Halford & Brough in the Morning - Nathan Rourke Is A BC Lion

Episode Date: August 13, 2024

In hour three, guest hosts Jamie Dodd & Josh Elliott-Wolfe chat with BC Lions wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt, as the Leos get set to snap a three-game losing skid versus the Bombers on Wednesday, the boys tell us what they learned and react to the breaking Nathan Rourke news (15:00), plus we hear from the humanoids (27:00). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

welcome back to half an abrupt sports at 650 jamie dodge josh elliott wolf filling in here half an abrupt 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 Campbell & Pound Real Estate Appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit Campbell-Pound.com today. We are 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? And, of course, 650-650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line, so you can get your submissions, and we'll read what we learned. Your submissions for what we learned at 8.30, hashtag WWL, what you learned in the last 24 hours in sports.

Send them in. Right now, though, we are very pleased what you learned in the last 24 hours in sports. Send them in. Right now, though, we are very pleased to be joined from the BC Lions. He is wide receiver Aiden Eberhardt. Aiden, thanks very much for doing this today. How are you? I'm doing pretty good. Thank you guys for having me. Yeah, it's our pleasure.

And, you know, not the best of times for the team right now. I know there's always highs and lows for a season. Three-game losing streak currently uh what are the what's the mood like in the in the locker room and around the team these days yeah i mean i think everyone's really on the same page of you know we're not playing our best ball and we got to get back to what we're doing when we were winning games um whether it's urgency during practice that's obviously going to translate to games. I think a lot of it is everyone's on the same page more than anything.

So I think that's a really good thing. We're trying to figure it all out. Everything's on the up and up you know everyone wants wants it wants to win and is willing to do um what it takes to win so you know energy to practice all that kind of stuff um going back to the little things of uh you know what we kind of build our foundation on. How nice is it going to be to be back playing in BC Place in front of the home fans when you take on Winnipeg on the weekend? Yeah, it's going to be really nice.

This little away game stretch hasn't obviously been great record-wise or anything like that. But, yeah, no, it's going to be great to be back in front of the fans, back in the Dome. So I'm really looking forward to it. On a personal level, how have you felt the season has gone for you? Yeah, I think it's been pretty good. You know, I think, you know, I want to do whatever it takes for our team to win, whether it's catching the ball, blocking, special teams or anything like that. So, you know, I think obviously there's always room for improvement. So I'm not, you you know saying that it's

been perfect by any means um but uh there's been some good things um and just kind of looking you know at all the game film everything like that trying to uh you know see what i can do better do more of and uh you know be able to obviously learn from that and implement that into my game personally and get better and better, hopefully throughout the season here. It's your second year with the Lions in the CFL. For a receiver in particular, what are the challenges of adjusting,

coming from the American game, the NCAA, to the CFL, and just some of the different different uh kind of different rules obviously and just different things about the game for a receiver in particular how did you go about adjusting and kind of uh getting you know getting comfortable with the new rules yeah uh so I I would probably start out by saying our coaches are great um throughout training camp and helping us out with all the rule changes. And, you know, Tuck is working with us on the waggle, you know, right away. And they've got some grace, you know, that's different. And it's not going to be perfect, you know, right when we show up.

But I do think that the waggle is probably the biggest difference. You know, once you figure out how to use it, how to time it out, you know, where it landmarks a little bit of how far back you can be and then figuring out the motion part of it, like, you know, formation-wise, where do I have to be by the time the ball snapped? How can I use my waggle to help me out in my route and gain leverage or, you know, misdirection or anything like that?

So I think being able to kind of understand the waggle, I guess, is the toughest part. And then being able just to trust it. Once you get it and once you start using it, you just got to trust that, you know, you're going to hopefully stay on side. But that you can just take off and run because that's a big advantage of being able to use a waggle is, you know, you're on the run already. So if you can figure out how to use that, that's a huge advantage. And then the other rules kind of go over situation-wise.

You know, we always have a situation throughout the end of practice, I guess. And so I think Rick does a great job of kind of implementing and keeping in the back of everyone's minds, here's different rules that could come up that are kind of weird or different. So I think the coaches do a great job of helping out with the rules. But yeah, I would say the waggle is probably the trickiest change from NCAA. It's also a good group of receivers on the Lions, too. Has that made the transition easier?

And what's it like being a part of that group? Yeah, absolutely. The receivers are great last year and this year. So it makes it a lot easier because, you know, we can always talk about, you know, where to line up, kind of, you know, if you want to use your waggle a little bit different, how to try to set people up, you know, all the little nuances in the game and the CFL and routes in general.

