Halford & Brough in the Morning - Keeping The Crosby To Vancouver Rumour Alive And Well

Episode Date: August 7, 2024

In hour two, guest hosts Jamie Dodd & Israel Fehr chat with Olympic basketball commentator Dan Shulman (4:18) following yesterday's disappointing elimination loss for Canada to France, they go to the National Bank Open with Sportsnet Tennis' Ben Lewis (25:27), plus the boys note it's Sidney Crosby's birthday (40:23), and he still hasn't re-signed with the Penguins yet.  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.

🎵Outro music plays🎵 all right digging this one i like it is this euro dance enough for you absolutely thank you see you're me i'm i'm raising the bar and you're clearing it. I appreciate it. I'm pretty sure this is what France was partying to after beating Canada. This has some Daft Punk vibes to it, for sure. No doubt about it. The pride of France, Daft Punk. Halvard and Brough here, Sportsnet 650. It's Jamie Dunn and Israel Fair.

Fill it in for the week. Halvard and Brough is brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today. This hour of Half and a Broth is brought to you by Primetime Craft Beer. Meticulously brewed for quality and taste. Primetime Craft Beer is full flavor without compromise at a liquor store near you. Or visit the brewery to see how it's made.

Of course, we're also coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. Sore feet, what are you waiting for? We're going to be joined by Dan Schulman momentarily here. Of course, he was on the call for the Canada-France quarterfinal yesterday in men's basketball in Paris. So we'll talk to Dan about that. Of course, 650-650 is the Dunbar-Lumber text line.

So we'll read Get Your What We Learned submissions. And now, of course, we'll do them at 830. We might have a chance here. We got a lot of guests, but we'll see if we have a chance to touch on some of them before we get to 830 as well. No guests yet, but we'll get Dan on the line momentarily here. As I mentioned, 650 is the Dunbar-Lumber text line. And we had a couple people, Andy mentioned this, we had a couple people text him.

We were talking about Jamal Murray and his struggles in a big game. And Phoenix texted it in. Murray is the Pedersen of the men's basketball team. Somebody else texted it in. Where is Brough to draw this back to how this can compare to Elias Pedersen? I was thinking about this during the break. The difference is, so what was the complaint about Elias Pedersen in the playoffs and down the stretch, but especially in the playoffs?

He needed to be more engaged. He needed to have a bigger impact on the game, be more aggressive, be more assertive. With Jamal Murray, it's kind of of like we need you to do less it was the opposite problem right it's like he was like pedersen had trouble getting shots murray took 13 shots last night but it was like this isn't working so i see the you know i see the parallels right because it's a high profile player who had a disappointing moment uh in in a big game but it's just a different issue right like pedersen it was like you're not doing anything out there we need you to do stuff murray it was like hey just sit this one out for a little

bit no do a little bit less you're killing us out there with all the stuff you're doing so like he's more of the mckeough is that is that where we're going yeah well yeah mckeough was doing stuff but it wasn't good stuff it would be more like just like murray yeah murray would be i think murray's performance would be more akin to like a defenseman who was being too aggressive trying to rush the puck up and having turnovers and stuff you know what i mean where it's like okay hey i see what you're trying to do that's a nice idea if. If it was working, that's fine. That would be good, but it's not working.

So cut it out and try to find something that would be working. You know what I mean? That's more what I would compare the Jamal Murray performance to rather than somebody who was invisible, which, you know, let's face it. Well, Elias Patterson was for the majority of the playoffs for the Canucks. Yeah, it would have been better if that was Murray, to be honest, the way that the game yesterday played out. That's tough. I feel bad dumping on the guy, but

it was ugly. There was no way around it. It was just a really, really tough performance. He couldn't hit a shot. And yeah, they needed him to be better to move on. That's just simple. Now joining us to talk more about the loss to France for the Canadian men's basketball team at the Olympics.

He was calling the game for CBC, calling all of the basketball on CBC for these Olympics. He is Dan Shulman. Dan, thank you very much for doing this today. How are you? I'm good, guys. How are you doing? We're doing all right. Pretty disappointed watching that game unfold yesterday.

And, you know, I was saying earlier on in the show, like, it was one of those games where as a fan rooting for Canada, I just kind of had that sinking feeling in my stomach right from the jump, that pit in my stomach. For you, what was it like just to kind of watch that game unfold in front of your eyes in person? Well, you know, disappointing, surprising to start. I think they were down, you know, what, 7-2, 16-5, whatever it is. Like just to, you know, to fall behind so far so quickly was ominous um and you know we saw the impact that a women yama had on the game but then he went out and france kept playing well and you could see early that france was being uber aggressive you know isaiah cordinia who's not an nba player a very nice

international player but he's like eight or nine on their depth chart. He totally went off and dominated the first quarter. And then their two bench big guys, Yabasele and Lesort, just dominated Canada. Like Canada was very small. And, you know, I know I kept saying it, they kept piling up the fouls, they kept getting to the free throw line, they making their free throws and Canada didn't seem to have an answer on the inside eventually Jordy Fernandez went to a bigger lineup but by then they had kind of dug themselves a hole and at the offensive end and then this is the part I really don't understand they just never looked in sync there was you know the ball movement wasn't as good as it normally is I would have thought that their guards and wings would be able to get to the rim

