indefinitely from what I'm told. Dwayne Hendricks, who leads the team in

Sachs, will not play this game. Christian Covington is also out here, down three linemen. Anthony Bennett was a spare part, so he was part of that rotation, but you know, in a secondary role, he's not going to play this week. That's a coach's decision. So you're looking at a defensive

line that has lost three pieces, so it's going to be interesting how they perform against the Ottawa Red Box. But, you know, we'll see what Levi Bell can do. He's looked good in practice. He's a short dude. He's like six feet, but he has a good motor. He plays hard, so it's going to be interesting to see what he can do today.

But they definitely need more out of their defensive line, and they definitely need more out of their interior of their defensive line. You know, lost in that game in Toronto was the fact that the Lions did put up 34 points of offense, and Nathan Rourke, again, looked pretty good. And if you go back over those games in August, the Lions did score 41, 36, and 34 points. So it's not an offensive issue. What are you expecting from Rourke tonight? well I mean I expect more of the same this is a BC offense right now that comes into the game that has 428 yards on average which is first in the league

Ottawa's defense isn't bad it's kind of middle of the pack so to speak in terms of what they do but I just think Nathan Rourke right now is and think about this I mean what he missed like two games because of the the injury so Mazzoli got two starts so he's only really had like nine games in terms of working with Buck Pierce. So this relationship is really early in its development, but I think this thing's just going to keep getting better and better, barring any injuries. But, man, I just love what they're doing on offense in terms of the motion, in terms of the commitment to the run, in terms of the way they attack. And, you know, like we talked about earlier, each week, it seems like somebody different is going to pop, right? So is it going to be Stanley Berry, who has a big game tonight? It will be Keon Hatcher. Maybe it'll be Javon Katoi. Maybe it'll be just McKinness, whoever it is, someone will take advantage tonight, and Nathan Roak will get his

numbers. So, you know, Moge, we always end these hits with an Ask Us Anything, Anything, and then I kind of felt bad because we were pigeonholing you into just doing food, Ask Us Anything, and you brought it up that you could, you're versatile. You're a versatile broadcaster. You can do a lot of different things. So we're going to go a little bit askew, a little far afield here. This one, Ask Us Anything is from Morgan the Finisher.

I don't know what that name means. I'm not going to dive into it any further. Morgan, the Finisher, with an Ask Us Anything. is listening to an audio book considered having read the actual book Wow that's

that's a interesting question Oh just like can I have a food one please Yeah can I have a food one please Get back to food Like seriously When I was on vacation Recently with my girlfriend She was like

She's like do you know how to read I'm like what short of guys what a question what a question because she has like one of those kindles right she's always

reading these kindles at the pool or whatever I gotta get me one of those kindles they're pretty cool little things right so anyway she's reading the Kindle all the time

and I don't read it I barely read I should read a lot more but I don't and yeah so like you're asking the wrong person when it comes to that time

how long have you guys how long have you guys been together I like to think by the way that How long have you guys been together? Just over four years. I like that four years in, she's like, I have a question.

Can you read? I wanted it to come up. Like, I didn't want it when you guys were bantering. I just wanted her to walk into the room and, like, I like to think she calls you Moge, too. And goes, Moge, can you read? Yeah, no. Like, that question was posed to me because she's never, like, you know,

seeing me reading. I don't. Like I said, I should read a lot more, and I don't. I mean, yeah, I go on the internet, you know, research, all that stuff, fine and dandy game notes. But I don't read books. That's what I should say. I don't read books as much as I should, which is, you know, it's my fault. Moge, you're the best, buddy.

Whether you can read or not, we love you here at the Hellford Abrupt show on Sports. Hey, go ahead. I'll bring you back a T-shirt. How does that sound? Sounds good. Thanks. Thanks, Moge. Have a good call tonight.

Thanks, Paul. Bob, I have a question. Don't take it the wrong way. That's Bob the Mojimaj Marejanovich here on the Helperton and Breff Show on Sports 9650. Can we just sit down and I have a question for you? Can you read? No. That's a good question from Morgan the Finisher.