It's been a huge help. They're, you know, great people on and off the field. And so it's been a big blessing because they've helped me out so much in the receiver room. And that's been, like I said, a huge help because, you know, everyone's got different insight and different takes on different things so being able to you know hear from a different perspective of you know running routes or hey do you try this or maybe you can try this so it's good to kind of bounce ideas

off of everybody and kind of go from there so it's been it's been awesome uh we're talking to bc lions wide receiver Aiden Eberhardt here on Halford & Brough Sportsnet 650. Aiden, I was doing a little research before we started chatting with you this morning, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you started as a walk-on at Wyoming in the NCAA, earned a scholarship there, eventually established yourself as a key player with the team. Now you're playing professional football.

That's a really impressive journey in football. When you kind of look back on it, you know, what's been the key to just continuing to improve and taking those next steps and now to where you find yourself today? Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, first of all, thank you. But, yeah, I think more than anything, playing with a little bit of a chip on your shoulder, like you have asked something to prove, has always kind of helped me.

Like you said, coming into Wyoming as a walk-on, you know, I didn't have a scholarship, so I was trying to kind of earn my way for a scholarship and to be able to get on the field. And, you know, what do I have to do more of? And I think that just kind of that work ethic of that mindset of being a walk-on, I think that's kind of helped me out quite a bit because I've got really good work ethic and, okay, this is what I have to do to get better. Okay, during the off season I need to be, you know, running, lifting,

doing all this and all that. And it's like no matter what, like that's the bottom line. So I really think work ethic and just kind of having that mindset of, okay, I've got to earn my keep, basically. So I think, if anything, that's kind of what's helped me the most throughout my journey. And even as a kid, I was always a little shorter. I didn't really grow until like my junior year of high school and so even with you know that kind of thing too it was just you know I'm kind of the shorter kid so I need to work my butt off because if I want to play you know it's got to be a bigger

difference or else they're going to try to go with the taller guy, whether it's football, baseball, or basketball, basically. So, yeah, I think more than anything, just having that mindset of, you know, I got to go out there every single day, whether it's practice, film, or the game, and, you know, I got to prove something. Now, as I mentioned, you're out of the University of Wyoming. You crossed over there for a year with probably the most famous football alumni of the University of Wyoming, of course, Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills quarterback. Be honest.

Did you expect him to be this good? He's taken high in the first round. I get it. But, like, he has been so incredible. Did you expect him to be this good in the NFL? Being completely honest, I don't i didn't think they took him high enough i thought all right he could have gone number one um but yeah no josh is um throughout college you could see the arm talent. I mean, the dude can throw the ball at least 80 yards. It's not farther than that.

The arm talent is unbelievable, and his ability to kind of run around and make plays at the end of the day was just crazy. So I think all of that on top of being a great leader and being able to lead, you know, knowing football IQ-wise, too, just crazy. And so I thought, you know, it's always awesome to see someone succeed, but he's a great guy on and off the field, and so it's awesome to see that kind of come to fruition

because we all had really, I guess, high expectations or thought he was really going to set the league on fire. So it's been awesome to see that. But, yeah, we expected it, and we kind of saw it at college. What was it like? I mean, as you said, right, the athleticism is just off the charts, right, for Josh Allen, you know, the arm talent, the speed the physicality all of it what was it like just kind of practicing week in week out with a guy like that especially at quarterback

yeah it was it was something else there it felt like every you know every day there was at least one play where you're just like, holy cow. What just happened? They're like, how did he fit that ball in that window? He can make throws that a lot of people cannot make. It was always really cool to be able to see that during practice and then obviously during games. It was just kind of that wow factor. I guess that was pretty crazy to witness.

Aiden, really appreciate you taking some time to chat with us this morning. Best of luck against the Bombers on the weekend. I know the fans are going to be really excited to get back in BC Place and cheer you guys on as well. Thanks for doing this. Sounds good. Well, I appreciate you for having me. Thank you very much. Our pleasure. That is Aiden Eberhardt,

BC Lions wide receiver, joining us and sharing some thoughts about playing with Josh Allen at Wyoming. I've never heard anyone describe the waggle with such consistency. Also, a big waggle guy. The waggle per 60 was out of control i haven't heard that word used in a sentence more than once in my life let alone 10 times in a minute i was i and

look i know like when people are are not used to talking sometimes they can catch themselves too and he was probably like man i'm saying waggle a lot and then he hit and then he i found it fascinating though because i've never heard of anyone really mentioned it before well and so somebody texted in what is a waggle and you helpfully texted back josh well it's the waggle of course very very helpful text the muppets show to receive back but if like if you couldn't pick it up from context clues there of course in the cfl you're allowed forward motion as a receiver which of course you are not in the ncaa or the nfl that uh is the waggle factor, right? So you're allowed to run towards the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped as a receiver.