or get the shots they wanted against France. That's where Canada's advantage should have been. But, you know, Gilgis Alexander was great. R.J. Barrett certainly had his moments. Lou Dort was pretty good, too, but they didn't get much from Jamal Murray and they didn't get much from Dylan Brooks. And, you know, they needed all of their guys. I didn't think it was going to be easy, but I did think Canada was going to win the game,

but you know, hostile crowd and all that. I get it. But, but I, I thought they were going to win the game, but, um, boy, when you dig yourselves a hole, dig yourself a hole like that, like you have to expend so much energy to try to get back into it. And you could see Shea Gilchrist Alexander was exhausted, like just exhausted. And, you know, he carried them the entire game, played 37 minutes of very physical basketball, but he needed help. You've called some major events across a few sports,

some great baseball, some great basketball. Where did that crowd rank for you? Is that up there? Because on TV, it seemed like they were having a really, really good time. Yeah, it's up there. And it's funny, the headsets we have here, they're like industrial strength, big headsets. So I don't know.

And I didn't take them off at all during the call. So I don't know how much that was muffling the crowd, but it's right up there. I mean, you know, like you said, like you do a basketball game at Kansas. You do a playoff game at Fenway Park. You know, it's on the list. It's right up there. And it was festive. And they could smell blood, right? And they just kept getting louder and louder and louder.

And not only the fact that France was leading, but the way they were playing, too, I think really got them going. I mean, I'm sure the French fans came into it thinking they were the underdog because, you know, Canada was supposed to be a legitimate metal contender. But the fact that they jumped out to an early lead, I think, really even got the crowd louder. And there were a few hundred Canadians there, but the vast, vast majority of people, obviously, were rooting for France. So it's right up there, I think.

Dan, just before we got you on the air, we were talking a little bit more about Jamal Murray's disappointing performance. And really, it was yesterday, but watching the games on TV tv he just never really looked right throughout this tournament throughout these olympics and we know obviously the injury history of jamal he's coming off the bench but just you watching these games in person what did you see from jamal murray what what was it that prevented him from really uh having the impact he could have at his best for canada i mean i didn't see a lot of jump, like, you know, burst or whatever. He wasn't getting around guys very well. And I didn't think a lot of his shots, a lot, you know, some of the shots were a few dribbles and a step back three, as opposed to just a catch and shoot. And he's obviously used to being a lead guard, right? He's used to be in the alpha in the backcourt. Obviously

he plays with Jokic, but he's used to be in the guy with the ball. And Shea's the alpha in the backcourt obviously he plays with Jokic but he's used to be in the guy with the ball and Shea's the guy with the ball on this team and so I don't know if he had trouble adjusting I know there are some comments alluding to that today but you know he says he was healthy so I got to take him at his word I don't know if he was in peak shape or not I don't know if his knee is back to 100% or not like those are those are unknowns. He says he's fine. But I never saw that explosion. Like, take a guy off a dribble, get to the rim. I didn't see that very much. And it hurt them.

You know, I still think they had enough to do better than they did, even with him at that level. But it hurt them, the fact that he wasn't able to come in and be a, you know, he should have been able to come in and there's no drop-off, right, when he comes into the game. And that wasn't necessarily the case. You know, they had the starting five, and the starting five is great. But after that, Andrew Nembhard had one great game

and another pretty good game, as far as I can remember. You know, Murray wasn't great. Nik remember um you know murray wasn't great mikhail alexander walker wasn't great um kelly olenek hardly played um you know maybe kelly's starting to be you know a little bit on the downside of his career and the quickness is an issue kembridge gave him some good minutes when he was in there trey lyles was fine when he was in there but for all the depth that they added and did, it didn't really show itself as much as I thought it needed to for them to get where they want to get. So they got to go back to the drawing board now. And some of these guys aren't going to play again. I have no idea, obviously, if Jamal Murray will play again or not,

but he'll be 31, 32 years old the next time around if they make it to the Olympics. Like now you got to start thinking again about, well, you qualify for the World Cup, but are all the guys going to go the year before and play in the World Cup in order to get that direct path into the Olympics or not? And who knows if they will or they won't. I think there are three or four guys it's pretty easy to say won't be a part of this from now on, just because of aging out or whatever but i have no idea if jamal will but it all starts with shea gilgis alexander and and you know hopefully he's as uh invested in this in the next four years as

he was in the last couple years you mentioned the sga and he obviously was was phenomenal yesterday and then had a phenomenal tournament. But you are right. Obviously, they have to build the team around him as we do look forward a little bit to a potential World Cup, a potential 2028 Olympics. Based on what you saw at the Olympics here in Paris, where's the key area that this team needs to look at, needs to try to strengthen? Size. Yeah, size. needs to look at needs to try to strengthen size uh yeah size um you know they if you bring back sga and let's assume andrew nemhardt is a part of it as well and we can leave murray out of the

conversation for now and you know let's assume barrett and brooks are still there like that's a very good backcourt wing and then you can add guys like benedict mathurin and shayden sharp like two young rising stars uh in the NBA, but they're guards. If you look at the big guys they have, you know, if a Linux is not a part of it, and I think Kelly is 33 now, so he didn't play much this time. I don't know if Virch will be a part of it. You know, he's in his 30s and has had knee issues.

