Halford & Brough in the Morning - Is Crosby Actually Leaving The Penguins?

Episode Date: September 10, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason chat with The Athletic Pittsburgh's Sean Gentille (1:15) about Sidney Crosby's agent's comments regarding his future in the NHL, which may or may not include the Penguins, plus they speak with broadcaster Scott Rintoul (24:41) about his new sports parenting podcast "Better Sports Parents". 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.

You know, there's a lot of noise as far as, you know, does he want to leave? You know, where can you go? You know, everyone's got the team they want me to go to. I mean, it's a lot of that. 7-1 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet, 650. Halford and Brough of the morning

is brought to you by Sands and Associates, B.C.'s first and trusted choice for that help with over 3,000 five-star reviews. Visit them online at sands-trustee.com. Hey, we're an hour two of the program. Look at that. Sean Gentilly from the athletic NHL writer based out of Pittsburgh

who's going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to by Jason hominock at Jason.orgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason.orgage. We are coming to live from the Kintech studio, Kintech footwear, and orthotics working together with you in step. To the phone lines we go, the Power West Industries hotline.

Sean Gentile joins us now on the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650. What up, Sean? So what do you guys want to talk about today? I have a feeling it was Vegas Media Tour related, yes. You have always been a sharp one, Sean. Anytime anything happens in Pittsburgh, Adog jumps the gun. He's like, Gentilly?

Do you want Gentile on the show? We're like, of course. Of course that we do. So how did, and it wasn't just the media tour stuff yesterday as well. As Pat Brasson's remarks, Sidney Crosby now becomes the main character for the NHL on this media tour.

And I guess it resonated in Pittsburgh. What was the reaction like yesterday when all this stuff came out? Yeah, Mike. I think you nailed it. It wasn't just what Sid said or, or didn't say when he was doing the media car wash in Vegas with

Pierre LeBron and a bunch of other colleagues. It was what Pat Friand said afterwards. And I think, yeah, the way that that was deployed is it's a little bit of a wrinkle. It's, and I think it's, you know, an indicator that things change.

And this isn't necessarily the same situation that we were dealing with a year ago or two years ago. Like losing wears on people. And I think, you know, that what we heard yesterday is kind of an example of that. For those that missed it, Pat Brisson, Sidney Crosby's agent, was asked if Crosby could entertain a trade out of Pittsburgh one day. And he said, let's put it this way, it's always a possibility. It's been three years.

They haven't made the playoffs. It all depends on how Cid is going to be and how the team is going to. do. I maintain the same position that I do believe that he should be playing hockey, playoff hockey, every year, in my opinion. Do you think Sid knew that he was going to say that? Yes. I don't think that the relationship between those two is, like, they're, the left hand's always going to know what the right hand's doing in that. Like, like, Pat Prasana's rated his job and has been doing it

really long time and he's been sitting Sydney crowd with his agent since day one like there's there's no way that they're not on the same page with that like Pat's not going to freelance when it comes when it comes to stuff like that no are you surprised that the penguins

haven't been more active this off season um yes and no I think they probably should have been or everybody thought they were going to be, even if we're just

talking about trading Brian Russ or Ricard Raquel or trying to get something done with Eric Carlson. I think those are the kind of moves that people anticipated them make and coming into the off season. At least one of them. Like I did figure that like my, if you would have

made me bet at the start of the off season, I would have said that Deuvis would move one of the wingers and then hold on to another one for in season. We're about to start training camp here and both of them are still on the team. So that is something of a surprise,

but it's also, you know, it makes sense, given what we've heard over the last 24 hours that, like, maybe you don't necessarily want to trade away. You know, it's like Sydney Crosby's two linemates,

including a guy in Bryant-Russ, has been a line-made for a long time, he's won cups with. So maybe what we're seeing is, you know, keep those guys around and see how, things start at the season if only out of out of respect for for sid and out of you know trying to

manage a pretty a pretty touchy situation you know as effectively as you can how many people in Pittsburgh and I'm talking about fans or media are thinking maybe we should trade sid because this team needs a reboot and sometimes when you reboot a team you end up with a player like Sydney Crosby There's some I think it's definitely not a It's definitely not a majority But I do think yeah this is

You know I Guys we like how we The three of us have talked about this topic How many times over the last Over the last two or three years A lot You know things change And you guys know this

You guys know this better than anybody Like it's one thing to have a down season and it's one thing to theoretically talk about a rebuild and enduring some pain, you know, but before whatever, whatever positive stuff might come next. And it's a wholly different thing to actually put that into practice. And, you know, when one year turns into two, it turns into three, it turns into four, like, things can change. and I think that it's fair to wonder to some extent of if that's what's going on here.