The motion of a receiver towards the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped. So, yeah, that would be a big adjustment if you're coming from south of the border, playing the American game, getting used to the CFL. That's a big adjustment to get used to allowing forward motion. The NFL is actually really cracking down on that because the Tyreek Hill motion, I forget what the actual name for it is, but sometimes he would start to turn towards the line of scrimmage

before the ball was snapped, and the NFL is like, no, no waggle. It was always a wheel motion where he comes around, but he's getting his momentum going. Because for a guy like Tyreek Hill, he gets a head start. If you let Tyreek Hill have a waggle, it's done. It's over.

Which is what the CFL wants. They want to be that offensive league. Lots of passing, and that facilitates this. They want more waggle? They want more waggle. They want to waggle everywhere. Waggle good. It's like... I'm just thinking of the more cowbells catch. Guys, gotta have more waggle? They want more waggle. They want to waggle everywhere. Waggle good. I'm just thinking of the more cowbells catch. Guys, got to have more waggle.

I'll tell you what it needs. It's more waggle. So the CFL is the league for you if you're looking for some waggle in your football. Go check out the CFL. And yeah, the Lions hosting the Blue Bombers back home for the first time in a while on the weekend. All right. It's Alfred and Brough here on Sportsnet 650. Jamie Dodd, Josh Elliott-Wolf. 650-650 is the Dunbar-Lumber text line.

Still a chance to get your What We Learned submissions in to the 650 Dunbar-Lumber text line. Hashtag WWL. What you've learned over the last 24 hours in sports. But we'll start with some of ours. I'll tee you up. Josh, you're up first. Okay.

We'll take what we learned. All right. What we learned, Will Levis has his own mayonnaise fragrance. Sure. Say no more. The Tennessee Titans quarterback. What? Pardon me?

He has his own magnet. Oh, magnet? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. It's a magnet. He's got a mayonnaise fragrance. Mayonnaise fragrance? So the Will Levis No. 8 Parfum de Mayonnaise opens with a... This is by Hellman's, by the way.

I'm sorry. Can you do that accent one more time? Parfum de Mayonnaise. Okay. They really... Promise me you'll never do that again. Yeah, no, I won't. I actually...

This is true. There is a What We Learned in the Inbox that involves No, I won't. Actually, this is true. There is a What We Learned in the Inbox that involves French that I'm going to ask Josh to do later. I'm so ready. We'll get to hear Josh's French accent again. I'm so ready. But they released a video Helmings did. It's like a cologne commercial, essentially. And they have this mayonnaise-scented cologne for sale on their website called Will Levis No. 8.

In what world would you want to smell like mayonnaise so let me tell you the the fragrance it opens with a bright burst of tart lemon that provides a refreshing and clean introduction at the heart of the fragrance lies a creamy daring mayonnaise accord offering a smooth and complex heart. Parsley adds a fresh herbal element reminiscent of a well-prepared dish. And of course, this fragrance would not be complete without subtle coffee undertones reminiscent of Will Levis's signature mayonnaise-infused caffeine beverage. A sensual musk base weaves through the composition, evoking physicality and charisma. Way too much thesaurus right now. Finally.

All I had to write was, have you ever wanted to smell awful? Because we have a fragrance for you. You want to smell like a sandwich? Basically, it is lemon, mayonnaise, parsley, coffee, and creamy vanilla. So I was really confused. And they have a mustard accompaniment as well.

You catch up all the way. Mustard cologne. I was really confused and they have a mustard accompaniment as well you catch up although mustard mustard cologne i was really confused here because i get you know brands do dumb things to go viral i understand that that's part of our society now like shot you know there's always the weird like ketchup flavors and like whoa i can't believe they would do that and it's just so people will like post about it on social media i was confused about the connection between Will Levis and mayonnaise specifically. Like, why him? It's a coffee thing. Yeah, I didn't realize that,

that he is relatively famous for putting mayonnaise in his coffee. Yeah. Because I was like, what is the connection here? I'm missing something. But the coffee

illuminated it for me. That's like Will Levis' thing. Yeah. For some reason. I feel like there's no way he actually still does this. Why not? But now he's so committed to the bit. Why wouldn't he? reason. I wonder if he's like, there's no way he actually still does this. Why not? But now he's so committed to the bit.

Why wouldn't he? I don't know. Why do you mean there's no way? Dude, mayonnaise and coffee. But he did it. He obviously liked it. Why would he stop? You think he's like, oh, I got to put that behind me now.