It's a good thing that he was healthy now. Powell is in his 30s. And then you've got trey lyles those were the four big guys they need size so i think we could safely assume well in phoebe you can never you should never safely assume anything right because a guy's hurt a guy's a free agent whatever um but you know probably zach edie is a part of it next time around let's see what kind of a pro he's going to be first and And then you got, you know, like some tweeners like Omax Prosper and O'Shea Brissett, but they need size. Like you look at, you know, they were bullied by Gershon Yabasele and

Matthias Lesore. And again, those are very good European players, very, very good European players. Yabasele played in the NBA, but they were quicker and stronger, in some cases, than the Canadian bigs. So the one thing I don't think this program has had, even if they bring an Eadie, that's great, but that kind of 6'8",

250 dude who can really run, really jump, shoot some threes, physical guy like LeSore and Yabasele. I mean, you watch the game. They got where they wanted to get. They did what they wanted to do. And Canada didn't have an answer for it.

And again, a lot of times they were playing small ball, right? So Brooks or Barrett were trying to deal with guys two inches taller and 30 pounds heavier. And that's hard. So yeah, and I'm trying to think of other guys. guys two inches taller and 30 pounds heavier and that's hard um so yeah they i and i don't i'm trying to think of other guys i haven't put a lot of time into this honestly because i'm still doing yeah two games a day but they um you know they hopefully there's some guys out there but you know i keep hearing wait till you see the next wave wait till you see the next wave and that sort of thing but a 17 year old now might now might not be Olympics ready in four years.

They've got to have some guys who are closer to being in the league, closer to their prime, that sort of thing. They need more size. No doubt about it. Dan, I know you're busy. As you said, you're calling a couple games today, so we'll let you go, but we really appreciate you taking some time to weigh in on Canada basketball with us today.

All right, guys. Thanks. Have a good one. Thanks, Dan. That is Dan Shululman who was on the call for the canadian basketball games and uh as he mentioned still doing the call for the rest of the tournament for cbc so you'll be able to hear dan uh for the semi-finals and uh and for the gold medal game as well and you know i one thing he said there obviously we were talking about it as

well right they need to find those interior players that size. I totally did not realize that Dwight Powell was already 33. I always kind of had an idea that he was like maybe 28 or something like that in my head. So really, you're two bigs. You're two main bigs. Kelly Olenek, who, as he said, didn't play much, been a warrior for the program, given them a ton. He's probably not figuring into the next cycle. Dwight Powell might not be figuring into the next cycle dwight powell might not be figuring into the next cycle it's pretty much a blank slate in the post and zach edie is going to be part of

it but beyond that i think there's major questions i think the other thing he mentioned there too where it doesn't necessarily have to be a seven footer but as he said that that kind of six eight six nine guy who's not a traditional big but has the strength to play inside and can do some other things, right? That's such a big part of the FIBA game is everyone needs to be a little bit versatile, right? Handle the ball, shoot the ball a little bit. It's that type of player that you really notice the absence of against France yesterday as well for Canada.

And as he said, okay, it's great to have high school guys coming up, but you need kind of guys to win at these events. You need guys who are in that 24, 25, 26 age range. If you're in high school right now, you can't really count on somebody being a contributor at the next Olympics. Yeah, certainly. I mean, look how long it's taken this group with guys in the NBA. We were talking Rio 2016 potentially being Canada's coming out party.

They don't get there. They don't get into Tokyo, right? It took a long time with guys that were already in the NBA to get the roster correct and to get a team that could even qualify. So that obviously makes what played out yesterday inance a big part of that disappointment and there are yeah major questions about how is this team going to establish themselves because and this is something that's come up a lot and it's not just with canada this was a conversation when the u.s kind of had its ups and downs post dream team was that the european teams and the south american teams with some of those players

um that play in europe and that play together and they play more international games together they have a cohesiveness they have a fluidity to their game um and that's not really why i why france won yesterday i think france won yesterday because they had uh they flipped the match up on canada and then those players had phenomenal games, and they were aggressive, and they were not afraid, and they were feeding off of a really pro-France crowd, and it did look like a lot of fun. If I wasn't cheering for Canada,

I'm sure I would have had a good time at that game, the way that the crowd was reacting, but obviously was hoping to see the Canadians pull it out. But that was the truth, was that they put those guys, and Yabusele in particular being a guy that's in that range, the type of player that you're discussing, someone who's aggressive, who can play a little bit of bully ball. And think about the, I've seen throughout these Olympics

and arguments about who's the best american olympics player and because especially a lot of these guys on this team or on the past teams you know the dream team that was the end of magic that was the end of bird we didn't really see jordan play for the u.s again right that was that was a one-time thing whereas lebron's played a ton of olympics kevin durant's played a ton of Olympics. Kevin Durant's played a ton of Olympics. I saw an argument about, well, is LeBron or Durant the better U.S. player? And then there were a lot of people prior to these Olympics saying Carmelo Anthony. Carmelo was there a lot and scored a lot.

