Halford & Brough in the Morning - HalBro Gets A Visit From The Gold Cup

Episode Date: June 9, 2025

In hour three, Mike & Jason chat with 3 Down Nation's JC Abbott (2:46) about the BC Lions' impressive season and home opener victory, plus the boys chat with Whitecaps great Tosaint Ricketts (25:33) and get an in-studio visit from the Gold Cup ahead of Tuesday June 17th's Canada vs. Honduras matchup at BC Place. 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 803 on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody. Halperd Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halperd and Brough of the Morning is brought to you by Sands & Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 5-star reviews. Visit them online at Sands-Trustee.com. I don't even know what's going on with this song, but it is electric.

The Clash of Champions. They've thrown every different 80s track into one. It gets a little serious at times, then it's lighthearted. Then it's introspective. Then it's just fun. Sounds like physical. Yeah, yeah, yeah. See, you got it. There's so many references in every track.

We are in hour three of the program. Hour three of this program is about to be Campbell and Pound real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell and Pound. Visit them on the internet at camel-pound.com today. We are coming to you live from the Kintec Studio. Kintec footwear and orth, 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. Speaking of the Power West Industries, our next guest is patiently waiting on hold. Before we get to him though, I need to remind everyone, it's JC Abbott, there's the spoiler. I need to remind everyone that we are giving away two pairs,

sorry, two four packs of tickets every day this week. Do the math. That's a lot of tickets to four packs every day this week to the gold cup match Canada, Honduras, BC place, Tuesday, June 17th. We're going to be giving them away to caller number five and we're going to do two separate calls. One of the call is happening right now. BC Place, Tuesday, June 17th. We're gonna be giving them away to caller number five, and we're gonna do two separate calls. One of the calls happening right now, 604-280-0650.

That number again, 604-280-0650. If you wanna see Canada take on Honduras and their gold cup opener on Tuesday, call now. We'll give away one four pack right now, and then another one in 10 minutes time at 815. I'll try and jump in and remind everybody but 604 280 0650 every day this week we're gonna be doing it but we're gonna turn our attention now back to the Canadian Football League and the BC Lions. Joining us now CFL and

BC Lions right over 3 Down Nation. JC Abbott joins us here on the Health and the Breath show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, J.C. How are you? I'm doing great guys. Thanks for having me on. Yeah. Thanks for coming on.

We appreciate you taking the time. J.C. Have you, have you recovered from your, uh, your stint on, on the video board? And if you have, can you explain how you ended up on the video board? Because I was actually sitting right next to you, but I didn't know what you looked like.

And then I read your piece after I was like, oh, that was J.C. Abbott. That's pretty funny. I didn't realize that was you next to me either. So I apologize for not chit-chatting more, but yes, it was quite the shock to see my face up there. I immediately had my phone blow up with text messages from people across the league really who had sources tell them that I was suddenly famous. I do want to clear something up, gentlemen, while I'm on the show. I was not eating a salad.

J.C. Abbott does not eat salads. There was a little bit of broccoli on top of my pasta bowl. That's what I was caught on camera gorging myself on, but it was no salad, I assure you that. What was the idea behind the videos? Like watch this guy eat. Yeah, I think the idea is you catch people unaware eating their food and then you play it in reverse so it looks like they're vomiting it up a strange way. It's an interesting comedic premise, but they certainly got me good. So kudos to the BC Play staff for that one.

I'm lucky I didn't get caught because I crushed a poutine in there a little bit later. I was going to say, you two have never been more relatable to our audience than you saying, I don't eat salad and Jason saying I only eat poutine. So yeah, the listeners are now like listening along and be like, yeah, I get these two. Let's talk about the game itself. Actually, you know what? Let's talk about the event itself, because it's hard to at times

differentiate the pregame festivities and the Snoop concert from the actual game, because one did have an impact on the other. Your thoughts on the spectacle that was Saturday evening and night at BC Place? Yeah, I continue to think that Amar Doman smashes it out of the park with these pregame concerts. Snoop was fantastic. Whether or not you like that type of music, it's clearly a draw. There's over 50,000 people in that building. A lot of them stuck around, I thought, slightly more than last year because the game was a little bit better than last year's season opener. And he delivered. It was cool to see him at the end of that concert, signing CFL footballs and throwing it to kids in the crowd, asking them to grow up to be a BC Lions fan. I think that engages people.

