Halford & Brough in the Morning - Halford's Jersey Take Has Mutated
Episode Date: May 30, 2024In hour two, Mike & Jason talk the latest baseball news with MLB Network's Adnan Virk (3:00), the boys argue about which Canucks jersey is best (20:00), they chat the Canadian Open with Sportsnet golf... analyst Adam Stanley (27:00), plus Halford defends his "no jersey" rule (47:00). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
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Carlos Mendoza said that he understands the emotion but that particular action of throwing
your glove into the stands is unacceptable. Do you regret doing that? No, I don't regret it.
I think I've been looking the worst team in probably in the whole MLB so
you know whatever whatever happened, happened.
701 on a Thursday.
Jorge Lopez.
Yikes.
Jorge, man.
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We are in Hour 2 of the program.
Adnan Berg is going to join us for a little MLB talk here.
He, of course, from MLB Network
on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.
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To the phone lines we go.
Adnan Virk joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.
Morning, Adnan.
How are you?
My fellow Emmy Award winners.
Mike, Jason, I still love that story from a week ago.
I cannot wait until we have our Emmy Summit in Davos.
Hope you guys are well.
Hope you're well as well.
Yeah.
We shouldn't speak too publicly about the meeting.
I realize this now.
It is kind of like a closed-door publicly about the meeting. I realize this now.
It is kind of like a closed-door type thing, but we'll allow it now.
Like an eyes-wide-shut thing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll be discussing whether interest rates go up or down.
We decide.
Adnan, I hope you heard the audio that we played coming back from break.
Just another wild moment for the New York Mets,
this time involving reliever Jorge Lopez,
throwing his glove into the stands after being ejected yesterday,
then doubling down by not apologizing or trying to walk it back
or grab the glove back, I suppose.
For our listeners that might not be up to speed
with everything that's going on here,
can you lay out exactly what happened,
what Lopez said in the aftermath,
what's going to become the next for him,
and how big of a mess the New York Mets are this season.
Yeah, it's pretty messy right now, Mike.
And now we all know the name Jorge Lopez,
which I think 99% of us have never heard of this guy until yesterday.
It's true.
Reliever for the Mets, fairly nondescript.
Apparently he said something in the third base umpire talk about the game.
And as he's leaving the game, he just throws his glove to the stand.
And by the way, that's harder than you might think because back in the day it was pretty easy now they get the
big netting so like you're gonna make a real heave if only he could throw pitches like that
the way he threw that glove maybe the Mets would be in better shape but you're right about the
doubling down that's what the story you throw your glove okay one thing but the fact that he said and
it was a little bit of confusion he sounded like he said I'm on the worst team in the FNMLB, and then someone
asked him, are you saying you're the worst teammate?
And he said, yeah.
However he slices it, either he's
saying I'm the worst teammate on the worst FN
team, or I just am on the worst team. Regardless,
he's slamming the Mets, and very quickly
he was DFA'd after the game,
designated for a side, but so that
seems like the easiest decision ever made for
David Stearns, who runs the New York Mets.
But it's a mess right now, man.
There are 11 games under.500.
Nothing has gone right.
Lindor, you all remember, signed that $341 million contract.
He has been really disappointing this year.
Alonzo hits home runs, doesn't hit for average.
He just got hit on the hand.
He's going to get a CT scan.
Apparently no bones broken, but we'll see about that.
Their pitching's in shambles.
I mean, it's just, it's a disaster.
Like, they're going to lose 90-plus games this year
in the first year of Carlos Mendoza managing.
And Lopez is just an example of a team that right now is really reeling.
I think most people, fellas, thought they wouldn't be a particularly good team,
maybe around 500, right?
But they're going to lose more than they win.
Why didn't they give you this bad?
And to have a moment like that, that's, you know, for the New York media,
you know, they're just eating up a moment like that,
a player being that brazenly honest.
It kind of reminds me of when Terry Pagula bought the Buffalo Sabres,
and he was like, don't worry, the problems are over now.
I'm going to pump all sorts of money into this team.
And he did, and it didn't work.
What do you think Steve Cohen's thinking about his team right now?
Because he has put hundreds of millions into this payroll.
Yeah, the only good news for him, Jason, is this offseason, he didn't spend as much.
So it'd be worse if, as you said, he's put money in, he's put money in, he's put money in.
He's put money in. There's no question about it. A lot of money.
But this past season, they were not wild spenders.
As a matter of fact, last year, of course, they traded Verlander.
They traded Scherzer, tried to get back some assets.
So most people who are following the Mets this year said, okay,
they're going to try to tread water, kind of stay where they are,
but then really contend in 2025 and 2026 to make some big impact
for A's and signings.
I think when Steve Cole looks at his team right now and says, okay,
we're not even close to treading water.
Maybe now we should take two steps back before we take three steps forward.
But for somebody who's used to winning, who has so much money at his disposal,
I don't know if he really feels comfortable in doing so.
Now, he's hired David Stearns, of course, the president of baseball operations,
who ran the Brewers and ran a fantastic organization for years.
David Stearns won without having much of the Brewers.
They were always a bottom five payroll.
Now he's got this owner who does have a deep pocket,
who is willing to spend.
So I think Steve Cohen is immensely disappointed.
I don't know anybody who's rich who doesn't get mad
when they don't see the return on their investment.
And I wonder if David Stearns is saying to him,
hey, rather than going out and spending all your money this offseason,
I think we should take a step back and maybe stink for another year.
Let's just let this thing kind of fall where it is.
We'll get a couple more picks, just like we traded Scherzer
and we traded Verlander.
We're going to trade Alonzo this summer.
He's a free agent.
Let's go ahead and get some for him, and then let's take a step back.
But I'm sure he's massively disappointed,
as anybody in his position would be.
If you could sum it up, what's gone wrong with the Mets?
They spent all this money.
Did they just target the wrong guys, or did they build a bad roster?
What did they do wrong?
Yeah, I think it's poor decision-making.