I'm an NFL quarterback. He put mayonnaise in his coffee. That's apparently what he's known for. That is so disgusting. It's a wild one. Why would you do that? That is like a big character red flag in the draft process. Yeah.

Mayonnaise is good. We're giving this guy a good moment. Good player might be serial killer. Why would you? Mayonnaise is one of those things that it's good in limited quantity, but too much of it is just disgusting. So mayonnaise has its very specific uses, and it excels at those, but you don't want it to step outside its lane.

Stay in your lane, man. It's like a really good stay at home defenseman. That's right. As soon as it gets into the offensive zone, it all hell breaks loose and you just don't know what's going to happen. Yeah. I'm a, I'm a big mayo guy. I like put it on hot dogs.

Sure. I've also been known to dabble with dipping my steak in it at times that's weird okay it tastes good by the way this uh this kind of steak are you dipping in mayonnaise do you have you not good steak already you're like well I gotta salvage something here Josh Josh and I don't at highs he's like

could you guys grab me some mayonnaise do you know who I am taken throw them out this one will so by the way will love us number eight is sold out for Could you guys grab me some mayonnaise? Do you know who I am? Throw them out. This one. So, by the way, Will Levis number eight is sold out for today. The scent of greatness will be restocked tomorrow at 7 a.m. our time. Wait, people bought this thing? Yeah, it's only $8. That's still a ripoff.

Well, I don't know. I'd try it for $8. You want to smell like a sandwich for $8? Why? Why would you try it for $8? For what? I'll make it my wedding scent. No, I won't do that. I will not do that why why would you try it for eight dollars for what i'll make it my wedding sense no i won't do that i will not do that but i try for a day uh all right give us a moo cow on that my what we learned is that the uh the second biggest wedding of the summer in the world of hockey uh well we're getting it's it's a few

weeks in the past now but we're getting more details about of course connor mcdavid married his uh his fiance a few weeks ago lots of pictures coming out and stuff today uh but i say second biggest wedding hockey related wedding of the summer because of course josh elliott wolf a mere three weeks away or so whatever four weeks Four weeks away. You count down. 25 days. 25 days. So three and a half weeks. You know exactly how long.

I am very. From getting married. Not stressed. And I'm sure you're like looking at these pictures, you know, hoping Connor McDavid didn't rip anything off from you. Hoping that, you know, like I got to keep it unique from Connor McDavid, making sure that you get one up on him, obviously, as you expect to do at your wedding. I will also say I'm very excited because we have officially booked the 650 Airbnb for your wedding.

So there's seven of us, I believe, staying in an Airbnb, catching the shuttle bus to your wedding, and it's booked. It's going to be a disaster. It's going to be a disaster it's gonna be our perspective a shuttle bus full of 650 people and my ass we're gonna get to know your family yes it's going to be very very good how are the wedding preparations going you feeling good about it yeah i still so yesterday we have like these vow books that you gotta like physically write your vows in and uh We got some breaking news here. Sorry to interrupt you.

No, this better be big. Interrupting his wedding. Sorry. I believe the BC Lions, if this is the real account, which I can see it is. The BC Lions have just announced 2022 CFL. Most outstanding Canadian Nathan Rourke is returning to the BC Lions. Rourke will arrive at the club's facility for Wednesday practice with media availability to follow at 1.30 p.m.

So some massive breaking news from the BC Lions. Obviously, it's been a big talking point, big point of conversation here since he was cut by the Atlanta Falcons. And now it is official from the team, Nathan Rourke coming back to play for the BC Lions. He's going to be at practice tomorrow. He will meet with the media tomorrow as well. I'll tell you right now, we'll do our best to get him on the station

as soon as we can as well to talk about it. But a big, big story here. Nathan Rourke, again, the 2022 CFL Most Outstanding Canadian, coming back to play for the BC Lions. And lots to say about this, obviously. It's going to be fascinating to hear the decision-making process from Rourke. I know that, I think it was just yesterday on with Brooke Ward, Neil McAvoy basically said, look, the door's always open

if Rourke wants to come back from our perspective. Vernon Adams is day- day at this point. So they already have one really, really good quarterback in the fold. How does that shake out? And then, of course, I think the other thing to note here is the BC Lions host the Grey Cup this year. Like they are clearly serious about doing everything in their power to be in that Grey Cup game in BC Place in front of their home fans. We'll see how quickly it takes them to get up to speed, how long before he's

ready to start, but they've got a chance now to have clearly the best quarterback in the league under center for them. This is a big, big move for the BC Lions. Yeah, and the thing that's come up often has been like, well, the Lions have Vernon Adams. You don't necessarily need a quarterback, but Rourke is just so

far and away especially when he was playing here in BC clearly the best quarterback in the CFL if you can get him you go get him and it'll be interesting to see how long it takes for him to kind of get onto the the playing field like I'm sure he'll be practicing for a couple weeks but you got to learn the playbook and all that so it might take a while for him to fully get into games, but it's huge. This is huge for the BC Lions and a bit of a tailspin right now. Still trying to like you're still in the playoff spot. You're not worried about it.