So two goes to Amar Doman for, for everything he's done there. And then the Lions did their part as well. They delivered a win and I thought they looked extremely impressive to, to dawn a new era. And you know, we talked about it earlier in the show. Like there was two big stars on Saturday. One was Snoop. The other one was Nathan Rourke. And after how erratic last year was, I was curious to see what he was going to be like, because I know he said all the right things. We had him on the show. It was very obvious

that the new quarterback situation, the new quarterback room was going to be more traditional and more, it was going to make his job a lot easier. I noticed you kind of leaned on the narrative that he seems to be having maybe a little bit more fun and not taking himself as seriously as last year. And I do think that he heaped a lot of pressure on himself. And then the results are in the numbers. Like he couldn't have had a much better performance, even though it was a little bit

of a slow scoring first half. Yeah, he looked liberated to me. And that's something I was watching for because even in our Conversations leading up to the game the fruit few times that got chagged with him this offseason It looked like he had less of a weight on his shoulders I think even going back to that tremendous season in 2022 there were times as a media member Speaking to Nathan Rourke that he seemed uncomfortable, right? He doesn't necessarily enjoy the spot. Like he didn't like being the guy that everyone

was turning to as sort of this, this wonder kin that had arrived in the league and was going to, you know, elevate everything. That didn't sit right with him and didn't affect his performance necessarily, but he was a little bit stiff with it. And even though he played the game, right, he tried to be very regimented. He refused to allow himself to run at times when he could out because he wanted to prove he could be a pocket passer and win in that way. I think what we saw this time around was a player who was free, loose, doing whatever the game demanded of him at every single moment who was having fun with his teammates, who had a rapport that he had built throughout the offseason with those guys and knew exactly what he had to do on every occasion. To me, even more than the

statistics, that's what impressed me about the performance was the calm and the cool and the looseness with which Nathan Roark played in that game. I think that bodes really well for the Lions future because they need him to play at that level week in and week out to be a contender this season. So as impressive as Nathan Rourke and the Lions offense was in the victory, the Buck Pierce era actually started with two turnovers on short yardage and it's too bad the Lions couldn't deliver the performance they had in the second half, in the first half, because

some people might have left when there were two turnovers on short yardage and the Lions only scored three points in the first half. What can be done to avoid similar mistakes because that looked ugly. I know they originally called it a touchdown, but I was watching it from the press box. Obviously I was like, I don't think he got in there.

Yeah, it needs to be addressed, right? That short yardage year has been a problem for the team in the past and, and it looked bad. Now to, in the line's defense, I should say, you don't get a lot of reps at that in training camp or the preseason, but at the same time, it's also the most fundamental and simple play to execute, right? You should be able to get a yard or more in a league where they give you a yard.

The Lions certainly weren't able to do that. I think the simple fix is you just keep Nathan Rourke on the field, right, because he is exceptional at doing that and he's a threat with his legs. The concern with that is you're giving a bunch of hits to a player that you can't possibly afford to lose, so that's why you've got Chase Bryce in there taking that role. I think they've got to examine some other potential options. You know, Bryce to me just doesn't fit the mold of a short yardage quarterback. Jeremiah Mazzoli at this point in his career I don't think can do it either. So you've got to find

who's going to be that David Mackey this year, you know, the, the non quarterback who can take those short yardage snaps. Maybe it's Zander Horvath, right? You've got a big body American running back slash fullback on the roster. He didn't get any touches in that game. I wonder if you can teach him to do the short yardage role like Mackie did last year, but they certainly have to find something because as much as it didn't necessarily cost them in this game, there are going to be times when one or two short yardage

faux pas is going to be the difference in a football game. We're speaking to JC Abbott from Three Down Nation here on the Halford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. I did want to ask you a league wide question as it pertains to the quarterback position. I know we're only one week in, it's early days and you know like Zach Laros isn't playing, but in terms of the hierarchy and the quality and the power rankings of quarterbacks, how has it been and what have you seen through the first week and where would you slot Nathan Rourke in there right now? Well, to me, Nathan Rourke is number one in the QB hierarchy in the league. And I had him in that spot entering week one. I know that was perhaps projecting a bit, but I was

confident that he was going to be back to the guy that we saw in 2022. And he proved me right in the first game. So as long as he keeps playing like that, to me, he's a weapon on a different level. I think Bernard Adams Jr., who BC Lions fans are very familiar with, is right up there as well. Chad Kelly, you know, Bodie by Mitchell, has shown that he's still got gas left in the tank.