I think they went top-heavy, and then those stars didn't work out.
For example, Verlander and Scherzer, you give them a lot of money,
and Max was a little bit beat up.
Scherzer was a little bit ineffective.
So when you're paying a guy who's in his 40s $40 million a year,
you're expecting Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax.
And if you're not getting that, that's a massive disappointment.
The Lindor contract, I think, is a real eyesore.
And yet another example of how these big contracts generally do not work.
And for everyone saying Juan Soto should get 10 years and $500 million,
listen, I love him.
He's been incredible for the Yankees.
There's no question about it.
He's 26.
I guess he's a stud.
But generally speaking, these contracts don't work.
And Lindor has been like an average hitter.
He does hit for power, and he drives and runs.
His batting average is atrocious.
And he isn't even close to the kind of player they thought they were getting
for $341 million.
So it's a real cautionary tale because apparently Alonzo wants that kind of
money.
You go, listen, Pete, I love you.
You know, you're a premier slugger.
There's no question.
Very few guys in the game you can pencil in for 40 home runs.
But he also isn't in for a high average.
I don't see that body doing well over time as far as playing for space.
Maybe he becomes a DH sooner rather than later.
And he should be like a Freddie Freeman contract.
It should be like, you know, six years for $170 million.
In the past, the Mets have just overpaid.
So I think it's really been, Jason, poor decision-making.
I just think they've targeted the wrong guys.
And by the way, in these situations, right,
so you have the overpaid veterans who aren't delivering,
but then the young players haven't really been impact guys either.
So that's the other problem.
Francisco Alvarez, really, their only young player, their catcher,
who I could say, okay, he'll be a good player.
Brett Beatty's been a disappointment.
Mark Viento still needs to play some more.
So that's really the recipe for disaster, right?
The overpaid veteran and then the young players
who aren't as good as you thought they were.
We're speaking to Adnan Virk from MLB Network
here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.
Adnan, it's time for a check-in with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The good, the Toronto Blue Jays have their first season series.
Sorry, season sweep.
God, I can't even talk. Series sweep of the season.
Thank you. That's the good.
That's the good. There was too much there.
There was too much alliteration. That's the good part. The bad part
is against the Chicago White Sox,
who are by far the worst team
in baseball. Is it enough
to maybe right the ship
to say that, yeah, we got the sweep over the
Sox, or is that something that everyone should just be doing at this time of the year?
So first off, the first series sweep of the season,
that brings me back to Dave's ESPN.
We used to have to say Red River Rivalry,
which is the Texas-Oklahoma football showdown.
I swear to God, in the history of ESPN,
I haven't seen one anchor who had nailed that.
I'm like, can't we just call this something else?
Do we really have to say Red River Rivalry?
Imagine if that game was played in White Rock.
Say that one.
It's the Red River Rivalry here in White Rock.
Not bad.
That was pretty slow, though.
I was getting the quick answer for the ages.
It's the White Sox, man.
I'd love to tell you the glitches are bad, but the White Sox are man. I'd love to tell you the Blue Jays are bad, but, God, the White Sox are atrocious.
I mean, they're off to the worst 57-game start in their franchise history,
and the White Sox have been around for 100 years.
Like, that team is deplorable.
So the Blue Jays should beat them up, and they should take care of business.
And thank God they finally got a sweep.
But as I've told you guys before, you've got to get to 500 before I pay attention.
Right?
It's like an NBA team, and you're down by 20.
You've got to cut it to, like, within five. And I'm like, okay, fine. Now I'll start to pay attention I pay attention. It's like an NBA team and you're down by 20. You've got to cut it to within five. I'm like, okay, fine.
Now I'll start to pay attention. For the
Blue Jays, there's still, I believe, three games under 500.
Let's get to where you have
as many wins as losses and then see from
there. You do need to take advantage of your schedule.
Facing the White Sox twice in
the last 10 days has been very beneficial.
Now the calendar is going to turn to June.
We'll see if this team has what it takes.
It's getting late early, to quote Yogi Berra.
You're not going to catch the Yankees and the Orioles.
Those two teams are powerhouses in the American League East.
So think how sad it is to say two months into the baseball season,
the Blue Jays are already looking at a wild card.
And even after that, you're like, well, more like a third wild card.
Like, that's where you start to look at the situation.
And is that realistic, even to expect your team to be like that?
But, yeah, focus the positive.
I think the pitching has been underrated. The Gosselin was really good the other day. Bassett's been better. We all know Barrios has been a step. Dekucci's really good. So why
the pitching that you had a season ago? And of course, Manoa's now looked good in his last few
starts. That's a very welcome sign. And hopefully the offense wakes up. Good news is this. Bichette's
been much better his last 12 games. Vlad Jr. is top five in the American League in batting average.
David Schneider has had some big hits on the team.
So, yes, I think there have been beneficiaries of playing some bad teams,
but those bats are starting to wake up and those arms have looked good.
There are only four games back of a wildcard spot,
which is actually pretty incredible.
Their run differential, though, minus 27. That's kind of a sign that they aren't a very good team
speaking of run differential the Seattle Mariners are first in their division but they've got a
negative run differential of minus three and they've won four in a row what do you think about
how the Mariners have started and can they hold on to a playoff spot I think think the whole division is fascinating, Jason. I would have thought that would be one of the
better divisions in baseball, and it hasn't been. Oakland, at least, is scrappy, but they're still
going to be 10 games under.500. The Astros have been a real disappointment. They played better
recently, but they've been kind of up and down. You keep waiting for them to make that charge,
and still, they're a sub.500 team. The Rangers are defending World Series champions,
and they're around a.500 team. Only Seager defending World Series champions, and they're around a 500 team.
Only Seager has been hot recently, which is good for them.
They've been beset by injuries.
It should be noted.
They've basically been a cavalcade.
Their entire starting rotation has been wiped out.
But for Seattle, that's their strength, is their starting rotation.