But to have him for the rest of the season is major, major news. Huge news out of the BC Lions. Nathan Rourke back with the team. We'll get you more details as it comes here as they come here, but that's just breaking a few minutes ago from the BC Lions themselves announcing the news. Get ready for the ultimate sports fan

trip to Michigan from September 27th to October 1st. Experience games at the Big House Comerica Park in Ford Field. Contact Neil Chark at neilc at uniglobecarefree.ca for details what we learned coming up next. Still time to send yours in, 650-650, to the Dunbar Lumber text line.

Final segment of the show here, Halford & Brough Sportsnet 650. Now for my favorite part of the show. What'd I say? Talk to the audience. Oh, God, this is always dead. It's what we learn time. It's what we learn time.

It's what we learn time. On the show. Welcome back to Half and Brough, your Sportsnet 650. Jamie Dodd, Josh Elliott, Wolf. Half 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 Campbell & Pound Real Estate Appraisers. Trust the expertise

of Campbell & Pound. Visit Campbell-Pound.com today. 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. We'll get to what we learned in just a second, but yeah, just re-emphasizing the news that quarterback Nathan Rourke back in the fold with the BC Lions

or as our guy Rick Dollywall, of course, 650 contributor of Donnie and Dolly, as he put it on Twitter, QB Nathan Rourke back with the BC Loons. Go Loons! Dollywall is in mid-season form, that trademark precision and attention to detail from Rick Dollywall. Big Loons guy. Love the Loons. The Loons are so good at the waggle, man.

I can't believe the loons got Rourke. It's incredible, really. So shout out to Rick Dollywall for that. All right, let's get into it. Let's print out some lister submissions here. And of course, you got to play the fire plan. Oh my God, we're having a fire plan. 650 650 is the Dunbar lumber text line.

I mentioned that I had one involving French because you displayed your French accent. So, you know, perfect. Really? That's all I can say. Somebody texted and unsigned. I can't listen to this morning, but I thought I'd send in a what we learned anyway uh what we learned the french for offer sheet is much more fun do you have this up i'll let you say yeah a free hostile i feel like a nail bad

perfect absolutely perfect so a hostile offer yeah i. It does. It adds a little bit of spice. Not just an offer sheet. Could you imagine? You are being actively hostile to this team. This is a hostile act that you are doing. And that's what St. Louis has done to the Ebb and Doylers twice. Doug Armstrong. Double the hostility. Calls up Stan Bowman.

He's like, you ready to get hostile? I am going to be very hostile to you here, Stan. Yes. And I'm going to be very hostile to you. I'm going to sign two players. The most hostile offers I could possibly imagine. Speaking of that, Austin Langley says

what we learned between the Leafs stripping the sea off Tavares and the Oilers getting double offer sheeted. This is about as good of a 24 hours as a Canucks fan can have in August. That's from Austin and Langley. I mean, it's definitely like if you were looking for something just to have some fun with, do some trolling online, get those jokes off.

This is a great opportunity. Oh, yeah. Get those jokes off. You've been holding on to Oilers jokes for a couple months here. And the Leafs one is, you know, we talked about it earlier in the show. Like, you can make some jokes. You can have some fun with it ultimately I mean they're an Eastern Conference team this doesn't really change much it is fun to joke about but again it's not really going to change much the Oilers are actually in a tough spot here like this could actually

meaningfully affect what they do next year in the regular season in the playoffs as a result of the offer sheets and how they navigate the offer sheets from St. Louis. Their team has to be different next year just based on this. Whether you're training someone out to make Broberg and Holloway work or you're losing one of or both of Broberg or Holloway, it's making a fundamental change to your team and obviously not huge pieces, but pieces that if you're a team

that expects to be a Stanley Cup contender you need all these surrounding pieces if you're going to make it to your eventual goal what we learned it has not been a slow summer at all for sports just when the Euro Cup Copa America and then Olympics end and you think there will be nothing to talk about Nathan Rourke signs with the Lions. Epic sports summer. That's from Colin in Tawasin. Yeah, and we've had really, I mean, not that we were worried, right? You always find things to talk about.