Think about the kind of player that Carmelo was later in his career when he was thriving and often coming off the bench, but still thriving for the U.S. team. It was bully ball carmelo it was a guy that could shoot not a guy that you're expecting to be a defensive stopper but a guy that's gonna he's gonna be aggressive he's gonna he's not gonna be afraid to take the ball into the post there is like it's often discussed that the nba game and the fiba game are different and to me the most standout thing is that it's physical, but not physical in the sense that, you know,

you would compare it to hockey or anything like that. It's physical on kind of these one-on-one battles where when you have an opportunity to take a shot at someone, you do it. Yeah. And the refs generally let you get away with it. You can't really do that in the NBA. So that is, and those French players are very well-'t really do that in the NBA. So that is,

and those French players are very well versed in that kind of game. And I think that that was another part of the consensus with Canada was that they weren't prepared for that. Yeah, it's going to be a big job for Canada, I think,

to just craft an identity. First of all, figure out are there players of the mold we're talking about, right? That we can incorporate into the program. And maybe they're not nba players right because as we've seen you can be a non-nba player you can be a good european player and really contribute to a team's success at these tournaments so maybe they have to expand the field a little bit but find guys who can

contribute and then i think ultimately you're going to have to just craft an identity maybe you don't have those players but okay then what are we going to do to compensate for what are we going to do to build a winning identity with the players that we have and i think that's going to be key and that it's tough because you can't just go and sign a guy that's tall it takes continuity they don't have that opportunity so okay hey we don't have the ideal roster what are we going to do to to make it work with the players we do have? And as Dan Schulman said, right now, you're in a position where, OK, you got to go to the World Cup to try to qualify for the Olympics. Are high profile NBA players up for that sort of commitment?

Are they going to be there to help you build that program, to help you build that culture? It's a very, very difficult uh that they find themselves in now i will say now as much as i'm saying it's not just about raw height right and you don't want to be relying on guys who are teenagers right now there is a guy in montreal have you heard about this guy teenager he's going to he's going to play for Florida. Olivier Ryu listed at seven foot nine. So this is what I'm talking about. Well, yeah, I like I have no idea. There's a certain point where, you know, like Manute Bull and George Berger.

It's like you're kind of Canada's secret weapon. You're kind of too tall to actually be that good at basketball. You know what I mean? You're you're more of a specialist shot blocker. But yeah, as you said, maybe this guy can be our secret weapon seven foot nine out of quebec olivier ryu going to florida in four years i'm just saying bring him off the bench cause havoc for 10 minutes swatting shots and everything this could be the answer this could be the player uh that we're waiting for um all right 650 650 is the dumb bar lumber tech. Do you want to throw one question at you?

Is he okay? Before we go to break here, are you more confident in the next four years of Canada men's basketball or men's soccer? Which side gives you more hope, more reason for confidence going forward here? I suppose like I know Canada soccer coming off the good performance at Copa did have a disappointing, I think world cup after like kind of similar, right? Where it I suppose, like, I know Canada soccer coming off the good performance at Copa did have a disappointing, I think, World Cup after.

Like, kind of similar, right? Where it's like, wow, we're back at this big tournament. This is amazing. We have all this talent. Not quite having the results you wanted. So which one are you more confident in going forward? I still think it's basketball. And that's with understanding that the expectations

for the basketball team will remain metal or bust. Yeah. While the expectations for the basketball team will remain metal or bust. Yeah. While the expectations for the soccer team will not be you got to win the World Cup, a World Cup semi or something like that. It will be progress. And I still think that the foundation being there. Look, if you're going to make the player comparisons, SGA being Alphonso Davies for as good as alfonso davies is basketball is a sport where if you have that guy you have a guy that's arguably top three top five in the nba right now it's going to make more of a difference and i do feel like uh you're you're going to be able to or

you're hoping that you're going to be able to find the pieces to surround him to be competitive for this next cycle with a world cup and the olympics in four years whereas look i think that there hope there were some there were some positive signs from the copa america performance but at the end of the day the canadian men's soccer team still did not score enough right they they got by they got results they they played a one fairly competitive game with argentina but it's not like they went into that tournament scored a bunch of goals and got people really excited about what they were doing they still have a ways to go uh to accomplish that whereas look as disappointing as yesterday was for canadian basketball fans it's still it's still major progress it's just we don't view it that way because the expectations were so high.

It is Halford and Brough here on Sportsnet 650. Keep sending your what we learns in. Up next, we'll change gears into tennis. The National Bank Open getting underway last night in Montreal and Toronto. Ben Lewis, he's the host of Matchpoint Canada podcast and a tennis writer for Sportsnet. He'll join us next to weigh in on the tournament, what to expect

from the Canadians, what to expect from the field in general as well. Get ready for the ultimate sports fan trip to Michigan from September 27th to October 1st. Experience games at the Big House, Comerica Park, and Ford Field. Contact Neil Chark at neilc at uniglobecarefree.ca for details.