Kirby's one of my favorite pitchers.
Their best guy this year has been Logan Gilbert,
and their ace is Luis Castillo.
You throw in a little Brian Wu and Bryce Miller,
and you go, oh, my God,
that might be the best starting rotation in all of baseball. I know they don't
currently lead in ERA, but
they're that formidable. If they just get a
modicum of offense, they're going to be the
division champions. And Julio Rodriguez, again,
notoriously slow starter. That's been the case again
this year. If he can just pick things up a little bit,
but all of a sudden, Seattle starts to make a little noise,
especially in that division, which doesn't appear
to be that strong. Now again, Texas will get
healthy. Their starters will be back at some point.
We're going to see DeGrom and Scherzer and all the rest of it,
but I think Seattle's pretty good.
I just worry about their offense, but their pitching is elite,
and because of that, they're going to be mixed the rest of the year
and perhaps a division champion.
I'm going to put you on the spot here.
What's more frustrating as a fan to cheer for a team that has great pitching
but no hitting or great hitting but no pitching?
I think the first one.
I would get more annoyed if I see a team and I go,
oh my God, the pitching was incredible.
God, Kirby went seven innings, struck out 10, and we scored one run.
I'd start to lose my mind.
Whereas I think offensively, if I see a team score eight runs
and then my bullpen blows it, trust me, I'm still mad.
But I get some satisfaction
of seeing my guys raking.
Like, I just go to myself,
I know, we've still put up seven, eight runs.
God, can we get up nine?
Again, they're both bad,
but it's more frustrating as a fan
to watch your offense be completely inept.
At least you can get out the door
in the first, like, quicker in the first,
because you're going to have, like,
two hours and 20-minute games.
I don't know.
Maybe that's frustrating. Like, I paid all this money hours and 20-minute games? I don't know. Maybe that's frustrating.
I paid all this money and the game's
already over? I don't know. The Mariners
though with...
God, how many
offenses are worse than the Seattle Mariners
and yet they're first
in their division?
Is that
a sign of a team that
for lack of a better way of saying this needs
to go spend some money?
Yeah.
I mean, it's weird because Jerry DePoto is a GM who he never met a movie.
Doesn't like, so like he's, he's happy to tinker and he's happy to be aggressive and
to make some moves.
And I think he realizes without starting pitching, he's made the right moves.
Now it is a matter of sacrificing either some youth and some prospects or some offense or going out and spending some money.
Because now, if you're Seattle, you really have to take a hard look
at the situation and go, hey, I wasn't really expecting this.
I expected this to be in the mix for a playoff spot, yes.
But I didn't expect to potentially win this division.
So if you're too much away from the trade deadline, go out and get a bat.
Go get an impact bat and say, let's try to win this thing.
Because part of the danger of what's happened is, they're division
leaders, but they haven't been nearly good enough to put
away the Astros and the Rangers.
Houston must feel so fortunate. As you said, the
Blue Jays are four games in the blocker spot.
I think Houston feels. They've had a terrible first two
months, and they're still like three and a half, four games
in a division lead. They're like, oh, well, we just need to
turn this thing up, and we can do this.
I absolutely advocate for Seattle
to go get a bat. Because you saw a year ago, Baltimore
was skittish in terms of getting a big time frontline starter, right?
They could have got Verlander, give up a big prospect.
Instead, they got Jack Flaherty.
Didn't work out.
They lose.
Now if you're Baltimore, you're going to go, listen, man, the Yankees aren't going anywhere.
We're going toe to toe.
Go trade on your blue chip prospects.
Go get Mason Miller, who's the best closure in the game from the Athletics.
He's going to cost you a lot, but take your
opportunity while you can. If you're Seattle, I think you have to
feel that way because otherwise you're going to
be stuck being an all-star rain. You're going to be third place
in that division up against the
Astros and the Rangers teams that are willing to spend
and have been successful and have won World Series.
Well, the Blue Jays are in a pretty tough division
too with some big spenders there
and also some teams that just know how to
develop talent as well
what what happens if this Blue Jays season doesn't turn around is it is it time to
to blow up everything like does the front office get cleared out are Bichette and Vlade Guerrero
dealt somewhere I mean this just seems like this just seems like there's a real potential turning point
this season in the organization.
Yeah, it does feel like it.
And I feel like the line of demarcation
will be right around mid-July.
Like, I think if you get to July 15th
and the Blue Jays are, God forbid,
still under.500,
and yet somehow someone's arguing,
well, there are only three games
to the third wildcard spot,
you do have to take a hard look at yourself
and say, okay,
do you just feel like this team can just squeak in the playoffs and all of a sudden
go off on a run?
Or do you realize that's probably a fallacy?
And we have to accept the fact that the Boba Shett, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. era is going
to end with zero playoff series victories.
You went from a moment of optimism where people were saying, hey, they're going to win a division,
they're going to win a World Series, they're going to bring baseball back the way it was
in 1993, to now not even a playoff series win.
Think about that.
You can't even win a wild card series.
You get best out of three because you're not even going to make the playoffs.
It's a really tough pill to swallow.
But I think these next two months are going to be critical,
and you have to be honest with yourself.
And if you feel like, hey, if we can just make the playoffs,
we are capable of something, okay, fine, if you believe that. But by the way, if we can just make the playoffs, we are capable of something, okay, fine, if you believe that.
But by the way, if you don't make the playoffs,
that means you've got one more year left to bow his blood,
and then you have to make that hard decision this offseason.
All right, are we resigning these guys?
Are we resigning one of these guys?
Are we trading both of these guys?
Are we trading one of these guys?
All those decisions have to get made.
And by the way, they're still being had right now.
Mark Feinstein, one of our reporters for MLB.com,
he said he heard from a rival AL executive who said he believes that the Blue Jays
will put Bowen Vlad on the block before this trade deadline
if things don't turn around soon.
So they're all aware of the fact that John Schneider's job is on the line.
They're all aware that their job security is on the line.