Three years, like year three, when you're 38 years old, is a lot different than year one when you're 35, especially when you're talking about a hockey play. So that's what we're seeing. Meanwhile, we've got all this ownership speculation out there that Fenway Sports Group might be looking to sell the team and I've already heard about some potential buyers. Could that be related to all this? It can't help. Like, you're, it's a very, very real,

I would be surprised if they weren't sold to the Hoffman group who owns the Ford Everblades and a bunch of other stuff at this point. I think that's the way, you know, people should operate when they're talking about this. Like, we wouldn't have heard about all this if, um, if the odds weren't, you know, really, really good that that transaction ends up taking place. So, yeah, that's another variable. Like, you know, if you're Sydney Cries, you're 38 years old and you're about to start your fourth straight year on a pretty whatever team that's now been sold twice in three years. Like, that's difficult.

And that's the kind of stuff, you know, that can change people's minds. So I think that that's, yeah, that absolutely has to be in consideration. Yeah, I just wonder, I mean, I think back to when Mario owned the team with Ron Burkle, I can see that being, oh, I'm never going to play it for another team. But then it gets, you know, it gets sold to Fenway Sports Group that, by all accounts, operated quite differently than Mario and Berkel did. And now it's going to get flipped again. and your loyalties kind of have to be affected, don't they?

I mean, you guys, I know you've dealt with this. I certainly have, like, in my career, in my professional life, like, you do feel loyalty to certain places or to certain management groups or to certain bosses or editors or, like, whoever you're dealing with. Like, that's real. That's, like, I've felt that plenty of times. And then, but then sometimes regime changes happen. And companies get sold.

and managers leave and all of a sudden the people that you're that you're working under or working for or working with are not the ones you started out with and I think sometimes you know like even just thinking about myself personally that's a lot of times what happens that's when you start maybe looking around for other jobs so I I don't think it's completely out of pocket to wonder if a little if a little bit or a lot of that's it play right now So big picture, what do we know about the potential or looming or possible sale? You mentioned the Hoffman group. Are there other suitors involved? I guess another one would be the likelihood of this getting done in the near future.

And if there's anything out there that maybe the general public isn't all that up to speed with? I wouldn't look at any other group other than the Hoffman group at this point. I think they are very clearly in control of this process. and it's at such a point now where I'd be surprised if the transaction didn't close and if it didn't close with them is the new owner of the franchise. Are people excited in Pittsburgh about that? I got the feeling that the Fenway Sports Group wasn't particularly loved in Pittsburgh. I think the potential, you know, the issue with Fenway Sports here primarily,

I think as relates to the fan base is that, you know, blame whatever. side you want, blame neither side if you want, but there is a frassiness to the relationship with Mary Alamu in the Fenway Sports Group. And when that sale closed initially, a few years ago, that was allegedly not going to be the case. Like, like, we heard, you know, when you're going to have some kind of role and they're, you know, taking pains to make sure that everything's in place there, and that clearly hasn't happened. Like, you like the relationship between Fenway and Lemieux isn't maybe as fraught

as it was a couple years ago, but it's also not good. So I think you know, given what he means to this franchise in the city, I think people look at the Hoffman group as you know, a potential point for Lemieux to

get back involved on a more real level. And I think that's making people, you know, it's tough for fans to get all that excited about a team being sold, but I think I think that the potential that Lemieux is involved still in some capacity is enough to, is enough to point fans like in the more positive direction here. We're speaking to Sean Gentilly from the athletic in Pittsburgh here on the Halford

Embrough Show on SportsNet 650. Hey, from a citywide perspective here, Sean, if Aaron Rogers can do it at the ripe old age of 41, is there some belief locally that Malkin at 39, Crosby at 38, God, they're old, LaTang at 38 and Carlson? at 35 can also turn back the clock and do what the Steelers are doing. Granted, it's only one game for the Steelers. Oh, man. I mean, it's different having a quarterback can turn back.

I think that's just where the difference in the sports. And that's such a boring answer. But it's like if you've got an elite quarterback in the NFL, and I'm not saying that that's what Aaron Rogers is at this point. But it's just easier to affect change as a QB than a hockey. player who plays 20 minutes a night. I think there's some degree of optimism around Malkin.

I think that the conventional wisdom here is that if this really is it for him and if this is the exit year in the Gino farewell tour that he's going to be able to dial it up in a pretty meaningful way. But again, man, like

that's all well and good. The rest of that roster is a mess. It's bad. one way or another. And it doesn't matter if if Gany Malcon comes out and scores 82 points in 82 games in his final year, like they're still going to stink. And I think that's kind of the overriding factor.