More Halford & Brough on Brough here at Sportsnet 650. It's a Eurodance Wednesday on the show. Let's go. Fired up here in the Kintec studio. Halpern and Brough is brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today. This hour

of Halford & Brough is brought to you by Primetime Craft Beer. Meticulously brewed for quality and taste. Primetime Craft Beer is full flavor without compromise at a liquor store near you or visit the brewery to see how it's made. 650-650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line.

The Bridge Street Dunbar Lumber in Ladner has moved to Progress Way in Tilbury's Industrial Park. More room, more product, more awesome details at DunbarLumber.com. Keep your What We Learn submissions coming in. We will read them at 8.30, maybe a little bit before then as well. But now joining us to chat about the National Bank Open, which got going in Toronto and Montreal this week in tennis, he is the host of the Matchpoint Canada podcast and also a tennis writer for Sportsnet, among other outlets.

He is Ben Lewis. Ben, thank you very much for doing this today. How are you? I'm great, guys. How are you doing? We're doing well. Excited to chat a little tennis here. And, you know, I know already Bianca Andreescu loses in the first round last night. And, you know, this was after I believe she won the first set, six love. And she goes out after that. What happened to Bianca in that match last night?

Yeah, I think uh you know i was i was watching this this match and uh live and i think just like everybody else in the stadium we were all a bit stunned and shell-shocked because if you watch the the tennis she was able to produce in the first set i mean she was phenomenal she was on it dictating controlling play aggressive coming to net mixing it up and looked like she was in cruise control but tennis has this funny thing of you know being able to change on a fly it's not like other sports where you can run out the clock and secure the wind with its scoring system matches can change quickly and uh her opponent a veteran serenko um started changing

up the rhythm and bianca kind of looked lost out there on what to do tactically. She kind of took her foot off the gas in terms of the way she was playing, and suddenly she lost 11 of 12 games, and she was down 5-11 in the third. And, you know, she did give that final pushback in that last set, got the crowd behind her. She rallied for four games and made it 5-4, made it super interesting at the end um but she kind of ran out of time there uh so tough tough loss for Bianca you could feel her

sadness and in the press conference afterwards and um I know she'll she really wanted to perform well in in Toronto she won the tournament five years ago but the positive signs were there from that first set if she can play like that consistently uh she can beat a lot of players you mentioned the the the tournament win five years ago and that was that was such a a great year for her she really announced her presence on the world stage but since then it's been a number of injuries a lot of ups and downs and then even throw in the loss here recently that seems to be that she's going through a tough time. It's not the smooth sailing that I think many Canadian tennis fans envisioned five years ago. I'm sure she came into this tournament with really high expectations for herself to perform well at home. So now that that's off the table, what are the next steps for her? Well, the next steps, I think, for her are, most importantly, a good run of health.

And it's important to, I guess, remind ourselves about Bianca Andreescu. I mean, even if you look back to her 2019 season, she still accomplished what she did with the U.S. Open, with winning National Bank Open, Indian Wells. She did all of that while still battling and navigating injuries through that year. She's actually had a full calendar year on tour where she's been healthy throughout and completed every tournament that she wanted to. So that's the number one thing for me, her body holding up and just being able to play consistently week after week, play in every big event. We know this year she only got her start late April,

so she already missed a big portion of the season, missed the Australian Open, missed a couple of big tournaments at the front end of the year. So first and foremost for me is health and then, you know, consistency in the way she plays. And that was really the problem last night. You saw a great version of Bianca Andreescu in the first set, and then you saw a really tentative loss version

for about a set and a half after that. So she needs to find that perfect balance of being aggressive, being creative, which is a great asset for her. And I think she can still, I mean, I know it feels like maybe I'm pumping her tires after what we saw last night with the loss. I really do think she can still get towards the top of the game. I saw some great things on the grass. She made her first final in over a year on grass courts.

She had a couple great wins at Wimbledon, and she looked good at the French Open. So if she's able to consistently compete, stay healthy, I think she can get back up there. You mentioned the kind of the emotional reaction from Bianca after the match. You know, of course, playing in your home country in a tournament she's won before, she obviously wants to do well. Do you think there's an element also of, as you said, right, she is building some momentum this season on grass at the French Open. Do you think there was an element of frustration that, you said, right, she is building some momentum this season on grass at the French Open.

Do you think there was an element of frustration that, you know, maybe it could have crested to something special here at this event this week? And instead, she's out in the first round. Definitely. And I think there's such a fine balance in this sport of, you know, being highly motivated to be competitive, to want to win and then wanting it too much. And I think we can see that in a lot of sports where you're gripping the racket a little bit too tight um you're you know so eager and so hungry to to get a victory and she talked about just mentally trying to find the right balance and approach to this tournament does she want to arrive to the tournament say

i really want to win the national bank open or does she want to come here and be extra loose and be like, you know what, I just want to play and have fun and hope things go my way? And it's, I think, really fine balance between both of those things. Every competitor out here wants to win. Sorenko on the other side of the court was doing some great things that sometimes we overlook in this sport of tennis, which is a unique sort of one-on-one clash. So, yeah, I think definitely, like, it was an interesting juxtaposition because the crowd lifted her up, especially at the end. But I do think she maybe applied too much pressure on herself internally to want to win, and it may have backfired.