Again, don't know what that refers to. That's fine. I think it counts as reading the book because I actually think it's more, it takes longer. Okay. But I think the follow-up question. I think you've experienced the the prose of the book. Wow. I think it's its own thing. When someone asks you, or you're telling someone that you've completed the book, would you make a point of saying, I listen to the audio book? Yeah. Okay. That's why I think it's something. But I actually, I've, I've listened to very few books on audio. I think I had one summer when I did do. bunch of driving. Yep.

And I listen to a few. I think you have to make a point of saying, I don't really enjoy it. I listen to the, I don't like it either. Like, if you tell someone that you read the book and then it's later discovered that you actually listened to it via audiobook, I think there's an issue there. I'm not sure what the issue is. Really? Being upfront about it, yeah.

Yeah. I don't think so. Yeah. Ben's reading it, too. Sometimes it's like all in the delivery of the whoever's reading it, the voiceover. Let's be clear that the reading is the more difficult of the two. that's part of that's part of the challenge what's what's difficult about reading you have to learn how to read it's well yeah one i like to look some people have trouble with it but i think most of us are capable

readers it's just more difficult it's more hard it's hard on your eyes for example right it requires more focus you just sit there and listen i actually think listening is is like i always like kind of tune out sometimes there's another here's another good question that's a focus problem what's when you're on air but i think it's easier i think it's easier to focus on a book when you're just straight reading it as opposed to like if you're driving yeah and it's like and then jack reacher punched him over and over and over again but you're driving you're like oh i got to get and here's like and you're like and you're like what happened oh i think the ideal way of doing it over and over and over again you don't want to be driving though when you're doing that right you want your undivided attention to be

well yeah it's a chicken and egg thing too people listen to books like that do they just sit in a chair and like maybe like in bed before you're about to go to bed okay your focus is better when you're reading it because it's harder to do it and you're more focused on doing it. That's why your focus is better when you actually read the book rather than just listening to it. That's actually a good point because you can't physically read a book and drive, but you can listen to an audio book and drive. Do you ever see people walking around reading? I see them. Yeah. It's impressive. It is impressive. Yeah. Because it does need your undivided attention. I always think like, wow, that must be a great book. Yeah. I'm about to walk into traffic.

Brof still reads, but he just reads the chat GPT summaries of books now. Yeah. I'll get the gist of it. All right. Here's one. One from Comox. Ask us anything. What's something you could talk about for 30 minutes with no prep? So I'm going to assume that this is like you've got to give a talk on something. Yep.

Like a lecture. Or you're hosting one of the other radio shows on this station. Yeah. Go on. No, but seriously, like, okay, so there's, I don't know. There's a TED Talk. Yep. And you've been hired to do it, and you can pick any topic, no prep.

And I would answer, I have nothing that I could do with no prep. Really? Oh, man, I could talk for hours about video games, movies, movies. No, wouldn't it be great. The talk would suck. No, very fantastic. You need to prep everything if you're going to talk for 30 minutes. You're just talking about like a structure.

I'm talking structure. Yeah, okay. But that's the biggest part of prep. is the structure and how you're going to lay it out, how are you going to introduce it? What questions are you going to pose to the audience and then go and answer them? If you're just like, I play video games and like,

that's not a good talk, right? Is the listener not mentioning like people just talking in casual conversation? No, I think it's what's something you could talk about for 30 minutes with no prep. It doesn't say give a presentation. Yeah, it just says talk about. But, well, I mean, the Canucks then.

We do it every day. I think I could... Well, that's the obvious answer. I think I could spit 30 uninterrupted minutes of hot fire on everything that went wrong after the Kinex went up 2-0 in the 2011 Stanley Cup final. I think I could do it.