And then there's a lot of a lot of people in the in the middle of the mix right now, right? I don't think there's a team that is uncomfortable with their quarterback situation. Perhaps the weakest starter right now is Trey Ford. We saw some of his struggles in the passing game against BC, but again, he's an electric athlete. And if Edmonton ever gets tired of some of those mistakes, you know, Kogi Fajardo is a great cup winning proven starter that they can slot in behind him. So I put BC at the top in terms of their starter. I really don't like their depth right now, gentlemen. I think if there were to be knock on wood an injury to Nathan Rourke, this team would be in some considerable trouble.

But he's a level of talent that can elevate a roster that maybe isn't as deep as some of the other ones in the league if he's playing at the level that he showed in week one. Um, JC, the commissioner of the CFL, the new commissioner of the CFL, Stewart Johnston was at the game at BC place and he was very impressed with what he saw and he had a lot of good things to say about Ammar Doman. Um, asking you as a guy who covers the CFL so deeply, what is the biggest issue that Stewart Johnston

is going to have to deal with or solve for the CFL? Well, I think the first most pressing thing that he has to deal with is get a website that functions all the time, right? We've just come off a couple of off season incidents where you had your draft tracker go down in the middle of the draft and then people couldn't get on the streaming service. It's just another example of the CFL's technology faltering, which has been a pretty consistent problem since they partnered up with Genius Sports a few years ago. We all know about the stat system problems in 2023. They have to sort of shake that reputation and

reinforce that part of their business. In terms of actual issues that are facing the league long-term, it's got to be, you know, getting a new TV deal, right? Everything is up after 2026. I'm sure they're already in talks with TSN to a certain extent about renewing that deal, but you also have to examine what you're going to do in terms of potentially finding other partners, whether you want to see if there's a streaming option out there. That's always discussed. So that's going to be a huge priority. And then also the 2026 schedule,

gentlemen, because the World Cup is going to wreak some havoc with it in both BC and Toronto, with those two teams not able to play home games for basically the first six weeks of the season. They're going to have to do some unique things there, potentially take those to some unique venues or, or neutral sites. So figuring out how you're going to approach that is also a big thing on the docket initially for commissioner Johnston. So as a guy that, uh, fell victim to some of, uh,

Bell media's cuts and they're, you know, pulling away from, from sports and they're certainly doing that and Bell owns TSN. Is there any concern in the league about the future of TSN and the future of Bell as a company that wants to be involved in sports? You know, I've talked to a number of people who are involved with, with TSN or, or the Canadian media in general. And there's some, some sense of those worries, but you know, the CFL does strong numbers

for TSN on television, really strong numbers. It fills a requirement in terms of Canadian content as well. So it's delivering what it's supposed to for that brand as a tent pole product. And, you know, with, with them not getting the NHL rights and that thing with sports net, I think that alleviates some of those concerns that they have to have something and the team and the CFL can provide that. I also think Stuart Johnston understands that world better than anybody else possibly could have as the guy who ran TSN and was involved as an executive in Bell Media. He does not seem overly

concerned with that. I think he understands what the league is worth there. It's something to monitor. It is something that's percolated in the background. I don't think it's a crisis immediately yet, but it's part of the reason why the league has to explore all options because if TSN goes away, Sportsnet's got a pretty full docket. They haven't expressed much interest in pushing for the CFL. CBC has pulled increasingly away from sports. You've got to find some sort of other partnership and that may be in the streaming space. So it behooves the league to start to dip your toe in that as early as possible.

It's just going to be difficult to find a way to do that while also maintaining what has been a pretty important partnership with TSA. JC, this was great. As always, Bud, thanks for taking the time to do it. We're going to be doing this with regularity, we hope, throughout the CFL regular season and post season. So it's great to have you back. I look forward to it, gentlemen.

Thanks for having me on. Thank you. That's JC Abbott from Three Down Nation here on the Halford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. There was another What We Learn that came in as we pivot. We're jumping all over the place this summer, by the way. That's the Halford and Bruff show as we go June, July, and then we take off for August.

But we're gonna try and jump around to a lot of different topics and a lot of different sports. So we're going to go back to the Vancouver Canucks, but with an asterisk Abbotsford Canucks. What we learned came in from Quinn about half hour ago. And Quinn writes hashtag WW what we learned Manny Melhotra is currently the betting favorite for the Dallas Stars coaching job. the betting favorite for the Dallas Stars coaching job. Okay, first off, according to one odds maker, he's the favorite. But if you look around, other odds makers don't even have them in the mix.