And, you know, we look back at that 2019 year for bianca and rescue and culminating with the u.s open win and it was an incredible year for her and i you know i also remember at the time it really felt like the start of something special for canadian tennis and you know i think it's fair to say since then it's kind of been fits and starts there's certainly been some highs and you know as recently as at the olympics uh taking home a bronze and mixed doubles. There's been other highs as well, but there's been lots of lows. Overall, how would you describe

the state of Canadian tennis right now? I still think even among the lows that maybe we've seen over stretches in the past couple of years, this is the golden age of Canadian tennis. I mean, these results and some of the things we've seen from players, I mean, winning a Davis Cup for the men's side two years ago,

winning the Billy Jean King title last November, U.S. Open title from Bianca Andreescu, all these results were completely unthinkable for Canadian tennis, you know, 15, 20 years ago, even really 10 years ago. And we should give kudos as well to, you know, the trailblazers like Milos Raonic and Jeannie Bouchard, who is on site and still on site this week and doing some media obligations.

But that kind of got the train rolling. You know, we still have a lot of great players. And, you know, some of them are fighting it and trying to find their form. And like Dennis Shnupilov, for example. Others like, you know, Felix OJ, we saw him just win a bronze medal with Gabby Dubrow's doubles and reach the

semifinals of the Olympics. So that tells me he's back on the up and up and starting to play some of his best tennis again. So I'm, I'm going to be a glass half full guy about Canadian tennis. I know we, we really had no prospects about 20 years ago, apart from maybe Danny Nestor in doubles. So this is new. And I know we all want those results immediately and expect everybody

to stay at the top of the game, but it's tough. Felix is also in action here at the National Bank Open. He's coming off that strong Olympics where he makes the bronze medal on the individual tennis. He gets a bronze medal in the mixed doubles. Looking at this tournament and then projecting out toward the end and the rest of the tennis season, where does he go from here? What can he build off of his play at the Olympics? I honestly really hope he can make some hay here because he he plays some of his best tennis on hard courts particularly indoor hard courts which are going to be later in the season but but right now I mean it can all be gravy for Felix Oceania because at the same point last year

he was you know in the midst of one of the worst stretches of his career he came to Toronto last year so eager to turn around what had been a miserable season and unfortunately what happened was he lost first round in Toronto so I know he's really hungry to to get a run going in Montreal you know he's back inside the top 20 which is great ranking wise and and he wants to build on that so you know he's a former U.S. Open semi-finalist he had a great performance in paris two top wins he beat casper there he beat daniel medvedev there so i really think uh he can build from that and look into this hard court swing as an opportunity to you know i i think venture back towards that top 10 where i'm sure he feels he belongs

beyond the canadians in the field ben who else are you keeping an eye on at the National Bank Open this week? Beyond the Canadians, I mean, for myself on site in Toronto, I'm certainly keeping an eye on stars like Coco Goss and Irina Savalenka. Coco, the number one seed here. She's must-watch tennis. I mean, she's not just a phenomenal tennis player. She's an exceptional athlete. And getting the opportunity to watch her up close, the way she moves, the way she competes, her timing on the ball, it's incredible. And she won the U.S. Open around this point last year,

just a few weeks after Montreal. And this is a key portion of her in the season leading into the U.S. Open. She needs to be informed to try and defend that title. I'll have my eye on Irina Sabalenka as well, who's a two-time Australian Open champion and so dangerous on the hard courts. And Naomi Osaka, who's a four-time Grand Slam champion. She missed all of last year having a baby, and she's back and keen to, I think, get back to the top of the game.

Those are the things I'll have my eye on. All right, I think, get back to the top of the league game. Those are the things that I'll have my eye on. All right, I think we lost Ben there, so we'll let him go. But shout out to Ben Lewis for joining us from the Matchpoint Canada podcast, giving us a little preview of what to expect at the National Bank Open. And, yeah, already a little bit difficult for the Canadians, right, with Bianca Andreescu losing. And man, it's wild to think that was five years ago now that she won. It's unreal.

The U.S. Open. And it just, as I said to Ben, it seemed like not just for her, but really for Canadian tennis, the start of a long time upward trajectory, right, that it was like, okay, we've arrived and we're going to be contending. And as he mentioned, the international team events, right? The Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup. I don't want to downplay those because those are incredible achievements.

