Halford & Brough in the Morning - Nathan Rourke Talks BC Lions

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

In hour two, guest hosts Josh Elliott-Wolfe and Jamie Dodd discuss the Athletic's NFL QB 'Tiers' list, then create their own NHL list. Plus, BC Lions Quarterback Nathan Rourke joins the show. Nathan talks about the big win vs Hamilton, the mentality of the team at this point of the season, and his thoughts on Buck Pierce as a coach.  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 Welcome back to Alfordnebrough, Josh Lepraught, Josh Elliott Wolf, Jamie Dodd. I was waiting for like a something to hit that just didn't hit. It's too chaotic. Yeah, there's a lot going on. Halford & Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks.

Visit sands-trustee.com. This hour of Halford & Brough is for jason. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. That's jason.comortgage. We are broadcasting live from the Kintech studio Kintech footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. It was a really eventful break. Yeah. You drank soap.

I'm a little concerned I've been poisoned. I'm crashing out, as the kids say here. 7 a.m. You can't crash out. We're low bodies this week. I went to take a big refreshing sip of water from my mug that I had just filled up and it was something had gone horribly wrong with the water. I don't know what. It was truly disgusting.

So we have like. But I've isolated it to the mug because I went, got a new mug, refilled the water, this water's fine. Right. We have communal mugs in the Rogers building here. Shared between us, News 1130, Jack, Kiss, and so, yeah, I assume I'm hoping it's soap.

If it's not soap, we'll find out rather soon. Possibly I've been poisoned. Yeah, we'll see. Hope that didn't happen. Stay tuned to the show. And then there were also a bunch of, yeah. Imagine? I don't even know what I would do personally.

I guess I would call emergency services. Call like, what is it? What do you call poison control? I think you call it. If you like fell over, we're calling. You probably just call that one. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, actually, we got to call poison services first. It's a whole thing. We were also looking up hyphenated last name in the break. And we forgot the best of us. Shea Gilgis Alexander SGA. And there's more as well.

Some of them I feel like I don't know. I just don't know if it counts. Like what? Like, does Kareem Abdulejabar count? Well, I mean, it is a hyphenated last name. It's not like putting two names together. He switched his name for religious reasons. So I don't know.

I think it counts. It's tough. Yeah. Sharif Abdurrahim, similar. Although I guess he was born that, so it's a little different. Yeah. Okay. And then I thought in the break, what's the oldest example you can think of, right?

And I pose that question into chat GPT. and he gave me satchel page. Notably not a hyphenated last name. So thank you, AI overlords. He's not one of us. Cushing it. Absolutely crushing it. We also got OEL on the text box, Oliver Ekman-Larsen.

How could I forget? Of course. The legend of the Stanley Cup champion, Oliver Ekman-Larsen. Now, do you think we're at peak hyphenated name? So we've gotten texts. I've gotten questions about this as a hyphenated last name, Haver. Yeah. Of like, if you, and I did get married.

Yes. What would happen? Now, does she have a hyphenated name? She, her last name was not hyphenated, but it had two words in it. Like, it was Van something. Oh, wow. Okay. One of the Dutch ones.

And, uh, so she. You don't know what? From Chilliwack? No, I know what. I'm just not going to tell us. I know what it is. Van, I don't know. I can't place it.

Van something. It doesn't matter. Uh, but she took my last name. So we avoided that issue. The issue of like, I don't know what would happen if. two parents that had hyphenated last names, had a kid, and they were both like, we got to figure this out. I don't know if you take one of one and then one from the other. Because I feel like the hyphenated name thing was a big in the 90s when you were born.

Maybe the early 2000s as well. We're seeing the wave of athletes from that time come through, which is why there's so many. But I feel like now the trend is just take one of the parents' names. Yeah. And that's it. It got complicated for a bit. Now it's getting less complicated. I think this might be peak hyphenated name athlete.

As represented by Pete Crow Armstrong Do you have any good jerseys Josh With your name like a rainbow name bar No actually they usually just like I have a softball jersey that has my last name on it But they usually just make the letters smaller And I guess that's fine Yeah it's ripped off

I'd rather the Jared Salta Lamaquia Treatment where it just goes around the whole thing Because it'd be fun I'd be open to it out of the arms Yeah I did uh so when I got married I asked my now wife I was like If you want, you can pick one of the names, and I'll switch with you. Like, if you just want, if you just want Elliot or you just want Wolf.

So you were willing to axe either Elliot or Wolf. Yes. Wow. I should have won Wolf. That's, I was going to say, yeah. Josh Wolf is probably- If she chose Elliot over Wolf, I'd be like, you'd be like, this is a test.

We're not getting married anymore. You failed. Josh Wolf is probably a better, like, radio name, but I would say I have more family on the Elliott side. Yeah, that's fair. That's tough. It's tough. But Wolf.

Elliot Wolf is what one. we're sticking hyphenated and now it's just one last Do many people think your name is Elliot Wolf? Yes Or isn't the GM of the Pats Elliot Wolf? Is Elliot Wolf?