I was worried. Yada, yada, yada. But an unexpectedly high event show here on August 13th with news from the world of hockey and then the big news from the BC Lions as well that Nathan Rourke is back and Ryan and Cumberland texts in along those lines. What we learned, the Lions finally have a position of strength to trade from to fix the rest of the roster. And that's going to be fascinating here, right? To see how they balance. Because again, look, as Neil Mccavoy said again just

yesterday and i'm sure he knew this was in the works um the door's always open we're always interested in having nathan rourke back and yeah he's probably going to be the best quarterback in the league you do that every time it's not as if quarterback play had been their biggest flaw right vernon adams some ups and downs but generally it had a very good year. So now you are in a position where, okay, we've upgraded a quarterback. What can we do with this newfound, as the texter says, Ryan, this newfound depth at the most important position? Can we use that mid-season

to improve the rest of our team, shore up some problem areas? Easier said than done in football to do that, but at least an opportunity here. And I think, again, you know, man, on this three-game losing streak, they're coming back home. Just kind of the perfect shot in the arm for the Lions now in this market to get people back to being really, really excited

about what this season could turn into. Rick Dolly, while also reporting about the loons, that the Nathan Rourke deal is is he's had lines this time nathan rourke is a two-year deal with the bc lions uh the deal makes rourke one of the highest paid players in the cfl uh also adding the lines will try and keep vernon adams but still working on that and that's the lines kept in constant contact with rourke and things heated up in the last 48 hours. I bet every time Rourke was released or traded, they were like, hey, buddy.

Hey, how's it going, man? Where are things at? Hey, I'm really sorry to hear the bad news. So, you got your passport? You're coming back? Send him flowers every time. Remember us? What's going on, man? Orange flowers. And it finally worked. They wore him down. Got some more more news the St. Louis

Blues have offer sheeted Nathan Rourke oh no I know so this complicates things very complicated goes around comes around go after the Elks Chet and Burnaby text in what we learned I learned about St. Louis waving hello to Stan Bowman this morning has certainly

increased my respect for the St. Louis Blues we had somebody else text in I changed my profile pic increased my respect for the St. Louis Blues. We had somebody else text in. I changed my profile pic on Twitter X to the St. Louis Blues logo. So yeah, Blues popularity has skyrocketed in Vancouver so far. All of a sudden, the St. Louis Blues much more popular than they were just a few hours ago. We've talked a lot about the Oilers perspective on things.

I do find it fascinating from St. Louis' perspective. Like, okay, let's say even what I guess is the best-case scenario. You must really want both of these players to do the offer sheet. You get both of them. How much does it really change the trajectory of the St. Louis Blues? You're taking upside bets on two of them. Maybe you really like the players, but, I mean, their blue line already in a really really weird spot with a ton of guys making money on term that are kind of old if you add a relatively unproven guy making you know four and a half for the next two years that kind of complicates things i'm not saying it's a bad move

for st louis i think teams should always be looking for okay how can we be more creative how can we get better around the margins what can we do here uh to improve our team so credit to them for doing that it's still it's like they're already a weird team and i this to me doesn't move them from the weird team trajectory if it's successful yeah it's not like like nashville going into the offseason to me was also kind of in the, like, hey, what are you doing category? And then they just fully committed to spending a bunch of money and trying to propel themselves into clear playoff team category. And while I maybe don't agree with that direction, it's at least a direction and they fully committed to it.

With the Blues, it's like, again, you look at the standings last year. They're not going to be the standings last year they're not going to be better than the stars they're not going to be better than the avalanche the jets of connor hellebuck is still connor hellebuck they're not going to be better than them the preds i mentioned i think are clearly better and that's already for central teams and then you look at the minnesota wild um the utah hockey club yep if you want to throw them in there they're probably in the conversation but then if you're just looking at the wild card there's also the kings the golden knights um the the kraken if you think they're gonna take a step like there's so much competition and the blues like if you're gonna be making moves like this i think you have to clearly already be a tier above those teams and i don't

think they that these moves even if they work out do that and they're clearly already not in a spot where they're a tier above those teams yeah um 650 650 uh jeff from mission texts in uh what we learned oscar clefbaum of course formerers player, announced his retirement due to injury. Are there any other obscure careers that could have been that were ruined due to injury that stand out to you guys? Yeah, Kleffbaum was really good when he was healthy and on the ice. Tough for him that his career did get derailed by injuries. I don't know if it counts as obscure necessarily, but one of the names that always comes to mind for me having this conversation is just, you know, great careers ruined by injury is Brandon Roy in the NBA,

played for the Trailblazers, who was awesome, like young, really exciting guard for the Blazers, and then just completely derailed by injuries, ended up being out of the league at like 28. Again, not obscure name, but if you're just thinking ofailed by injuries, ended up being out of the league at like 28. Again, not obscure name, but if you're just thinking of like, man, what could have been for a guy without injuries, that one's up there for me.