For example, I'll just throw, there's one called bookies.com. And their odds maker has Neil Graham, who's the Stars' assistant coach, or sorry, the star's head coach in the American league, Jay Woodcroft, Mitch Love, Pierre LaVielette, Steve Ott, Dave Haxdall, a lot of other coaches listed, not Manny Malhotra. He's part of the field in this one.

Neil Graham can now take that job because he ain't coaching in the Colticup playoffs anymore. Guess who eliminated him? Manny Malhotra, right? So I would say this, take the odds maker thing with a grain of salt. That being said, I think that Manny Starr continues to shine brighter

and brighter with every passing day. Like, I mean, if you look at the work that he's done up to this point, he's gotta be one of the hottest coaching candidates going. For sure. In part because you know what plays to his advantage? Is the fact that he doesn't have any NHL experience. I mean, one, honestly, a bad NHL gig,

if you get off to a rocky start or you have a really bad stint, it can really linger with you. I know it's a second chance league and I know the coaching recycling program is in full effect, but there are some guys that are one and done. They get a look and it doesn't go great and they don't go back.

There's always the intrigue of, wow, he's a proven NHLer in Manny's case. I think he played a thousand games. High character. High character guy. Has served for two different teams in the NHL as an assistant behind the bench. And in his first American League gig,

has racked up the kind of success that a lot of American League coaches don't get sometimes ever. But I mean, this is a, they also went on that run in the regular season where they what did they end up ripping off unbeaten streak? It got up to about 13 or 14. I want to say might have even gone past that. So, I mean, we're not talking about a Cinderella run.

This is a team that's played very good hockey and importantly, and we've stressed this has done it with a lot of young still to be determined NHL prospects doing the business in the postseason. It's not like AHL assassins guys in their like 20s and early 30s doing all the heavy lifting. Manny Malhotra by the way, 991 games. Right, I knew it was close to that.

We're giving him a thousand because he had 35 in the playoffs as well. That's right, you can add that in there. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I wonder what the future holds for Manny Malhotra. Even outside, let's say he doesn't get the Dallas Stars job. Which I think would be, sorry, not to cut you off, but I think it would be a wild hire

for them where they're at. But I think they're going to go off, they're not necessarily just going to go with the guy with the most NHL experience. I wonder if they are. I wonder if this is just, well, they sit down, Peter Lavillette and Gerard Gallant. They're like, it's between one of you two. I wonder if they have any idea because I don't think they expected this to happen.

I don't think they did either. I think this really caught them off guard. I think what happened in the series against Edmonton and how it ended and how the player exit interviews went, I mean, bit of a, bit of a similar position to the Canucks because they were entirely focused on bringing Tocket back and then they had to pivot. But yeah, I think, I think it's totally fair to

wonder about Manny Malholtz's future with the Canucks organization because he's not going to be the head coach, not next season at least. Um, and you know, we'll, we'll see if he's even going to be back with Abbotsford next season because maybe he gets offered something better. Okay. Uh, we got to go to break when we come back,

we got a loaded final half hour of the program, but it's not the usual. We're not going to do what we learned. If you missed it, download our two of the podcast. It's all there. We did it at seven 30 this morning. up. We're going to talk to toast St. Ricketts from the white caps. We're going to talk to him about the big white caps win on Sunday. We're going he thinks about the performance Jonathan David and Tejan Buchanan had. And then, while all this is going on, the Gold Cup is going to be joining us live in studio. So for those of you watching on the live stream

at Sportsnet+, you can see it get rolled in and we'll see what it's like. We're going to try something new here. Ask him a few questions? Yeah, sit it down. Ask who's going to give 110%. It can talk. Gold Cup isn't saying much, it's like. We're going to try something new here. Ask him a few questions. Yeah, sit it down. Ask who's going to give 110%. It can talk. Gold Cup isn't saying much. It's very competent.

So it's been a real whirlwind for you, I imagine. Gold Cup. And on the subject of the Gold Cup, we're also going to announce the winners of our two four packs of tickets to see Canada and Honduras in the Gold Cup opener at BC Place Tuesday, June 17th. 730 kickoff. It's right here. We're giving away tickets every day this week. You're listening to the Halford and Breff show on Sportsnet 650.