I think I could do it in great detail. I don't think I'd need to look a lot of stuff up. No, no, no, but structure is part of the press. Structure is the biggest part of the prep. That would be the perfectly structured part of it, is you go through after they go up 2-0. They said, what happened after that flashpoint when Alex Burroughs scored to put them up 2-0

where everyone thought that they were going to win the Stanley Cup? And then you walk through the next five... The structure is already laid out. for you, I guess. Game three, game four, game five, game six, game seven. Here's what went wrong in game three. Here's what went wrong in game four, right? And you've got so many different flashpoints. And you could have the sort of knock on top. But the structure is given to you by the games. It's a great thing about sports. Yeah, yeah. They all got a start point and

an end point. Lattie could talk in great detail about all 151 of the first Pokemon. That's right. And their type advantages and disadvantages. I could go on for hours. Yeah, like the structure just builds itself. I think I could do that. Not the Pokemon. That's ridiculous. Wow. That's absolutely ridiculous. But yeah, I mean, it's now 14 years past. And a lot of the references from

2011, you don't even have, I mean, with our audience, you don't even need to go into great detail. You can just have these sort of brief, snarky as sides, right? You always say, if you had a time machine, you go back, what would you say? And you'd be like, Dan Hemhusing, no hip checks, right? And everyone gets it. Yeah, yeah. You could extrapolate on that

for a TED talk or something else and really, really get into it. You'd 30 minutes easy, I think. We got any other ones here? Oh, Aaron the Brewer. Ask us anything. My wife is having her girlfriend over tonight for dinner and drinks. How do I avoid all responsibilities, distractions, and annoyances in order to watch the Jay's game and the chief chargers in some sort of peace and quiet?

So what you're going to need to do is volunteer to do some sort of, is there some sort of IKEA shelving unit that needs to be built or is there something that requires attention but away from the group like you can't be the matri d for the evening because you're going to miss the jays game and the chief's chargers games making you know here's martini's and whatever else for your for your girlfriend and her sorry your wife and her girlfriend you're going to need to find something to do preferably away from the crowd where you can say I got to focus on this so build something how big is your place yeah that's a that's I need to need to know context.

You can't hide out. Yes, you can. I hide all the time. But you need to be hidden with a purpose. I think he's hiding out because he's putting together that vanity that we need to get done. Or no, he's hanging a mirror or something or other. I disagree because you can go in and make sure you say hi to everyone.

That's the most important part. Maybe make a few jokes and then just be like, hey, I know you guys don't want me around here. This is a girl's night. I got lots of sports to watch in the basement or wherever. That's not bad. Yeah. Here's the thing. Does Aaron think that his wife wants him hanging out and like dishing with her?

No, but I'm going to throw something at you. Hey, ladies. How are we doing? If they, if they. Who's back or are we talking about today? Yeah. If we know, if they. Behind back.

That didn't sound right. That's fine. If they know that... Check on the back of that one. If they know that you're not occupied, you may be asked to do something. Like what? Whip together a quick drink,

take out the garbage. Could you take your shirt off and put on this bow tie? Quick little number. So you're taking the George Costanza approach where you just got to look busy all the time. Gotta look busy. Like you're doing something.

Got to look busy. There has to be something that keeps you. You got to look angry, be angry. How about just honest? It was like, I want to go watch sports. You know what I've learned.

about honesty never works never has never will I think you should honestly as your wife do you want me around and she will probably say no go watch your sports maybe try it out tonight Aaron tell us what happens on Monday okay

we got to go to break when we come back we're going to talk to Rick Dollywell it's been a while since we've had Rick on the show Donnie and Dolly doesn't get underway until Monday but Rick is joining us today for a good Canucks conversation So that'll take us through the first half hour of the final hour of the program. And then at 830, we're going to do what we learns and ask us anything.

I will let you all know right now the $100 gift card to AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. Still up for grabs. We have a lot of contenders in the Dunbar Lumber text message in basket. There's been a lot of good ask us anythings. But we have not anointed a winner yet. If you want to be that winner, hashtag it AUA. Put a pizza emoji into your text. Importantly, put your name on the text.

I can't stress this enough. send it to the Dunbar Lumber text line at 650, 650. You can ask us literally anything. We will try to answer it in the final half hour of this program. You are listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650.