Another one I'll throw in there, and again, not obscure, did end up playing a long time, but had to shift roles. Kerry Wood, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. That guy was like a phenom when he broke into the league. He had a game where he struck out 20 hitters in a game, which is still tied for the record, I believe. Yeah. Missed a year early in his career with an arm injury and then, you know, had a couple of really good years as a

starter, led the league in strikeouts. And then shortly after that, like kind of right in his prime, 27, 28, more injuries, he ends up having to shift to the bullpen but it went from a guy who was kind of appointment viewing really exciting one of the most exciting pitchers to watch in the game as a starter who could just could not stay healthy enough uh to remain as a starter and ended up having to play out the rest of his career as a bullpen if he could have stayed healthy i think he could have put a really incredible career together as well uh a few texts on this cody hodgson um that's a good one that's a really good one david cedar nolan patrick who yeah he didn't really get a chance to you know

make a name for himself uh some other ones mark prior another cubs pitcher for a little bit later um after carrie wood but again and that one's tough too because people will point to dusty baker rolling him out over and over and over again, and 130 pitch counts, things like that. It's tough to draw a direct line to, okay, and that's why his problems stacked up and his injuries stacked up, but I'm sure it didn't help things. So Mark Pryor, a good shout there as well. A few kind of bigger names, so not obscure, but Derek Rose, RG3, that's an unsigned text.

RG3 is a good one yeah uh josh hamilton and then uh a couple others as well trying to find it in the text box but yeah there's there's a few that um like the the one that comes to mind and this is not obscure at all but anytime we talk about careers getting derailed by injuries is Mike Trout to me. And he's clearly not obscure. He's like an amazing baseball player. But I think he could have been in greatest baseball player of all time talk.

And he still kind of is, but he would have been much more clearly had he been healthy and potentially even playing for a different team too would have helped yep but healthy and more relevant throughout his career and that that's kind of what i i find frustrating i guess if and when i'm thinking of a what if mike trout is always that yeah he from 20 to 27 mike trout so eight seasons in, never finished worse than fourth in MVP voting. He won three MVPs, finished second like four times as well, one time finishing fourth. And then since then, he's played 53 games, 36 games, 119, 82, 29 this year. So, and again, you know, it's not as if he was like 35 when that kicked in, right?

He was coming off his age 27 season, you think still very much in the prime of his career and the production like when he's been on the field he's still been really really good typically not so much this year again only 29 games uh but he just hasn't been able to stay on the field you're right like still obviously a no doubt about it hall of famer going to be looked at as one of the best baseball players of all time but could have been a truly, truly special career. I mean, along those lines, and his career got fully back on track, and he's been incredible. But I do think people forget Sidney Crosby missed a lot of games

in what looks like what were his peak scoring years. If you extrapolate, if he was playing 75 games a year during those seasons where he was struggling with concussions, he would have put up some incredible point totals. And look it's sydney crosby he's still a top five hockey player of all time but how would we be talking about him even maybe a little bit differently than that uh if he'd been able to stay on the ice consistently through those seasons did you guys mention lemieux no that's a good one between his cancer treatments and the lockouts like he i think he was on pace to pass Gretzky in points total

until his cancer treatment. And then there was a lockout, I want to say, in that time period as well. But Lemieux, if Lemieux had stayed healthy his entire career, he might be the leading point getter in the league still to this day. Eric Lindros also. Oh, that's a huge one. For sure. One of the best players in the league before his injury.

I mean, he would have gone on to have an even more incredible career than he already did. Had he not have been injured by Stevens. Somebody texted Mark Savard as well, which is a good shout. No, he's still, you know, he played 800 games in the NHL. But you look at what he was doing for a while there. He had a stretch where he went 97 points, 96, 78, 88. One of the best producers in the league, certainly one of the best playmakers in that time in the league.