And as he said, 20 years ago, unthinkable for Canadian tennis to be in that position. But from an individual results perspective, it's really been frustrating if you're a Canadian tennis fan because it feels like there's been these moments where we're tantalizingly close to breaking through and it just never happens. And there's always these constant setbacks. And it seems like another one here for Bianca Andreescu in the first round

last night. It does. Yeah. It's been, it's been hard to get everything to materialize at the same time. And so, you know, even going back to Milos ronich he mentioned milos

ronich and jenny bouchard he had his run probably i guess over 10 years ago now where he was seen as the guy that could maybe make the jump and maybe have like an andy murray type career and he had some really good moments and won some some big tournaments but no slams um but that you know he he dealt with injuries bouchard had her year where she's you know making the final at wimbledon and and since then that's been uh you know she's making a lot of headlines but not so much for for her play in in tennis it's been a lot of ups and downs she also dealt with uh some unfortunate injuries and then you know kind of drifting off of that there's as mentioned felix and chapeau and bianca andrescu they've had their their moments where they've popped you know chapeau valave against rafa nadal these moments here and they

have fortunately as you mentioned jamie on the international stage been able to come together. And there is a depth of talent there. But I do believe that the average Canadian sports fan, the average or maybe the casual tennis fan looks at the slams and winning a few of them and being in that mix. Or at least being competitive, right? Like making runs to the semis, to the finals. You know, Leilani Fernandez went to the finals one year but

there hasn't been that consistent presence of where you really feel like okay they have a chance to do something right where it's more than just hope it's more than just you know patriotic optimism that they're going to go to these big events and and make a difference and you know i think it's also frustrating because seeing kind of, especially on the men's side, the generation around Chappo and Felix surpassed them and have more consistent success. And now with Alcaraz on the scene, right, it's OK, are you going to be able to get past him at any point to win a major? How difficult is that going to be? Is it kind of flashing back to the Federer and Nadal Djokovic days where it's like, well, how are you going to get past these guys? And it's a frustrating position for tennis in Canada to be in. It doesn't have

to be that way, right? As Ben was saying, you know, Felix playing some of his best tennis, he's got a chance to be back in the top 10 to be competitive like that. But it feels like we're always kind of saying that, oh, they've got a chance to do something. They've got a chance to get back to the top 10. They've got a chance to establish themselves, but it doesn't really ever materialize ultimately

yeah exactly and it's it's difficult right but ultimately ultimately the i guess the results speak for themselves at the end of the day um you've got an improved floor, but the ceiling still hasn't quite been there. Those wins in those international tournaments and those team tournaments notwithstanding. 650-650 is the Dunbar-Lumberg text line. Get your thoughts in. We're going to talk to Vanni Sartini,

Whitecaps manager, in a few minutes here, in about 15 minutes at 8 o'clock. And then, of course, we'll do What We Learned at at eight 30 as well. So you can get your, what we learned takes in hashtag WWL, what you've learned over the last 24 hours in sports. Uh,

something else I wanted to mention, I was considering saving it for what we learned, but, uh, I'll get into it here. It is August 7th. So it's the eighth month and the seventh day. Do you know what that signifies? Is he enlightened me, Jamie? It is August 7th, so it's the eighth month and the seventh day.

Do you know what that signifies, Izzy? Enlighten me, Jamie. It is, of course, number 87, Sidney Crosby's birthday. The reason he chose 87, the reason he's apparently obsessed with the number 87, including it in his contract and everything. Yes, it dictates his financial future. Which has always made me laugh. Like, 15 mil, no, I'm good.

How about 8.7? 8.7 mil. That's my only number i'll accept his agent just hates him he's like sid come on we could make so much more money why are you obsessed with this number that would be hilarious but anyways sydney crosby uh is 37 years old today so shout out happy. Happy birthday to Sidney Crosby. I was wondering, and I saw, I think it was Andrew Filippone from Pittsburgh who pointed out on Twitter yesterday,

like, because he's so obsessed with 87, could this be the day an extension is announced, right? He's eligible for an extension. Could we see a Sidney Crosby one last contract to keep him in Pittsburgh for the rest of his career?

Hasn't happened yet. We'll see. Lots of day yet let to go. I'd be worried if it doesn't happen. Right? Like, this is the logical time for it to happen. Plus, there was the report about a month ago that they were close on a deal.

It's definitely going to happen. No problem. Everyone thought, oh, they're just going to wait until August 7th to do it. So if it doesn't happen today... Then he's a Vancouver Canuck Then he's coming clearly To the other side of the country

You know what I just did This is so devastating this is the first time I've done it I reflexively typed in Cap friendly to my browser bar And got the thank you page Porn went out So I'll go to Puckpedia now But it is a little surprising

That he has been eligible for a new contract for over a month now he's i don't know where do you put like top five player in nhl history realistically you look at the incredible production the winning he's done in his career he's certainly in that conversation i believe that's where he was on the athletics list there you go well if the athletics said it it must be true but i think he's absolutely he's like what the hell did you just say well the athletic laudy dog he's fifth just like the canucks management was in the confidence rankings that went up yesterday that's right um but this is like one of the greatest hockey players of all time. Who's won three Stanley cups,

played his entire career in your city. He's been eligible for a new contract for a month, more than a month. And as, as Laddie said, there's been like a little like whispers, but never, you know,

Oh, it's going to get done. Don't worry. It's close. They're getting, you know, expected any day now it's just been like, Oh yeah, you should sign. It'll probably happen. It shouldn't be a hard going to get done. Don't worry. It's closed. They're getting, you know, expected any day now. It's just been like, oh, yeah, you should sign.