It is such a wild collection of random guys over the age of 30. Like I forgot Anthony Manta's there. Matt Dumba, Kevin Hayes. Like I forgot all these guys were there. And I think there's that glimmer of hope that if, you know, the final last dance for Malkin, if this team got into the playoffs,

it would be a huge accomplishment. And it might be that Capitals team of two years ago snuck in as the eighth seed when no one saw it coming. That would probably be the ceiling for these guys. But again, you're banking on a bunch of guys who were elite in their late 30s and then a bunch of journeymen in their early 30s. It feels like the worst roster makeup, you can imagine.

But that's what they're going with this year because nothing's changed. Oh, and they have a 43-year-old head coach, too. I want to point that out. It's a bottom-five roster. Like, I don't see any realistic. Like, and that, of course, is the problem that they find themselves in is that, you know, Crosby and Malkin and Brian Russ and Ricard, like, all those guys, like, they're not, like,

that's not enough to float them into the wild card situation. It probably is enough to take them out, like, out of the bottom of the lottery odds. And that's, and that's, like, the catch-22 that they're in. right now because as it relates to retaining Sidney Crosby, what would be the best possible, like the easiest possible way for them to do that would be to bottom out

this season, win the right to draft Gavin McKenna and then boom, you got it. That's a succession plan. You got Sydney Crosby and that would be infuriating, by the way. That would be absolutely. I don't think it's impossible because I think that team is terrible.

And I think, you know, outside of, you know, gesturing, okay, yeah, who knows, maybe, maybe we'll, we'll give you Brian Russ and Ricardo Kell for 20 games. Good luck. And then, and then, you know, the overwhelming odds are that those guys are going to be, are going to be on their way out, too. So, like, it's, it would be in step with everything that's ever happened with that franchise for, for them to end up with the third or fourth worst record in the league and then, and then win the lottery. Like, that's just, that's the horseshoe that's been buried around, you know, that about, around that organization for the last, for the last hour of many years.

It's, it's, it's, it's how they operate. So at this point, I would be surprised if it didn't happen. Hey, Sean, Halford, we got Steelers Seahawks this weekend in Pittsburgh, D.K. I really would have rather, I would have rather talk about that than, than this. How are, uh, how are Steelers fans feeling after Aaron Rock? Mr. Four Touchdowns against the New York Jets. That was actually a pretty entertaining game to watch. I know that I am going to be pretty deeply invested in the Seahawks this weekend

just because I want them to beat D.K. Metcalfe. Absolutely. As you should. I think like the big takeaway with, I would say it's like cautious optimism around here because it's like, oh, wow, four touchdown passes looks great. He's flicking his wrist and doing a lot of stuff. stuff that we've seen from him at his best over the last few years. That line was awful.

The left tackle Broderick Jones gave up three sacks and four pressures. Like, they need to figure that out or that old man's going to be ground to dust before the weather gets cold here, man. Like, he's not going to be able to hold up over the course of a full season if the line doesn't get better in a hurry. Sean, you're the best, buddy. Thanks for taking the time to do this. As always, we really appreciate it.

The next time something big pops in Pittsburgh, have your phone ready because you know what will be calling you. Love you, boys. Always prepared. Thanks, buddy. See you, pal. Sean Gentilly from the Athletic in Pittsburgh. Are we supposed to say, love you, too? How does that work?

I never know. I just ignore it. I love you too. Is he gone? He's gone. He's just say, thanks. Thanks. Some NFL news on the heels of some NFL talk with Sean Gentile from the Athletic in Pittsburgh.

did you see the aftermath for the San Francisco 49ers after beating the Seattle Seahawks on the weekend. Usually there's a big roster churn and some significant cuts after a loss. It's infuriating. The Niners did it after win. So this isn't in response to the loss,

but George Kittle, who got hurt in that game, goes on IR, new, not new, it's been like this for a couple years. That doesn't really out for the season. He's going to be out for four weeks with the injury suffered against the Seahawks. Story, I think, is that they cut ties with their kicker, Jake Moody, who missed a 27-yard field goal against the Seahawks and had a 36-yarder blocked against the Seahawks.

Now, the interesting thing about Moody is that... And they didn't win the game. So Kittle gets hurt. Yeah. And the kicker was so bad. They cut them. Like, it wasn't a historically bad kicking performance, but we were watching the game at the bar and I was yelling at the screen.