Everyone knows these next six to eight weeks are going to be critical
for this organization.
And a long way of saying to your answer, Jason,
if they don't make the playoffs this year, then yes,
I think you have to retool.
I think John Shaw doesn't have a job.
I think Ross Atkins is out of a job at the GM.
You've got to switch it up, man.
How could you look at yourself in the mirror and go,
we had Bowen, Vlad, and all this young talent.
We didn't win one playoff series.
That's terrible.
How long will the Blue Jays be kind of wandering in the darkness then
if they trade Bowe and Vlade?
Well, that's the problem.
I don't think you can trade both, by the way.
I personally would not because I think you're really waving the white flag,
which you don't want for an organization which does pride itself
as being something that should be a contender.
I mean, they have these beautiful renovations.
They don't want to have all of a sudden all this money spent
on making the Rodgers Center this jewel, and all of a sudden,
oh, by the way, the team's going to go back to being 65 and 97,
which is what their record was the first year of Bowen Vlad back in 2019.
So I think of the two, you take a hard look and go,
okay, which one of these guys are we going to sign?
And I believe it's more likely it'll be Bowen.
So then you start calling people, hey, Vlad's on the block.
You give us your best offer, and July 31st, we're pulling the trigger.
But you guys all have two months.
You call all the major teams that you want that don't be in on Vlad.
And then hope that the return that you get would not be just prospects.
You have to hope that it's one everyday impact player right now.
And in addition to that, you get a couple impact guys.
Kind of do what the Nationals did with Soto.
They realized that Soto was going to go, rather than be awful for a while,
they got C.J. Abrams, who's right on the cusp of
stardom and now playing for Washington. He's pretty good.
And Mackenzie Gore isn't quite an ace,
but he's a number two, number three starter.
He's pretty good. So that's what you have to do with Vlad.
You have to say, all right, it's not just going to be a five
for one with five guys who are great
in AAA. It's going to give me two major league
guys who are really good, and they give me the process
as well. And then you'd have to hope if you're the blue jays,
you don't take a dramatic step back because you still have all this
pitching.
It's not like,
you know,
they're all young guys.
Like Gossman's going to be afraid at some point.
Thankfully,
Brios is locked up to Coochie in the final year of his deal.
Like you do have questions beyond just those two guys.
So it's going to be really fascinating this,
this next six,
eight weeks.
Adnan,
this was great,
man.
Thanks for taking the time to do it.
We really appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of the week. Wenan, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do it. We really appreciate it.
Enjoy the rest of the week.
We'll do this again next week.
Guys, if you ever have a bad show,
don't just rip the microphone off.
Don't walk outside the studio.
Don't throw the microphone away, okay?
Don't pull a Jorge Lopez,
whatever happens, all right?
We'll stick with it.
I promise.
I can't promise that.
Thanks, Adnan.
Appreciate it, buddy.
Have a good one.
Thanks, boys.
Take care.
Yeah, Adnan Virk from MLB Network
here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet.
6.50.
Halford's going to toss his hat into the crowd after the show today.
I got another new hat yesterday, by the way.
Another new hat.
Yeah.
I'll wear it tomorrow.
It's white.
A white hat.
Yeah.
I ran the risk.
It's summertime.
I ran the risk.
I'm also a 45-year-old man.
You don't sweat?
I do.
That's why I was very hesitant to get the hat.
Hey, I'm going to put you on the spot right now. You're putting everyone
on the spot today. Yeah, that's what I do.
Why don't you ever wear Canucks stuff? Are you too good
for it?
Was that a question?
He's a closet Leafs fan.
Are you too cool
to support the home team?
I have some.
But we had all those parties
at the Hollywood
and you never wore any Canucks
stuff. Okay, so the only logo...
A couple of Oilers jerseys, which is weird.
Yeah.
My collection of Oilers jerseys.
The only Canucks
logo and colors that I ever
liked, ever liked, was
the
black and yellow and red skate. So that's it.
I don't like... So why don't you get a jersey?
I've got a Pavel Berry
jersey, as a matter of fact. Okay. Yeah.
That's the only... When did you wear it? I haven't seen you wear
that in years. Yeah, I don't know. I don't
wear... I have never liked their gear.
Yeah, but it's not about liking
the gear. But I've never been that. You've got to support the team.
No, that's not how I support a team.
You think I like the Blue Jays' black Angry Bird logo?
I think you've known me long enough to know that I just –
you can call it empty or hollow or whatever.
I'm an empty, hollow person.
I like this stuff.
You can call me soulless.
I'm a real person.
I like it if it looks cool.
That's it.
Like this hat.
I don't have any sort of personal affinity. If it's not aesthetically pleasing, it looks cool. That's it. Like this hat. I don't have any certain personal affinity.
If it's not aesthetically pleasing, it means nothing.
But everyone at the Hollywood is wearing Canucks gear.
Everyone is free to express their fandom however they want.
That's what I'm asking you.
You don't like being part of the community?
You don't like being part of the group?
By dressing the same?
Yes.
That's what teams do.
I prefer to be.
All the uniform.
I'm more of a, I guess, an individual.
An iconoclast, if you will.
I believe in the great man theory.
I don't know.
It's just I wear lots of sports gear.
It's a very fair question to ask.
You're built different.
You celebrate privately.
You wear your Canucks Speedo, and that's it.
All those Canucks gears under. Do you think they will undergo a big –
I thought you were going to say release Canucks Speedos.
I'd wear those.
I'd wear those.
I am thinking of going to Europe this summer, so I'll wear it around.
It's like, yeah, you're not supposed to wear them in the streets.
Did your bruff got arrested?
Yeah.
You got a real stick and rink there, pal.
Do you think they ever will – do you think they ever will just like either completely redo the logo or do something
definitive like saying this like go back to the old uh which one would you go back to i don't know
it's their best logo repeatedly i've said this we have seen some teams go back right the sabers went
back the oilers went back.
It's their best colors.
It's their best logo.