Hey, it's Vic Nazar. Have your say and join me on the People's Show with big takes and even bigger bets. Weekdays three to four on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. Please go to watch.sportsnet.ca right now to see Bruff completely covered up by the gold cup in studio. This is amazing. You are listening to the Halford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. I know this is primarily an audio medium for most of you, but those of you that can capture the visual right now. I'll go to the wide shot in just a second. I just want to see this one more time. We are currently joined in studio by the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Here now in the Haliford and Brough

show on Sportsnet 650. We'll post some pictures on social later. It's an impressive trophy. Is indeed a cup. Yeah. The victors can drink out of it. Directly in front of me is the lone engraving of Canada's championship way back in 2000. Unforgettable time. I've only got, I can only see Mexico and United States.

That's pretty much, they have dominated proceedings in the rich and glorious history of the ConcaCaf Gold Cup. Oh, there it is, there's a live shot. There it is, the Gold Cup, joining us live in studio. You are listening to the Hal Ferdinand Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Hal Ferdinand Brough in 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. Hour 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, do we have a Tosain on the line? We're gonna go to the Power West Industries hotline right now, joining us on the line. We're going to go to the Power West Industries hotline right now. Joining us on the line, White Cabs Club liaison and former Canadian international Tosin Rick. It's here on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Morning Tosin, how are you?

Good morning, happy Monday, happy Monday. Happy Monday. So I don't know if you're aware of this now, but we actually have the gold cup in studio with us sitting on our desk. I'm staring at it right now. As I said, I got Canada's engraving from the 2000 championship.

The tournament gets underway for Canada on Tuesday, June 17th. I'm going to put the Canada stuff on the back burner because I do want to ask about what the Whitecaps were able to accomplish last night at BC place, a three nil victory, despite all the adversity that was going into that match against the Seattle Sounders first toss your thoughts on what happened last night and how impressed you were with the guys that were available getting that three nothing victory.

Guys, what a match. So proud of the boys. We battled a lot of adversity. Like you said, it was a tough week. You know, players were sick. We didn't get our full squad into training until like Saturday, the day before the game. Guys, we spent a lot of time on the toilet, obviously, getting over the defeat in Mexico City, which was very tough, but truly a character win.

The depth really shined bright. And, you know, we got some big performances by some of our depth pieces, especially Jeevan Badwell from Surrey who scored his first goal. But just proud of the boys, proud all around. Did you get sick? No, no, I didn't. My experience really shined in this moment. I took a lot of precautions.

I brushed my teeth with bottled water. I didn't eat any of the salads because I figured it could be washed with the water from the taps. I didn't eat the post-match meal figured it could be washed with the water from the taps. I didn't eat the post-match meal. I played it very safe guys and I didn't get sick. I got sick down in Mexico once and I blamed the salad. And you know what?

I haven't had a salad since. It was a while ago. You know, it's dangerous. What did you think of Jesse Marsh's comments about the Canadian team being poisoned? I'm a big fan of Jesse Marsh's comments about the Canadian team being poisoned? I'm a big fan of Jesse Marsh. I was a part of the hiring committee that brought him into, to coach our nation. So, you know, I have a good relationship with him.

I don't think we're poisoned intentionally. You know, a lot of people go to Mexico, a lot of people get, you know, get the, the upset stomachs and those kind of effects from the food, from the water. But it is something that a lot of teams deal with going to Mexico City. You know, it's not only battling the altitudes, not battling the hostile crowds and the tough conditions, but it's also trying to avoid getting sick and getting the runs, you know. So I don't think we got poisoned intentionally intentionally But I do appreciate his support for us in this moment It means a lot coming from our our leader of our nation didn't affect the actual game because I don't want to sound disrespectful

But I kind of hope it did based on the way the game went. I Mean, we're not uh, we're not ones to make excuses, you know, we we went in there We we had our full roster. There was a few guys kind of feeling a little under the weather heading up to the game, but I wouldn't say the result had anything to do with, yeah, stomach or anything like that. This is something that you have to deal with going

to these countries and these markets, but yeah, more of a, it's on us a bit. Yeah. What do you think happened? I mean, you got to tip your hat to Cruz Azul. They played very well and they were very prepared. Was it all just a little much for the White Caps? Was the challenge too big for them?

It's a big moment, you know, and a lot of players don't get finals like this. And Mexico City is a distinct market. You know, the fans were of players don't get finals like this and Mexico City is a distinct market. You know, the fans were incredible. They were hostile. They were cheering from an hour, two hours before the game. They're in the stadium. You know, it's a big moment. And then when you make a mistake early and go down, all those conditions, all those obstacles, they intensify. And then you sprinkle the altitude on top. You know, it's tough. I played in Mexico City, I played against big teams, sold out

stadiums in Azteca and it's not easy. It's one of those things where you know you learn from it, you grow from it and we'll all be better for it. Players will be better for it, the club will be better for it and come playoffs, come MLS Cup finals, if we make it there, when we make it there, all these players can be better, better prepared for it because of this moment. So not the best result, but definitely everyone can grow from it. What is the intimidating part of the fans?