Every time they got in field range, we're like, please kick it. because every time the Niners went to kick it, something horrible went. Moody was a fourth round. They spent relatively high draft capital to bring him in. He was by kicker standards. He was a fairly elite guy, fairly high prospect. And then they finally ran out.

It was interesting. I don't remember who the sideline reporter was at the time, but she passed along that there was grumbling on the 49er sideline after Moody's blocked. I want to say it was the second one because this has been a recurring issue. They can't count on him. he's out.

You could tell there was just no confidence. Zero confidence. In him. I mean, I don't think the block was on him. No, but at that point, when the,

I think when the unit fails, the special teams, yeah, someone's got to take the heat. And in that instance, it was moody. So he's out. There's always kickers out there.

Eddie Panero. Yeah. One of my favorite kickers. You know, there would be a story like, he was working as a mortgage broker. Probably. That was like Matt Prater.

Yeah. Well, he wasn't working. as a mortgage broker, but he was 41 years old and doing nothing. He was just kind of sitting around waiting for the call, and then the bills called him because Tyler Bass got hurt, jumps a red eye flight on Wednesday to Buffalo, and is then kicking a massive field goal on Sunday night

football to win the game of 41 years old. I was, I kicked in high school, and I'm using that term very judiciously because I didn't do a lot of it. I only played one year of football in grade 12. I didn't really know what was going on. Yeah. You think, by the way, you think you know football until you have to play it. Like, I thought, like, I know football.

I know the rules. I know how it's played. And it gets the ball and I kick it, right? There was so many things that I didn't know about. It was crazy the amount of stuff. Because I started away late, I was like 17. The amount of stuff that I did. Did you ever fumbled the ball when it got snapped to you?

Oh, yeah. Like, yeah. Well, because the snap, I mean, like, we're talking about it. Because of fear? Well, no, bad snaps. I'm not taking the hit. I'm not taking the heat on this. They were bad snaps.

Yeah, yeah. You, I would practice with the scout team against the first team. And so I'd get like this, the third string center on a high school team. execution wasn't his strong suit none of football was his strong suit but there's fun like one of the things I learned was sometimes he was like can you can you come a little closer I can't get it there yeah I'm like I can't I need to be this far back because those guys are going to murder me one of the things was I'd have to kind of jump around positions on the scout team to fill in because we didn't have enough guys to run yeah yeah yeah so one time

I lined up as a wide receiver and I ran down the field with my head turned to the quarterback in anticipation of the pass and the coach pulled me said he's like do not do that you will get killed he's like you will get murdered and I was like but I'm waiting for him

I gotta know when he throws the ball he's like it's all timing so you run your route with your eyes focused on the DB and where you need to go and then the timing is like you look up when you think the pass is going to if you run around with your head up

he's like someone is going to come and murder you they're going to rip your head off isn't that illegal contact though I watch the NFL every year he's like try you know what try it try it if you want to try a tough guy so that was that was a learning experience for me for sure. Okay, we got a lot more to get to on the

Halford & Breath Show on SportsNet 650. We're just about in the midway point of the show. First off, I'll remind you, if you want to get your what we learns in, we're going to be doing those in about an hour's time. Dunbar Lumber text message in basket is 650, 650, hashtag it WWL and tell us

what you learned over the last 24 hours in sports. It can be about anything. There was a lot going on. We haven't gotten to a lot of the rest of the international soccer story. Huge win for England yesterday over Serbia. Yeah, they're easily the best performance of the Thomas Tuchel era. Even huger performance from Norway and Erling Holland, a narrow 11-1 victory over Moldova.

That's going to set that program back a lot. Do you know Moj texting me about the England-Serbia match? He must have been very disappointed. No, he suggested, this was before. He suggested a bet on it. And I was like, I'm not feeling it from. England. They can barely get past Andorra right now.

I should have taken the bet. It was a huge performance there. So anyway, there's a lot to get into there. Anything else in the world of sports you want to weigh in on Dunbar Lumber TechSline is 650, 650. Hashtaget WWL. Coming up on the other side of the break, Scott Rintoul is going to join

the program. That's right. Rinty, formerly of Sportsnet 650, now fully immersed in the podcast game. His latest endeavor is a weekly podcast titled better sports parents. It debuted yesterday with an episode featuring Canadian Olympic

Alpine skier Allison Forsyth. There's a lot that goes into the idea and subject of better sports parents. Rinty's thing right now is focusing on former athletes, high level athletes obviously, who now have kids in sports. So it's an

interesting angle to take because you've got people who have reached the highest of heights in their particular sport and now they have children. And I imagine there's a lot of pressure on those children, carrying the tradition, and in some cases, the name. So we're going to get into a whole bunch of different things on the subject of better sports parents with Scott Rintoul that's coming up on the other side. At 8 o'clock, we're going to dive back into the Canucks Talk. Satire Shaw is going to join the program. We will talk about what

Jack Hughes had to say about playing with his brother Quinn at the NHL media tour yesterday in Vegas. And then at 8.30, as I mentioned, we're going to do what we learned. So we got a lot more to get into on the program. Don't go anywhere. You're listening to the health I'mbrough show on SportsNet 650. Halford, Brough, Sportsnet, 650. Halford and Brub of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80%. With no more interest, visit them online at sands-trustee.com.