The players like it the most.
It is funny, though, because when it was...
I don't understand why it isn't their main.
But when it was...
Yeah, but...
At this point, I mean, you might as well just do it.
What?
Nothing wrong with the Orca, but just make the speed logo...
What does the road jersey look like?
That's what I said.
The road or the problem.
No.
They're ugly.
The whites look good. You see players in the jerseys, they clean them up a bit, they I said. The road or the problem? The whites. No. They're ugly. The whites look good.
You see players in the jerseys, they clean them up
a bit, they look good. The black is intimidating. The white
doesn't work as well.
The white still looks good, man. I just wonder if
there's going to be ever a point where they go
like, we can't
keep having this debate in the
fan base. Well, they can't make a new
logo, that's for sure. They gotta stop. They can't
make a new one? Why not? They've had so many.
That's true.
Enough.
Pick one now.
Making the money sign with my hands.
Can you imagine the risk they would take if they took it?
They're like, we're going to make a new logo.
I hope people like this one.
I would lose it.
It would almost be impossible to make a logo that everyone likes
with the amount of people like yourself that love the old logo.
Yeah, and honestly, I know it sounds like it's coming from...
Nothing will be...
It's not just nostalgia talking.
I just think it is the best color scheme and the best logo.
But honestly, even if they went to the stick and rink,
I'd be fine with that.
I like that one too.
That's a good logo.
It's really simple and clean.
I like the color scheme of blue and green though
because I think it suits our city really well.
Or McDonald will have a field day if they go
back to the stick and
run.
So yeah he doesn't like
it.
That's right.
But he's also not with
us anymore.
So it'll be hard for him
to push back on it.
So there's two things
there's two different
conversations.
You can't do it because
he's a dead.
That's right.
He'd appreciate that.
He would like that.
I think.
We never met.
There's two different
conversations here. There's a war with the world. And it was close. like that I think we never met there's two different conversations went to war
with the world and it was close real
nail-biter there's two different
conversations here because you can have
different logos I think but when you
change this the color scheme as
dramatically as the Canucks have over
the course of their history it really
throws the whole thing into a tailspin, into a rears, if you will,
because it's very hard to go any far afield when you go, like,
the predominant black and yellow and red to white and green and blue.
Like, you can't wear them together.
No, you'd have to go one or the other.
It's such a clash.
I mean, you could, like. If you change the logo but
keep the color scheme the same, at the very least
when you have the crowd,
at least it looks
the same from a distance. As long as they don't use
the West Coast Express color scheme, then I'm fine.
That's the one I just
have my least favorite. There are so many jerseys.
And then like a Vancouver Millionaires
jersey will roll through and you're like,
what are we doing as a fan base here?
And then the one with the V, the giant, like that was before my time.
But any time I saw pictures of that, I'm sorry, John Garrett.
Any time I saw pictures of that.
If you look at the first iteration of the Winnipeg Jets and then the modern ones,
different logos and everything else, but they've sort of kept basic colors together.
It's basically red, white, and blue, right?
Loosely.
Original jet silver.
Silver's better too, though.
But they haven't gone so far afield.
Like, I've always made the joke that when you go to a Canucks game,
it looks like a bloody kaleidoscope with all the different jerseys
that are in attendance.
You actually don't even know who you're, like,
who are we cheering for here?
Are we cheering for the black jerseys or the whites or the maroons
or the salmon tops with the black bottoms.
It's all very confusing.
Colin in Tawasin, Texas.
Mike is Kramer from Seinfeld.
Why aren't you wearing the ribbon?
You can't make me wear the ribbon.
Adam Stanley is going to join us next.
We'll talk a little Canadian Open golf, and then we'll continue on the conversation in
the Dunbar Lumber text line.
We'll talk to Adam for about 10, 15 minutes and then dip into the Dunbar Lumber text line
for your texts and comments.
And then 8 o'clock, Drance is going to join us
to explain his very weird Simon and Garfunkel take
as it relates to Hughes and Hironik.
You're listening to the Halford and Brough show
on Sportsnet 650.
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Listen 12 to 2 p.m. on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. 734 on a Thursday.
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Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650.
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Hey, Lydie, do you know where the Canadian Open is this year?
Usually it's in Oakville.
Sometimes it's in Ancaster. Buddy, think. Why am I asking you? Oh, it's in Oakville. Sometimes it's in Ancaster.
Buddy, think. Why am I asking you?
Oh, it's in Hamilton, obviously.
I was born in Oakville.
Wherever they host it, apparently I have ties to it.
The Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
Have you ever been there?
No. I haven't.
They turn you away at the door.
Sir, please leave.
Do you think that was started by all the steel executives?
The golf course?
Yeah.
Probably.
Yeah, probably.
That's where most of the money comes from, or did.
Okay.
The tournament is underway at the Canadian Open
at the aforementioned Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
For more on the tournament, we turn now to the phone line.
Sportsnet Golf Analyst Adam Stanley here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.
Morning, Adam.
How are you?
Good morning.
I'm doing great.
You know, balls are in the air.
Tournament's underway.
We missed the Tuesday-Wednesday news dump that we've had the last couple years.
We're rocking and rolling.
It feels good to have this thing going now. So what is the story, what is the main story about the Canadian Open this week?
Is it Nick Taylor returning as the defending champ,
or is it the future of the Canadian Open?
You know, I think as it stands right now,
the once-in-a-generation title by a canadian has kind of taken over
um certainly just the the buzz of of this week i mean taylor himself said it the first thing he
saw when he arrived was a big mural of him and his caddy um you know hugging and celebrating like uh
like no other time they ever had and then you know the second thing that he saw was the the logo
that was changed to include a photo of him, or a drawing of him.
So between that and then the 28 Canadians who are teeing it up this week,
which is a modern era record,
you can really kind of sense that one of our own did this,
and now maybe the floodgates are open for it to keep happening,
or happen obviously a lot more often than once in a generation.