They're passionate, you know, it's, um, it's like they support their club, like it's religion. You know, you, you see the fans and the supporters outside the stadium their whole bodies are tatted up with the with the club's colors logos badges it's a different level of fandom it's a different level of support and you know it's intimidating they don't just do it it's not just one section singing it's the whole stadium singing the songs as if they're like well I don't know, like nursery rhymes, something that they've had since childhood.

It's really deep-seated support, and it shows you the beauty of football, but also when you're on the other side of it, it's intense and it's hostile. What was Jesper's message to the guys in the aftermath? Because it was such a lopsided score, but also the rare blip for a team that has otherwise been fantastic all season long.

And they got right back to their winning ways in the first match back against Seattle when they were. I mean, when you consider the players of ill, I had no business getting a result yesterday, but they did. How did Jesper handle it and how did he handle the defeat, the disappointment and then being able to rebound quickly from adversity? I mean, he's been great. He's been great.

And his messages to the players have been great, but it was just, you know, learn, grow from this experience, but turn the page, you know, because we do have some other trophies to go after. We have the Canadian Championship trophy. We have MLS Cup, you know, we have supporters shield on the line. We can win Western Conference trophy. We have MLS cup, you know, we have supporters shield on the line. We can win Western conference trophy. So there's still more trophies to get and more trophies to earn, but turn the page, you know, because we do have a game coming up and half our group went on international duty. So they have to represent their countries, you know, Brian

White and Sebastian Burrhalter going for USA Allie Ahmed, Jaden Nelson, Sam Adekubi going for Canada, Tate Johnson going for the U20s, Pedro going for Ecuador, Cuba's going for Paraguay, so it's turned the page. Sometimes in football you have to have the memory of a goldfish, and that's basically the message. And as you've seen yesterday, the boys did turn the page and got an incredible result here at home. There's been so many guys that have had stellar campaigns and have been rewarded

with like international call-ups, like Sebastian Burrhalter getting called into the U S squad. I did want to ask you about V-take cause you mentioned them there. And I just wanted to get your thoughts on the level of play that he's had this year, because I don't know if everyone's like following internationally he's playing in a midfield where they're drawing nil nil with Brazil and a two man midfield and it's him and Caicedo like he's playing at such a phenomenal level domestically and then he goes for club playing in a very tough South American region is doing the same thing.

It's not surprising that there's been a ton of interest about his services. I'm just curious what you thought of his play this particular season. He's a special talent, you know, and we've known it all along from when we brought him in. I mean, in the early seasons, you know, it's tough transitioning from, you know, South America and coming to MLS and being effective, but he's done it excellently. And this season, he really took a step forward and, you know, he really took that leadership role and on the pitch you can just see him when he gets the ball he's calm you know he kind

of plays at his own pace he can pick out a pass his left foot is like magical and he's mature beyond his years you know but I think he has a very bright future I can see him playing in the top five league very soon. But for us, he's been incredible. And we're going to need him if we want to lift this cup and lift this trophy at the end of the season. One more Whitecaps one before we pivot to the Canada soccer stuff. And you mentioned this already, but just how cool was it

to see what Jeevan Baldwin did yesterday? It's amazing, you know, coming up through Academy, through the Academy, being a homegrown player, you know, coming up through the academy, being a homegrown player, you know, having your friends, your family, your mom, your dad, your grandma in the crowd and being a local boy, it's truly special and it shows the value of coming through the White Caps Academy and the value of hard work. You know, he's not the biggest guy, you know, he's 19 years old, he's slender, but he has a high IQ.

You know, every time he gets on the pitch, he puts everything out there and to see him get his first goal yesterday was a really special. And you know, I had the honor of getting the match ball and getting it signed by everyone and delivering it to Jasper to deliver to him. Um, but it's a special moment. And it's a sign of a what's to come for his future. We are speaking at Tosin Ricketts here on the Haliford and Bref show on sports net six 50 white caps liaison of club and player engagement.