We are now in our two of the program. We're at the midway point of the show. Scott Rintoul is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought by Jason Hominock at jason. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him online at Jason.orgage. To the phone lines, we go, the Power West Industries hotline.

You know our next guest very well. He's the host of a new endeavor, Better Sports Parents, the podcast. Joining us now, it's Scott Rintoul here on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. What up, Rinty? How are you? I'm all right, guys, a little tired, you know. We were up 96 and late last night, so. We got a listener. We got a listener.

We got a listener. We got a listener. Didn't quite feel right, as Rob pointed out. You know, I started thinking about that. I was laughing when you guys were saying that. And then it took me to, I think a lot of people might go sports out of that, go Pavel Burry, but I was starting to think about John Candy in the old 96er. Oh, man.

Great outdoors. So I started going down that rabbit hole in my head. And then I was thinking how much I'm anticipating this movie that Ryan Reynolds put together on John Candy. It's great. Awesome. I miss John Candy so much. I'll watch Uncle Buck every once in a while

or plane trains planes trains and automobiles why are you laughing I'll watch Uncle like it's in the Criterion Collection it is I'll break out my Blu-ray with the extended cuts of Uncle Buck I miss him so much

yeah the old 96er and they thinks he's finishing and they're like and the gristle yeah let's go good Scotty tell us about this new project you got well you guys are in it and i know you talk about it on the show as as often as probably a lot of other parents talk about it or think about it and if you're in the world of youth sports at all with your kids or maybe a coach out there you see it all the time and it's just a different environment than we grew up with and that's not to say that everything that was done back in our day was perfect it wasn't that we we all saw a lot of things that we wouldn't do today and that's a good thing but it wasn't as pressure-passed as it is today.

And parents, I don't think we're anywhere near as overwhelmed as they are today. So the more I started to see it and talk to people about it, I thought maybe we can do something here. So that's the idea of the project is to give people some information and some perspective and insight from some of the top athletes that we've seen in our lifetime that might help guide them a little bit or at least let them breathe because whether it's the cost of youth sports or the time that it takes or the earlier and earlier it seems that people are asked to specialize or be a part of extra development. Parents just seem overwhelmed to me right now and

this is just a resource for them. Yeah, you know, it's such a diverse topic. There's a million different directions you can go with youth sports and sports parents and I thought it was interesting that you're focusing on former athletes as you mentioned who have kids in the sport now. Why did you decide to go that avenue to start a couple of reasons one the credibility factor i think when you hear someone like allison foresight who's the first episode or ray ferrara who's going to be coming up in a few weeks there is a credibility factor that's immediately attached them and the irony is that i've seen and i'm not sure what your experience has been but generally the people who've made it to the highest level in whatever sport they have struck me as the least pressure parents

that I've seen around these environments because they realize that pushing their kids isn't what's going to change things for them. They realize it's got to be a child-led thing that they got to the height of their sport because it was self-directed and then their parents supported them sometimes unintentionally along the way.

Like you and I were all about the same age. So we grew up in the time where our parents just kind of dropped us off and then they'd pick us up or somebody else would drive us home or we'd make our way home. And there wasn't a pressure. to it. And so when we wanted to achieve something in sport, we were the ones telling them,

hey, I want to do this. We need this. And that's flipped a little bit. You guys have seen it. Yeah. What is some of the best advice you've heard from, not that I want to ruin all the episodes, but some teasers maybe, some of the advice that you've received from these athletes? Well, there's a lot. And it'd be tough to boil it down. because they're longer form interviews. Each episode right now is around an hour or just over an hour. And so there's a lot to get into because one of the things we do is we go back and talk about their youth sports experience.