So as it stands right now right now kind of thursday morning just the the buzz of energy
with with a canadian uh defending his title out on the golf course right now with rory mcelroy with
another canadian and taylor pendrith um that's certainly certainly the big thing uh by the time
we get to kind of tournament end the the questions about um kind of go forward i'm sure they'll kind
of come to the surface a little bit more but for right now it's uh just about kind of go forward. I'm sure they'll kind of come to the surface a little bit more.
But for right now, it's just still kind of celebrating everything
that happened last year.
Why does Rory – this sounds like the Canadian Open makes it sound
like a bit tournament, but why does Rory keep coming?
Is it because he just keeps winning it and he has to show up
to defend his title?
Well, I mean, he's obviously not defending his title this year.
I think one of the big things that he's said repeatedly is just that he cares a lot about
just national Opens in general.
So, you know, whether it's the Irish Open, the Scottish Open, of course, he's obviously
won the U.S. Open and the Open Championship, the Canadian Open.
When you look at, you know, the PGA Tour schedule and you look at how old the tournaments are.
You know, number one is the Open, and number two is the U.S. Open, and number three is
the Canadian Open.
So, you know, this tournament has a long legacy of importance in the game of golf, and Rory,
you know, has acknowledged that, and it probably didn't hurt that he won his first two times
ever doing it. So, you know, between that and just like the overwhelming crowd support
that he gets at this event every year, it's an event that just makes him feel good.
So it is a little bit of a juxtaposition that we're heading into this tournament
and there is all this excitement and hype that a Canadian won the tournament,
Nick Taylor, last year,
and not just won it, but won it in incredible fashion.
And yet I'm reading articles from you about the future of the Canadian Open,
and it's very much up in the air what this tournament is going to look like,
where it's going to be played down the line, and who the major sponsor is going to be.
Can you explain to the listeners what's going on with their tournament and the future?
100%. Yeah, absolutely.
So, you know, you look at in 2025, they've got a golf course.
PPC Toronto is going to be the host venue.
It's just a recently renovated golf course just north of the airport.
The thing is, it may not be the RBC Canadian Open.
RBC has only signed a one-year deal, again, with this tournament and the other one down
at the Heritage, and that deal expires at the end of this year.
And really, the crux of the question going forward is, what is the state of the PGA Tour
and just generally men's professional golf
and how does the Canadian Open fit into that structure?
And whether you're, you know, there's just no answer to that question.
So RBC is kind of, now RBC has invested hundreds of millions of dollars
with the PGA Tour, and I don't believe that they want to sponsor this tournament,
but they just have a very, very big unanswered question right
now about what's going to be happening in the future and until such time as that question is
answered um you know this the the title sponsorship will expire at the end of this year as far as kind
of go forward venues as well uh 2026 was supposed to be at oakdale where nick taylor won last year
but same same situation from that membership perspective they have a lot
of unanswered questions who the sponsor is going to be when is it going to be on the schedule
what does men's professional golf look like going forward so um you know and a lot of people are
kind of just holding and waiting to have those answers and i'm sure a lot of dominoes will fall
into place but um you know to your question specifically and to you know why to your question specifically, and two, you know, why there's a lot of this just unknown, just buzz kind of bubbling along right now is because no one has any idea what 2025 is
going to look like on the PGA Tour calendar. Is there ever a chance that the Canadian Open
ends up being one of the signature events on the PGA Tour? Like it has elevated status,
the purse has increased, or is that pretty unlikely?
I think the short answer to that is no,
if only because it kind of takes away from the heart of what the Canadian Open is.
It's a national Open for this country,
and the fact that there's 28 Canadians in the field this week, a record number, that just obviously wouldn't happen if it was a signature event.
Would it be, I'm going to put this in air quotes but would it be better for you know spectators if
80 of the top 81 golfers in the world were here you know it would be it would be awesome but it
would take away from you know what the what the canadian knows that it's uh at its heart so um
short answer no i can't see it ever happening. Um, but that's why the bank,
you know, from a business objective standpoint is the only two, uh, two tournament sponsor on
the tour. Cause they've got a signature event down in the, down in the U S.
Are sponsors being asked a lot of right now from the PGA tour, are they being asked to buck up
more money, uh, just to increase purses and, uh, to make sure that, you know, I mean, there is a, there is a,
there is a money war going on right now with live golf. And, uh, there's a lot of, it's,
it is funny looking back like Phil Mickelson, although you could argue with the way he went
about doing things, like he absolutely brought more money into the PGA Tour by doing what he did.
Yeah, he kind of called it when you kind of zoom out and you think about everything that's happened over the last 18 months or so.
You know, Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour has long said, listen, this is going to be a battle of checkbooks.
Like, we're just not going to win.
And we just can't.
Like, the Saudi government, the Public Investment Fund has, you know, quite literally unlimited money, right?
Like the fund itself is already sitting at, you know, a trillion dollars and it's just getting more and more money every, you know, every time that something happens.
So, yeah, like you look at Wells Fargo, for example, in Charlotte, you know, they're a big bank in the United States and they've pulled the chute.
They're just like, you are asking for way too much money.
We love golf. We love what it stands for.
We love being part of this community, but you know, the, at the, at the end of the day,
they're, um, you know, they're a bank. They look at both sides of the ledger and it's just not
going to happen. Now I say that at one side of my mouth and then out the other side, there's another,
you know, uh, entity in Charlotte that's ready to step in and spend the money. So, you know,
the PGA tour may be losing sponsors, but they're not losing tournaments.
If that makes sense.
In fact,
they added a tournament this year.
Um,
so they're still kind of offering to men's professional golfers,
an opportunity to play for like a heck of a lot of money every single week.
Um,
it's just,
it's not as much money as the,
as the other guys,
basically.
Uh,
I did want to watch,
I did want to mention,
uh, Grayson Murray. And want to mention Grayson Murray,
and we talked about Grayson Murray on our show a few days ago, and just how sad a story that was.