It'll probably happen. It shouldn't be a hard deal to get done. Like, what's the, like, you pay him what he wants. It's not like he's going to be, like, demanding, you know, 16 million a season or something. I'm sure he just wants a reasonable number. He just wants his 8.7. He wants his 8.7.

Can you imagine if Kyle Dubas is like, we're not going to hair over 8. Sorry. Sorry, bud. 8.7. Internal evaluation. We can't do it. Every time we have a Penns beat writer on, we'll always ask them that question,

like what if Sid leaves? And they always, to a man, get so angry. They do get mad. Just the thought of him leaving the Penns and going to another team. And as we are wont to do on the show, Halford especially, we like starting hot takes and rumors here that

never come to fruition and I want to say it was Halford that was like hey maybe he'll come maybe he'll come to the Canucks you never know I mean Rutherford connection and I mean not to say it's it's not the craziest idea out there look man there is the Rutherford connection but it's

I understand it's highly unlikely but nevertheless if he goes into this season Without a new deal that's a talking Point I'll put the road map out here okay Kyle Dubas low balls Him offends him ticks him off In negotiations this summer right that's Why a deal hasn't gotten done refuses

To play ball on the whole 8.7 Ruins his birthday He's already unhappy with him about Gensel is already that exactly right He's already ticked off so heensel. He's already that. Exactly, right? He's already ticked off, so he goes into the season. He says, you know what? Maybe we'll see. We'll see. Goes into the season on the final year of his deal, pending unrestricted free agent.

Deadline time rolls around. Penguins out of a playoff spot. Canucks rolling along, having a great year. You know what? I like what this Elias Pettersson kid's doing over there. That first round pick is burning a hole in Jim Rutherford's pocket. He's going to pick up the phone. He's made deals with Kyle Dubas.

He's made lots of deals with Kyle Dubas. They're very familiar with each other. Would Sid like to end his career in Vancouver, Kyle? Do you think that's something he could work out? Beautiful city. It's a lovely town. A lot of great young players. The site of his most famous moment.

I was going to say, one of his best moments of his career happened in Rogers Arena. He's a Canadian icon. Potential cup contender for the next however many years. He'd get a statue if he came here, right? Even if he played a couple seasons. Just one game? We'll build it in advance. You'd have the gold medal goal statue, right? It'll be a welcome statue. That could be part of the deal. We will build

a statue. Come to our team, wave the no move clause, tell Kyle Dubas to trade you, tell him you're not resigning. Come here. And for every goal you score, we'll make the statue slightly bigger. It'll keep getting larger and larger for every goal you score. Oh, God, it's bigger than the stadium. I mean, you got to ask the question.

Is Sidney Crosby's legacy complete if he doesn't win a Stanley Cup in a Canadian city? That's how you got to frame it. He's got to check that box. And where better to do it than reuniting with Rick Talkett and Jim Rutherford and Patrick Alveen in Vancouver this is what I'm just saying

I know it's not gonna happen but could you imagine like how it would be like the Matt Sundin to Vancouver thing times like 10 million yeah it'd be like you know just be one of those things like I cannot believe this is actually happening. It would be the greatest day in Vancouver sports radio history if that happened. We'd have content for about six decades.

Oh, that would be absolutely. Just line up all the Pittsburgh beat writers and they just be gentrifying. Play the clips of them getting ticked off about it back. How do you feel now? We're going to book Gentilly all week. Every day. Just bring him in. Fly him in. He can sit in third host yeah exactly we want to get your reaction on we want you on camera to really see how annoyed you are you can have the same experience sid's gonna have

by coming to vancouver to vancouver check it out um i will say look we're joking here obviously somebody says relax he'll sign today because it's August 7th We'll see I mean look we'll tell you what it's already Like 11 a.m. in Pittsburgh Can announce a deal by now I don't know what they're waiting For if he doesn't sign today he's 100% Coming to the canoes right that's right you Heard it from a dog first I'll only say if there's

One executive Who is not going to let all of the reasons It won't happen deter him from trying To make it happen. It's Jim Rutherford. He has never said anything but like over the top incredible praise about Sidney Crosby. He loves Sidney Crosby. He loves making deals.

He loves making big moves and adding big stars. That's all I'm saying. Just don't count it out. He's just been texting Sid all day. Winky faces. Happy birthday, buddy. Is that tampering if it's just a winky face text? We gotta text him from Tyler. What if he turns into Mark Messier

2.0? What if he comes here and demands the C from Quinn Hughes? Rips the C from Quinn Hughes. What now? Can you imagine if that happens again? That would be hilarious. That would be very Canucks. I mean, it would be good content. It would be good content. There's no doubt about that. Oh, God, what have we done? It's happening again. Get ready

for the ultimate sports fan trip to Michigan from September 27th to October 1st. Experience games at the Big House, Comerica Park, and Ford Field. Contact Neil Chark at neilc at uniglobecarefree.ca. For details, Vanny Sartini, Whitecaps manager, they got a big match coming up tonight at BC Place. It's a transfer window almost closing as well. So we'll talk to Vanny about that coming up next year

on Halford & Brough Sportsnet 650.