So I think there's that poll as well. It's always kind of nice to find out from some of these people that you've watched. Oh, what was it like growing up in whatever town or city or environment you were in? And what was that like and what was kind of the turning point for you? So there's that aspect to it going down memory lane. But then there is, yeah, here's what I've seen. And these people will admit the same. is us. I don't have all the answers, but here's my best advice. And some of it has to do with

not talking to your kids about sports as much as you think you need to, especially right after the practice or the game. I think there's a tendency. I certainly felt it myself. I've got two daughters, and they play a variety of different sports at this point. Because I believe in multi-sport and exposure and just trying to find something that they're into. And there's that tendency to try to have that connection right after a practice or a game of, oh, hey, I saw this or you did this well. And most of the time, that's not what kids want. They just want something to eat and they'll figure it out. So not bringing it up and just tell them that you loved watching them play. And that's been shown to be the most effective five words you can say to your child

after a game. I loved watching you play as opposed to, you know what, that was a great goal that your team scored or, you know, if you guys would have just done this. And all of a sudden, it's just something else heaped on the kid at that time and you don't realize it I think parents do it out a good intention but that's one thing that that pops to mind you know ray said something when we were chatting where he said let the coaches coach and let the players play I think one of the unintentional behaviors that parents go through and they're watching their game because they're so emotionally tied to their kid and they want it to work for their kid because they'll shout instructions from the stands or the sidelines yeah dude pass oh no go over there well now the

kids trying to figure out who to listen to. And I equate it to when you're driving a car. And you've got five people in the car telling you when to turn which lane to be in. It's not easy to do. And you're like, guys, I got this. Just let me drive the car. And if you sort of use that parallel, imagine being a kid out there who's got the coach has asked you to do something. You've got teammates that you're trying to figure it out with. Now you've got your parent shouting at you out of good will. They want you to succeed. But who are you supposed to listen to at that point. Rinty, I made this comment the other day and I think my training in sports media has prepared me well because I watched a lot of games in the press box and you

don't react in the press box. You might have a little comment here or there, but you're not jumping around and you're not yelling. So I kind of just watch it that way. Like obviously cheering when they do well or encouraging, but not trying to micromanage. manage every single play and recognizing that there are going to be some things that go well and there are going to be some things that go badly in a game and you don't have to overreact because the kid will look over at his or her parents and notice those things and they don't want to see a negative reaction. No, and with everything we know about mental health as well, I'm not sure if you guys

have heard of heads up guys. It's a fantastic mental health initiative that was started out at UBC and it's one of the leaders globally as far as an online resource. It's a free online resource and I didn't come on to plug it, but I will because I think there's a lot of people out there who struggle and it has to do with men's mental health. And I talked to the founder and we were talking about what I was doing in terms of this project two or three months ago. I was at a, that charity pickleball event that the Lions alumni and Canucks alumni and Whitecaps alumni got together to do.

It was great. And we were talking about it and he said, you have no, you have no idea how much we need this. And I said, oh, that's what a lot of parents have said to me. He said, well, I come out from a little different angle. He said, you'd be surprised at how many successfully presenting people I've worked with, you know, privately in terms of their mental health who struggle, and when we trace back their mental health struggles, it has to do with youth sports. And looking for validation prepared. He said, he said, he said, he said, you would be blown away. He said, I'll give you an example. I didn't use any names or anything like you said. I talked to one guy who

when he was growing up and played hockey, his dad would sit across on the bench every game and after every shift, I'd look over and he'd either have a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Oh, man. Right. And you think that that's a small thing. And maybe the dad at a time was thinking, well, I'm just trying to give him instant feedback to let him know how things went out there. Maybe he's coming at it from a good place, but you don't realize what it's. doing. I think from the outside you go, yeah, why would you do that? Look at what that's potentially doing your kidneys. He's looking to you for external validation all the time. And years later, this successfully presenting person still has issues because of that.

And again, I think that if people get more of these stories and they get a little more perspective from a variety of sources, they go, oh, maybe I can check my own behavior a little bit because we can all see the, quote-unquote, crazy hockey, soccer, football, basketball, parent, whatever that is, the video that goes online. We all go, oh, that person's nuts, I'm fine. But we all have these little tendencies or habits that have been built up over time that potentially contribute to a lesser sports experience for our kids. We're speaking to Scott Rintoul here on the Halpert & Brough Show on SportsNet 650,

talking about his new podcast, Better Sports Parents. I was running through some of the stuff that's already out there about the podcast that you've done. And there was the one with John Montgomery, everyone knows them as the Canadian Olympic skeleton race or talking about pressure being the real parent trap.