And we talked a little bit about Grayson Murray's story, but I noticed a quote from Rory McIlroy,
and he said, it's a cliche, but it puts everything in perspective. At the end of the day, golf is golf and yeah, we play it for a living, but it pales in comparison
to the things that actually matter in life. I've had to realize that at times, and I'm still sort
of working my way through that in terms of not making golf the be all and end all for me. I
think it slaps you in the face when something like that happens last week. So maybe
two comments from you. Number one on how much the Grayson Murray story is and tragedy is still
hanging over this event in Hamilton, but also that comment by Rory McIlroy about he's still
working his way through in terms of not making golf the be-all and end-all
for me. Um, has Rory, like, where is Rory right now? Because he seems to be flip-flopping
all over the place in terms of either being involved in the decision-making of the tour
going forward or being for taking Saudi money or not taking Saudi money, or just, you know,
wanting to just play golf.
And, you know, we also know he's going through some stuff in his personal life.
It just seems like it's been a real whirlwind for Rory the last few years.
Yeah, 100%. I think that kind of sums it up nicely.
You know, Rory told me yesterday he's going to play 27 tournaments this year,
which is the most golf that he's played since he was a rookie, you know, back over on the European tour.
So, you know, from a compartmentalizing perspective, you know, he's got divorce.
He's trying to find the balance to see his daughter and make kind of this family stuff work.
And being inside the ropes is is this guy's escape and um you know he does talk about making
sure that you know golf isn't the end all and be all and and certainly there's probably been some
moments when um you know he was too obsessed with either golf or whether it's playing golf or uh
you know the direction that golf is going he did say hindsight 2020 he wish he didn't get so
poorly involved in in negotiations of the go forward, uh, efforting
with PGA tour and whatever it may look like moving forward. Um, but he does seem like,
you know, I caught him inside the ropes yesterday and when he's there, he's one of the best golfers
on the planet and he continues to play incredibly good golf. And he does, he's kind of giving off
the sense of, but I'm here, I'm, I'm free and whatever else is happening is, is happening. And yeah,
it's going to be curious to see just how he kind of handles all of the off
course and on course stuff moving forward.
There's still an extremely busy stretch of summertime golf to come. And yeah,
I mean, I thought his comments about Grace Murray were, were, were,
were spot on, you know,
as far as how that is hanging over the event uh right now you know
commissioner jay monahan was here on tuesday and wednesday i think the crux of his visit was really
to see a lot of players that he didn't see in texas last week and just say you know we're we're
here for you we're going to do um you know and um you know the the event i think they've got some
some pins here in in memory of grace and murray i'm not too sure what they're going to be doing
in terms of a moment of silence or anything,
but I know on the Corn Fairy Tour,
which is playing in Raleigh,
Grayson Murray's hometown this week on Sunday,
when the final round, the last tee time of the day,
is actually going to be, like, Grayson Murray's name
is going to be on that one as kind of in memory of him.
So certainly something happening there as far as this week.
I'm not 100% sure yet, but, um, yeah,
I mean,
a lot of people talked about it,
uh,
early in the week and,
and now,
you know,
you don't want to segue too,
too hard from that,
but,
um,
you know,
just like last week that the tournament went on and,
and again,
this week that the tournament's continuing and it's,
um,
yeah,
it started and,
but people are not,
not thinking about it.
That's for sure.
Adam,
thank you very much for doing this today.
We really appreciate it.
Enjoy the tournament.
We'll do this again soon. No worries. Thanks. I always appreciate it. Thank you. That's for sure. Adam, thank you very much for doing this today. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the tournament. We'll do this again soon. No worries. Thanks. I always appreciate it.
Thank you. That's Adam Stanley, Sportsnet Golf Analyst here on the Halford & Brough Show on
Sportsnet 650. I've now spent an inordinate amount of time re-litigating my fashion choices
as it pertains to sports teams. I've come up with some. I just realized I don't have any.
Not that I whip.
I don't have any NHL gear, period.
Nothing.
No, I have a Hartford Whalers Ron Francis shirt.
That's the closest.
Well, that's something.
Yeah, but it's like a defunct franchise.
Well, like I was saying off the air, you should do the Rob Lowe and buy the NHL hat that just
says NHL on it.
So I started going down the road of this, though.
I don't like wearing jerseys, hockey jerseys.
I don't like wearing them, yeah.
I only wear basketball jerseys because it's suns out, guns out.
Right.
Yeah, you got to show off the pipes.
He's never done that in his life, nor will he.
I would definitely be a t-shirt under the jersey guy.
Is he wearing a hoodie
so um the only stuff that would maybe appeal to me was like sort of the classic old school
original six but i'm not wearing any original i'm not gonna wear i would never be caught in
like leafs gear for example obviously uh habs gear and Rangers gear and Chicago gear, it looks cool,
but I never wear it for the implications.
Because the implications are that if you're wearing the gear,
you're a fan of the team.
I've run into this problem, actually.
So the most recent vacation I went on, I was wearing my Kansas City Royals hat.
Oh, you're going to get chatted up,
which I only bought because it's a cool hat.
It's super simple logo.
It's got the little gold crown.
I was like,
yeah,
it's a cool looking hat.
And I was at Knott's Berry farm and the parking attendant really wanted to
talk some Kansas city Royals.
Cause since he moved out to California from the Midwest,
he hadn't run into any other Kansas City Royals.
Yeah.
I had.
Shocker.
Literally nothing.
I'm like, does George Brett still play for them?
I don't.
The other one I had is I had an old California Angels hat.
Nice.
The California Angels where they had just the A with the halo askew.
Again, I thought it looked cool.
And I got stopped in the elevator by someone that wanted to talk about, like, Dave Baylor in the 86 California Angels.
I'm like, I can't help you here, man.
Like, I just think it looks cool.
That's it.
So, anyway, the implication.
The implications are you can't wear any team.
So, I won't wear.
Dave Baylor.
Yeah, I won't.
Don Baylor.