And also a former Canadian international, 17 goals internationally for Canada. And we saw a bunch more Canadian goals on Saturday, a four to win over Ukraine. Curious to get your thoughts on that match and what you saw from two guys in particular, Tosin, I think Jonathan David one scoring twice and to the return of Tejom Buchanan out wide. I mean, it's just great to see what's happening with, uh, with the national team. You know, in years past playing against Ukraine would have been a tall, tall order. I mean, probably wouldn't have got the result. You know,

I've been in some of those games during my 10, 12 years with the program and Ukraine would definitely be a tough task, but Canada made it look easy. They rotated the lineup and had big performances by Tejan, like you said, and Jonathan Davin getting his goals. It's really special to see and it shows you the progress the Federation has made and how much they improved under the new philosophies and identity of Jesse Marsh. And, you know, I think this could be our group cup. And, you know, you mentioned before, before I got on, you know, 25 years since we've been etched in that trophy.

But I think now's the time you've seen the results from USA and Mexico, but I think Jesse has these boys in a great place and the group is very committed and strong, strong players. We had Jesse on the program last week and we were talking about a variety of things, but one of the things that really stuck with both of us was the energy and the enthusiasm and the earnestness in which he approaches things. And you mentioned that you were part of the hiring process to get him on board as the Canadian men's national team manager.

What was about it during the interview process and what you knew about him prior to taking the job that made him such an appealing candidate? I mean, he comes from that Red Bull product and you know, if you know Red Bull football, it's direct, it's fast, it's intense, they press, you know, they suffocate teams defensively and that style suits our players. If you look across our roster, we have some of the most electric players in the world. You know, we have speed, we have power, you know, we have, we have a lot of pace and his philosophies, his identity just suited our model. Then when you add his, his, uh, his emotional intelligence, how to get the guys

going and get them motivated and his passion for everything he does, you know, you see him on Instagram, you see him on social media, he's going around to grassroots clubs, he's going around to local professional clubs, he was here, he was here visiting our boys, he was at Vancouver FC, he's, he has a dedication and a passion that is contagious. And, you know, from the first, because we had a few interviews from the first interview, 30 minutes in, I had to really, I struggled to be unbiased after that because he was so great. You know, he made me miss football through his presentations and, and his ideas of what

he wants to do. And I just knew it was a perfect fit for the boys and you can see the results. Is speed the defining feature of Canada? I mean, if you, I think we're one of the fastest football nations in the world, you know? Um, you know, you see Alfonso, you see Tejon, you see Jonathan David who has sneaky speed,

you see Jacob Schaffelberg, you know, Jaden Nelson, Ali Ahmed, Sam Adekubi, all these guys are rapid, you know, and it's hard to keep up with pace. You know, it's tough. It could be the most technical team in the world, but you know, when you have that type of speed, you can always get run off the park. And I think that's definitely our strongest attribute.

And then when you put in the tactical identity that Jesse is implementing, it's hard to deal with and you've seen it with Ukraine, who is a very good side. Um, how do you think that plays out with the potential weather of this World Cup? And by that, I mean, it's going to be hot. I mean, you could think of it two ways. Number, number one is Canada going to be able to play that way in the heat. But on the other hand, you could say, well, if Canada does manage to play that way, how is that going to impact some of the teams that are used to playing in colder weather?

Yeah. I mean, it's going to be a balance. It's always a balance, but you know, conditions impact both teams. So yeah, we may be running more and running faster out there, but that other team is going to have to work hard too, to counter that type of play. So, I mean, when it comes to conditions, know I always I always think always some some teams are

you more used to some teams aren't but um it just comes down to your tactical identity when you press you know choosing the right moments being more on the same page and not getting disjointed where one player is pressing the other one sitting back but you know it's you have to always deal with the conditions that's a that's a beauty about football. You can't, you can't really predict what they're going to be. Obviously, you know, they're going to be hot, but um, yeah, I don't think it will play too much of a factor. I just think it's going to be, tactically you just have to be more, um, clear in what they want to do.

Toss saying this was awesome, man. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it. Uh, enjoy the upcoming match at the gold cup all the other internationals Well, Canada plays Ivory Coast in a couple days time and best of luck with the white caps campaign. It's been great so far Hopefully it keeps going Thanks for having me guys and take care. Yeah, thank you That's Tosin Ricketts from the Vancouver white caps here on the Haliford and brush on sports net 650 if you're just turning into the live stream And you're wondering what's going on. We have won the gold cup. We did it We did it. We finally won

We got it done. Like I'm I'm hoisting it. It's too heavy. Yeah, so we have hoist ever Pulled a love handle it happens up we have The two giveaways have been done. So reminder, every day this week, we are giving away two, four packs of tickets to see Canada take on Honduras at the gold cup. I implore people to call in and if you can't go to ticketmaster.ca, go to gold cup forward slash tickets

if you wanna get them through the site. It is the only game that Canada is gonna to be playing at BC Place in this gold cup. So it's really your only opportunity to see them in this type of competitive environment. Honduras is always a tricky out. They're always a difficult conker calf opponent. And it's an opportunity. No Alfonso Davies won't be there.