And I guess this ties into what you were just saying. The pressure is on the kids. But there's also pressure on the parents to keep up with the Joneses and figure out what the status quo is where the industry and the complex of, youth sports is going, you always feel like if your kid isn't in it that they're missing out or they're falling behind. There's this line that I'm reading from Steve Ewan's piece in the

province, by the way, which profiles the podcast quite nicely. It says the government hasn't created any new laws to say that nine-year-olds need to be in hockey 12 months of the year. And it's true. Not yet anyway. Not until I'm prime minister. But then there will be eventually, I think. We'll get there. I think it's an interesting thing because this is all driven by the parents. I yes, there's these, you know, different academies and skills coaches that are making money out of this, but the parents are all looking at other parents and there is a sort of, you know, keeping up with the Joneses and status quo. And it does create this, it's an environment of pressure.

It's on the kids and it's on the parents to live up to what everyone else is doing. No question. And that goes back to what I said about parents feeling overwhelmed. They do feel like they want to provide a better opportunity for their child than maybe they had, not just because they wanted to work out with sports. but I think we all want that for our kids. Hey, I'm trying to give you more opportunity. But that is absolutely the case.

I think a lot of people have felt that, oh, if I don't put my child in this particular camp or try out for this particular team, he or she is going to fall behind. And they want to keep up with their friends. And so I guess I better do it. And whether it's John Montgomery or anyone else, most pro athletes that I have talked to say the same thing. You don't have to do that. Like you don't have to do it. And it happens so young.

And unless you're in it or around it, you don't realize how quickly that happens. And the hard part is, I think, for parents, is trying to separate what is a genuine opportunity for your child to do something he or she enjoys. And I'll just use the word, grift, because there are so many clubs now. There are so many camps. There are so many academies that everybody will put out their sign and say, well, this is what's best. for your child and it can be difficult for people to figure that out and when mortgages and businesses are tied to this yeah these people are going to try to sell as best they can and I don't think

all of them or most of them are trying to do it with nefarious purposes but we've all seen or heard about the travel team well we're going to take the best kids well are you taking the best kids are you taking the best kids who can afford the $12,000 it's going to cost them to go to this tournament right and so we get mixed up a little bit and the words elite and high performance get thrown around so easily these days that people get tricked they get duped a little bit can i can i just play devil's advocate here a little bit because sometimes when i hear some of the older athletes guys that have retired and they say well when i was a kid i didn't play hockey in the summer and I played baseball and I put away my skates for three or four months.

I kind of want to reply like, well, it's not 1975 anymore. Do you know what I mean? And like things are different. And if you did that now, you might be left behind at an earlier age. You might not make that rep team. And then your entire career, the course, of career might have changed because you were at the time doing what everyone else did. It's a valid point, right?

It's a valid point. At the time, you weren't, you know, nobody was getting private lessons with the coach or nobody was going to the on the ice 12 months a year. There weren't such a thing as hockey academies. So sometimes I, you know, I think it's well. intention. Like, again, I'm playing devil's advocate here. How do you balance the fact that things are different now? So there's a couple of things, but I think it all really goes back to, this is what I'll start with, is what is your philosophy as a parent and what are you trying

to get out of the sports experience for your child or what do you want your child to get out of that sports experience? So me personally, and this isn't going to be everybody's way, But me personally, my hope is that my two girls get enough out of sports so that when they're our age, they're still involved in something active. I don't really care what it is, but I'm a pretty big believer in healthy body, healthy mind. I think we've all seen the studies and read enough and heard enough about how much better you are overall in your life if you are involved in some type of physical activity. It affects your mental well-being. So I'm a big believer in that. So I have no illusions that my children are going to make a living in sports or anything like that.

If they choose to pursue that, awesome. Good for them. That's great. But that's not what I'm trying to get out of it. So if that is your foundation, then you go, well, okay, maybe he or she gets left off this team. But what are we really trying to get out of this? Are we trying to make it to the NHL? Are we trying to make it to the national football league?

Is that what we're really trying to do with our 11-year-old? If you take that perspective, I think it's a little. little easier to say, okay, you know what, you're right, might fall behind, but that's okay because I am trying to create a person here who's going to be independent and get all of the great things out of sports that have nothing to do with personal achievement at a U-13 level and the trophy that's going to sit on your mantle 40 years later that nobody does and nobody can tell you how many games they want as a tenure. So that's a part of it. But I think the other part is if you listen to enough people that will tell you, look,

most often the kids who are going to, quote, unquote, make it, if that's what we define as making it, they're going to get there. They're not going to get missed along the way. No. I always say to the dads, I'm like, look at you. Your kid isn't making it into the NHL. I've said that countless times. I'm like, hey, genetics has a lot to do with this, but.