He was up there with Henrik Sedin at the time, Joe Thornton, as guys consistently leading the league in assists. And then, of course, we all know the hit and the concussion problems, and he's out of the league just a couple of years after that. So another guy who still had overall a really impressive career, but if he had been able to stick with it and play out you know he was he was kind of at the peak of his powers uh when he had to start missing games and eventually retire did you guys mention beret yet no but it's come in yeah

yeah beret is a big one too i mean if he didn't have his knee problems i want to say that it was that oh my good good i mean he still put up really good numbers even with his injury which shows you how good he was. But if you took that injury out of it and if he was playing fully healthy throughout his career, he'd probably have a really high points total compared to what it is. Yeah. Another baseball one that I wanted to throw out that someone texted in as well,

Steven Strasburg. That's a really good one. He was like, man, he was so hyped up. When he was at his best, that guy was a stud. Yeah, and he turned it on for a few years, and when he was at his best, that guy was a stud. Yeah. And he like turned it on for, for a few years and like he, he helped them win the world series. So he,

he did what he had to do and, and ultimately reached the peak of what a major leaguer tries to do, but he never won any Cy Young's. I think he was a third in Cy Young voting at a, at his peak. And he, he's definitely a what-if. Had he been more healthy throughout his career,

he could have been in kind of the Clayton Kershaw category, who's maybe another one to throw in here, where Kershaw has been injured in recent years. But when we talk about guys who are in the conversation for potentially being the greatest at their position of all time, Strasburg had that hype coming into the majors, and injuries kind of derailed it, and he was never able to reach those heights. Another one with Canucks connection, the Texan, I think this is a really good one, Greg sends in,

Corey Schneider had a decent career, but I always wonder how good he could have been. He could still be playing. And I do think people forget sometimes just how good cory schneider was when he got to uh new jersey he had some phenomenal seasons with the new jersey devils uh and then of course you know injuries caught up to him in a big way but you know his first few years in new jersey 45 games 921 save percentage 69 games 925 save percentage 58 with a 924 that's an elite run for a goalie like that's really really incredible and then obviously the injuries caught up and he was never the same after that but that's a really good shout a guy who still had a good career solid career but i mean like hall of fame might be a little much but that's those are that's an elite

trajectory that got interrupted for Corey Schneider. I do wonder, like, what his career would have been if he wasn't stuck behind Luongo and Brodeur for, like, four of his career's peak years. Yep. And that's not his fault, but it's just like, man, I wonder what his numbers would have looked like and what he could have been had he had just more of an opportunity.

And then obviously, like in New Jersey, he eventually did get that opportunity, but it was a little later in his career, kind of like you have a little more wear and tear. And so, yeah, he's definitely a good shout for sure. 650-650 is the Dunbar-Lumber text line. Still a chance, final few minutes here to send your what we learned in basketball. Phil texts in what we learned. Good news for a Canadian football player with Rourke signing back with the Lions. But tough news for another.

Abbotsford's Chase Claypool being placed on injured reserve is out for the year. His fall from grace in the NFL has been very, very very fast that's a good way to put it right because he looked legit for a while there right you know his performance at the combine such an incredible athlete you know is able to translate that into some touchdowns early in his career and then gets traded you know people really picking over his tape finding some pretty glaring moments lack of effort all of that and all of a sudden a guy who looked like he could be you know, people really picking over his tape, finding some pretty glaring moments, lack of effort, all of that. And all of a sudden, a guy who looked like he could be, you know, a good number two in the league for a while is very much,

I think his NFL career is in question now with this latest news. Tough to see because for a while there, it felt like it was going to be really, really exciting to have a guy from Abbotsford, you know, like fantasy relevance, somebody who's showing up in highlight packages week after week in the NFL. And now as basketball, Phil says, it's, it's been a major fall from grace. Yeah. And it felt like there might be an opportunity with the bills too, just because they don't

really have a clear, like number one receiver traded Stefan digs. And I don't think he was ever going to be the number one guy there, but there would have been opportunity at least to put your name in there and at least get more of a share of some of the receiving mode and yeah it's a tough break for him i do wonder kind of what his career is going to look like because he's got tools and so i think he's always going to get a chance somewhere but he just hasn't been able to put it together i i think it might be kind of like a when we talk about the mistakes and stuff there there's one i remember i was watching a vikings versus steelers game and late in the game the vikings were up and steelers were out of timeouts but they were driving and chase claypool got a first down and instead of like hurrying and getting

the ball back he celebrated the first down and then they ran out of time. Vikings win. There's been multiple moments like that throughout his career, and that's kind of been the bigger issue. And athleticism like he has and draft pedigree relatively high pick, those will get you additional chances, but they run out eventually, especially if you're putting plays like that consistently on tape for teams to look at. If you're not a clear-cut

star, you have to be taking care of business on all those other plays, whether it's the little things like that, whether it's blocking as a wide receiver, being a good teammate, all of those things. And I think unfortunately, that's the position Chase Claypool finds himself in now, and now on IR out for

the year. That does it for us today. Thank you for texting in. Thank you to our guests. Again, the big news for the BC Lions, Nathan Rourke back in the fold. We'll talk more about that tomorrow. Back for another show tomorrow here on Halford & Brough, Sportsnet 650.