Moise Bombito won't be there either. But everyone else answered the call for the gold cup, which is great. And if that match against Ukraine on the weekend was any indication, it's a pretty strong squad that they'll be sending into this competition with the sort of explicit goal to win it. We asked Jesse Marsh last week what success looks like at the gold cup and he said it right away. He's like, winning. Like that's what we want to do. We want a trophy and we want to win it. This trophy right here, they want to win this thing. Uh, okay. Let's read a few more what we learned into the

Dunbar lumber text line. Uh, Sheldon from Surrey, what we learned, the Abbey Canucks had a, we want the Cup chant. Weird to hear that echo through a rink in the lower mainland in relation to the Canucks. Yeah. It looks like so much fun out in Abbotsford right now, and I'm glad everyone is enjoying the ride and hopefully Abbotsford

can get it done in the final. What we learned from the Queensborough dangler. Get ready for epic showdowns. Both the NHL and NBA finals are heading for thrilling finishes. Will be must see TV with both series likely going deep or seven games. You will see. I mean, again, you can have a close series that doesn't go the distance just because this series right now, this is a coin toss. You look back at certain moments, Florida could be up 2-0, Edmonton could be up 2-0. I'm glad

it's tied 1-all. I want this to go the distance. Uh, the NBA finals, Oklahoma city came in as a huge favorite, but then Indiana. Got the split right away. Like the comeback team of the year in the NBA, they get the split and then we'll see what happens back in Indiana. Um, you know, I don't think you should necessarily think that Indiana is going to be heavy favorites

to win their home games. They won't be. No. Um, but they're. I'm curious to see the line. You know, I don't think you should necessarily think that Indiana is going to be heavy favorites to win their home games. They won't be. No. I'm curious to see the line actually. Yeah. I mean, I, so, uh, I had a friend come up to me yesterday and he was like, you know, what do you

think's going to happen in game two? I was like, I don't even follow the NBA that much, but I think Oklahoma city is going to blow them out. And I think the line was 10 and a half. I'm like, this is just classic. You know, you drop the first game. Um, you know, if you are the better team, you

should blow them out in game two. Road team's content. Which. If suffice, they got the split. Which by the way, is if you look back to the Knicks and why Tibbs ended up getting fired, they lost that game one to Indiana and they blew a lead, right? And it was kind of like, all right, well, you better win game two.

And they lost that one too. You know, I think that had a huge impact on the decision to fire him. Just not further to the Queensborough danglers text, uh, two overtime games already through the first, hopefully seven that we're gonna go in Edmonton in Florida. Edmonton, Florida, for as great as that series was last year, right, the tremendous comeback and everything, there wasn't a single overtime game in the seven. Now my new hope is that every,

for the first time in NHL history, we have seven games, all seven games go to overtime. Wouldn't that be amazing? As a host of a morning radio show, you sure you want that? I love it, man. I'd start at five, man. I don't that be amazing? As a host of a morning radio show, you sure you want that? I love it, man. Game start at five, man. I don't even, so there was a couple years

where the triple over times would get me, I'd be going to bed way later than I should have. But, over time, there's something, and especially with these over times, I think these over times have been great. Sometimes you'll get these two or three over time games where nothing happens for 15, 15 20 25 minutes at a time But I think these over times have been great for sure and I would never ever complain

About overtime hockey especially now because we only got a handful of games left before we're done. Mm-hmm, right? This the NHL season is soon coming to a close. So enjoy this hockey while you can if they give us free hockey Yeah, absolutely take it. Okay, the music means we got to get out of here for the day It's just us in the gold cup we're gonna go tour around the city and hang out maybe we'll get a coffee together the gold cup is gonna be like you know who's a bit of a jerk the Ryder Cup thank you all for listening and for those of you catching us on the stream thanks for watching but now we gotta say goodbye signing off for now I have been

Mike Halford he's been Jason Brough he's been a dog and he's Laddy. This has been the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet. Six fifty.