Genetics does. We all have to concede that. Yeah, genetics has a lot to do with it. not to cut you off, but like to what you were saying, bro, I think that, when you mentioned the grift of the academy and everything,

and these ones that, I mean, the ones that have pro in their name or, you know. Some of them are well intention, though. We shouldn't, we shouldn't throw them all under the bus. I think a lot of them are well intentioned.

Yeah. But I think that there almost needs to be a mandate or disclaimer to point out the, you know, infinite, small, decimal percentage of kids playing

that actually get to go to that level. Like, the kids in the 70s that grew up playing multi-sport and then the handful that went to the NHL or to Major League Baseball or whatever, those were the one or two percent. They were all doing it at the same way back then. It's just the cream rise to the top. For all the kids that are playing year-round now, there's still only a handful of them that get to go there. Yep. Right? So they're all going through the same process and they're all going through the same routines, but it's still the elite percentage that are going to go on to do something.

And that's what parents need to understand is that at the end of the day a lot of genetics comes into effect and athleticism that you can't teach and you can't coach and no matter how many hours you put into it, you're just not going to get to that level because you're not physically capable of it.

And I'm glad you brought up the word grift because I think that maybe it's an unintentional grift but a grift nonetheless because a lot of them are praying on parents not wanting to see their kids fall behind or not wanting someone to tell their kids that they can't make it. Exactly.

I agree with you 100%. And the academy system, for example, I'll just use that. And we've seen a lot of it in hockey, and that's a language that a lot of people speak in this country. So I think the academy system is great for a certain percentage of kids. And even though a bunch of them aren't going to make it, there are a bunch of kids who should be on that pathway. Do I think there are as many, or more kids on that pathway than probably need to be there?

Yeah, for sure. And I think that's a part of it, some of these operations need to be funded. And so maybe kids who don't have a legitimate shot at getting out what they think they're going to get out going in are there anyway to provide some funding for those who are at that top and maybe are subsidized a little bit. Like there's all that part of it.

And it's such a nuanced conversation because, as I said before, we all want a better opportunity for our kids. And if that's what your son or daughter really wants to do, I'm not saying you shouldn't do it. But Ray said this when we talked, it was awesome. He said, that doesn't mean they owe you anything. And it doesn't mean there's a return on your investment that looks like a pro career. That's a great point.

That's a great point. I've got an Excel spreadsheet at home. You know what? I'm glad I always forget to bring up that point is the ROI on it. You can give an academy tens of thousands of dollars, but all they're saying is like, we will give your kid the tools. to succeed. There's no guarantee that they will succeed.

That's a great point. Scottie, we're up against it for time, so I want to give you an opportunity here. Let everybody know where they can check out the podcast, what's coming up next,

and anything else you want to share about your latest endeavor? Yeah, they can find it on Spotify, on Apple podcast, Better Sports Parents is the title. You can find it on YouTube as well, at Better Sports Parents is the channel there, so this is a video and audio podcast.

And that's where you can find me. I mean, that's the plays I would direct everybody too. Allison Montgomery, I got two guests confused. Allison Forsyth is the first episode. And honestly, guys, I'm so happy with the way this turned out. She is a force. And I think if people check out the first episode, which is out right now, they will get a lot out of it. She has so much to say, she's so highly trained. She's been through a lot in her life. And she's got three kids. So she's in the mix. John Montgomery's coming

up, as you guys mentioned next week. Rick Sellebrini in week number three. That was a really good one as well. Nice. Nice. Hey, Rinty, this was great, man. Really excited for you and this latest endeavor. It's a great topic. Obviously, we're pretty passionate about it. You can tell from the last 23 minutes of going on and on and on. We could do this longer. We would, but we got to go. Thanks again, buddy. Thanks, boys. Have fun. We'll talk old 96 or next time.

Thanks, buddy. Rinty, Scott Rintel here on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. A lot of ground covered there. A lot of ground. People love those conversations, except the people that don't have kids. Like, move on. Yeah, this is boring. Can you please talk about the Canucks. And we will talk about the Canucks on the other side of the break.

Satyar Shah is going to join the program. You know him, of course, from this station, SportsNet 650, Canucks Central host. We will talk about what transpired yesterday at the NHL's Media Day down in Vegas, Jack Hughes, making some waves in Vancouver about his remarks wanting to one day play with his brother Quinn. There's a lot of other stuff that happened down there as well. We can talk to Sad about what's coming up for the Vancouver Canucks over the next week and a half. prospect camp underway in Abbotsford this weekend the prospects will make their way down to Seattle to take on the Cracken in a mini tournament next week training camp lots on the horizon lots to talk

about with SAT that is coming up next don't go anywhere you're listening to the healthford and bruff show on sports net 650