Don Baylor.
And Dave Henderson. Who's Dave Baylor. Yeah, I won't. Don Baylor. Don Baylor. And Dave Henderson.
Who's Dave Baylor?
He's nobody, buddy.
You must have been in a struggle in that conversation.
Probably if I was referring to Dave Baylor.
Other guys like, what the hell is he talking about?
Yeah, what is he talking about?
This guy, I'm starting to wonder if he's a fan of the California Angels at all.
You know what?
I got a feeling he doesn't like the California Angels in the slightest.
This guy's a phony.
But anyway, back to the NHL stuff.
If you were just to say, like, that's a nice gear, that's a nice logo,
that's a nice shirt, like, I wouldn't do it for a lot of the teams.
The one, and especially the new ones, all the new logos and gear stinks, right?
I don't even like the Kraken's gear that much.
Yeah, there's a lot of Kraken gear.
I see a lot of people do like it, though.
The logo's cool.
The retro stuff does.
I think the logo's nice.
You know, the better logo is their third logo.
The secondary.
Just the anchor or whatever it is.
But I'm never going to wear another NHL team's gear.
I would never do it.
Ever, ever do it.
Not even a defunct team?
A defunct team.
Hartford Whalers?
You're stocking up on Arizona Coyotes gear.
I would buy a Quebec Nordiques hat because the Quebec Nordiques logo is awesome.
It is awesome.
It's awesome.
It and the Hartford Whalers logo are two of my favorites.
And the old Mighty Ducks logo, too.
That one's rad.
No.
That's awesome.
I'm trying not to be mean.
That's defunct.
Okay, I'm going to try not to be mean here.
But you're going to.
But I might be mean here.
Yeah.
You're not exactly like a fashion icon.
It's got nothing to do with fashion.
It's just what I like.
Yeah, but why not support the team?
I do support the team.
I talk about them regularly.
But like you...
I watch all of their matches.
Do you think you're better than us?
Because like you won't wear their gear? Put it this way. I don't feel... You're're better than us because you won't wear their gear?
Put it this way.
You're a Canucks fan.
Who wants to wear their jersey?
Yeah.
I don't feel like I need to advertise publicly what my affiliation is.
It comes from the heart.
But you're going.
It comes from the heart.
I'm talking about going to a game or going to a big game.
When we had the event of the Hollywood, everyone's wearing Canucks gear there except you.
But I'm at a Canucks watch party that I'm hosting.
I think it was pretty self-explanatory.
Yeah, but you might as well have been in the janitor there that had no, you know.
Why? Because I don't look like everyone else?
And you were cleaning up all the tables, too.
Yeah, that was weird.
Why is he mopping the floor?
He's sweeping up popcorn.
I don't know.
I'm just pushing your hair a little bit.
See, you're getting a little sensitive about it.
I haven't actually said anything.
Your face shows it.
You wear your emotion on your face.
My face shows it.
Halford, thanks, bro.
Are you getting flustered?
Are you a Jersey bully?
No.
I get the line of questioning, absolutely.
I just have never... Well, one is that I don't like the gear.
Like, I think that's fairly well established.
The answer is he's too cool, bro.
I'm also too cool.
And I'm better than most of you.
Not all of you, but like 90% of you.
Uh, lots of text saying about jerseys here, the Canucks jerseys, Ian Kukuhilum.
Uh, what I like is when cities have a color scheme,
i.e. Calgary's teams are red, Pittsburgh is black and yellow.
What would it take to get the Whitecaps, Canucks, and Lions all on the same page?
Personally speaking, I like the Whitecaps colors,
and I don't even like soccer, but damn, those colors look good.
Yeah, Vancouver sports has got to have the biggest
range of colors.
That's a good point.
I mean, the Lions are orange and they're never
going to go away from orange.
Well, actually, I guess they did for a bit
during the nineties when everyone was trying
to dress like the Raiders.
But, you know, when you have, it's like being
the Netherlands, right? You're never going to be anything but the Raiders. But, you know, when you have – it's like being the Netherlands, right?
You're never going to be anything but the orange team, right?
And that's what the Lions are.
The white caps, they have all sorts of colors too
because they have these special jerseys.
I think I have a brown white caps jersey somewhere that I was given.
That was not a great look for them.
Their jerseys were, like, super trendy at one point too, though, right?
Lots of people were wearing them around.
But now their colors are blue, white, and red is in there, right?
But I saw their 50th anniversary jerseys
a lot of people were wearing at the Messi game,
and they were just Navy and gold.
Navy and gold.
Well, they have to change the jersey every year, right, in MLS?
They have to tweak it in some way.
They have to? I think it's part of the rules, yeah. Really? They need to change the jersey every year in MLS. They have to tweak it in some way. They have to?
I think it's part of the rules. Really?
They need to do some sort of change.
I just feel like I can never get consistency with
the white caps uniforms. I see lots of people wearing
them, but it's just like, what iteration
is this? But I kind of do
like a city like
Pittsburgh. You know what
color is their team. They're all
aligned. Should every Vancouver sports team match the Canucks green, blue,
and is that what you're saying?
Like they should all be unified?
No, it's not going to happen.
Like I'm not going to say like, you know, you can't wear orange anymore.
It's just the way it is.
It's just the way it is.
But it would be nice.
And I think blue and green is perfect for Vancouver.
Yeah.
That's what the city looks like at night.
While you're listening to your art, Garfunkel.
No, no, that's the other one.
Speaking of wild, crazy Drance takes,
Thomas Drance is going to join us next,
and we're going to ask him about his Simon and Garfunkel comparison
to the Hughes and Hironik pairing.
And if I know Drance, he has come up with a big time defense for his analogy, and he's
probably got some criticisms of me or anyone who's disagreed with him.
So, uh, this is going to be, I don't want to say
interesting, but I think maybe, I don't know,
it's going to be very Thomas Drance.
Coming up next on the Halford and Brough
Show on Sportsnet 650.