Really? Every time I see it makes a trade I'm like good job Elliot Wolf Is this bill name Josh? I hope so I do every time I call in to somewhere and they're like what's your last name? I'm like Elliot Wolf and they're like so just Wolf I'm like no no I'm not feeling I know what you ask

Sir you moron we ask for just your last name why did jab us both That's the tone they say it and I'm like, no, it's, dude, that's my full last name. It sucks like the first last name you have is a, is a first name. Yes. By the way, Krez from Coquitlam just texted in about the former soccer player, Yan Venegor of Hesselink. And it's, he's not saying he played for a team named Hesseling. That was his full name.

Jan Venegor of Hesselink. Wow. And I looked up a, it sounds like a king. It's a whole, it's a whole arch around Van numbers on the back of his jersey. That is sick. all the way down at his lower back goes all the way up and around to the other side of his lower back. That's pretty

awesome. We mean more last names that have... You want of? Well, I mean, like, Duh, like Della Cruz is that, right? It's just we don't do it. We usually don't see it in English. English is not known for it now. Josh Elliott Wolf of Chilliwap. And he's Dutch, so you'd think it would be Vann.

How did he get it? How did it turn into of? Well, because he's got the... He probably added that. Yeah. You tried to anglicize it? I don't know. Like, Carl, Anthony Towns. His name is just Carl Towns. He added the Anthony. Okay, guys, we're going, that is

interesting. But anyways, we're learning a lot here. We're going down the rabbit hole according to the Wikipedia page for Yan Venegore of Hesselink. British newspaper, the Guardian, researched Venegore of Hesseling's unusual sounding name in 2004. It found that in the 17th century, there was a marriage

between the Venigua and Hesselink farming families, and due to the prestige of both surnames, they kept both. The of his name means ore. Oh, So they're like, you can call us either one. I'm Venagore or Hesselink. And he was like, both. Yeah.

Wow. All right. Good for, uh, good for Jan. We killed eight minutes. That's fascinating, actually. Yeah. That's actually really cool. The other thing about Carl Anthony Towns that for some, like, for some reason I knew but

didn't know is that I thought Anthony Towns was the last name for the longest time. And maybe that's the hyphenated last name of me. That's your bias. My buyer. Yeah. My inherent bias was like, I need him to be. Carl Anthony classic bias sports media

Yeah that's me That's me Holmer His one bias The Canucks are gonna trade For any hyphenated Last Name player And I am all in

OEL I was I was in on You were like all right Let's go It's my time to shine This is my baby It didn't work out Now he's bought it Okay

We'll move on to actual sports topics All right If you've got more Hyphenated related tidbits Or just guys you want to remember With us send them in We're on this now Why not?

Give us all you got on the 650-6-50-Dumbar-Lumber text line. So at 8 o'clock today, we're going to talk to Mike Sando from the Athletic. At 7.30, by the way, Nathan Mork from the BC Lions quarterback for your BC Lions. But at 8, Mike Sando. And the reason we're speaking to him is he had a tier list up at the athletic that he did not, well, he put it together, but he was not the main voice of. It was a panel comprised of six GMs, six AGMs, six former GMs, and other executives, other coaches, around the NFL, a group of 60 informed voices

that voted on quarterbacks and like what tier they should be in in the NFL. And the results were relatively surprising for the time. tier one quarterbacks, there's more than I would probably put in tier one. Absolutely. And this is an annual piece that Sando does. It's very, I think, anticipated in NFL circles, because as you said, of the

people he gets it anonymously to help put it together. It really just serves as a snapshot of opinion around the league, how the league itself views all these different quarterbacks. And it, you know, theoretically should have a little bit more weight than, you know, whatever they're screaming about on ESPN

or whatever, like Stephen A. Smith's list of top five quarterbacks. You probably want to wait this one a little heavier. But as you said, so no surprise, clear cut tier one, Patrick Mahomes, but also receiving only tier one votes, the only other guy, Joe Burrow, which is immediately a surprise. Except essentially tied for first overall in this metric, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow. And then also in tier one, you've got Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, checks out to me. The one that might surprise some people, Matthew Stafford, as the fifth tier one quarterback in this exercise. Now, what I will say about Stafford is they have the actual chart, I guess,

of how many people voted for him to be in tier one. And he just kind of barely made it into the top tier. But still, he's in the top tier. To me, it's surprising. To me, the other surprising thing. And I feel like Elon will back me up here. Three people had Josh Allen as a tier two quarterback. That baffles me.

Essentially, it's Mahomes and Burrow. as T1 and then it goes Allen 3 Lamar Stafford. It's baffling to me if you're putting Burrow in the same conversation as Mahomes that Alan and Lamar Jackson aren't. That's my thing. It's like you can have Burrow there and I would probably disagree like I would rather have Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson over Joe Burrow personally. But if you're going to have Burrow there, I can see the reasoning.

But then I would also have Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. Yeah. And so three people vote. voted Josh Allen as tier two, four voted Lamar Jackson as tier two. I don't like I don't get how you can want unless your thing is there's only one tier one quarterback and it's Patrick Mahomes and everyone else is by definition in tier two. But that's not the case because some of these people who voted Lamar and Josh Allen tier two would have voted Joe Burrow in tier one. I don't see how you can look at both Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen and say they are tier two quarterbacks in the NFL given how incredibly productive and successful they've been. Now, one of the reasoning, there was only kind of a short blurb at the bottom of the Josh Allen part of the article that was a quote that said the only thing that has been an issue for him is turnovers playing hero ball and that was better last year.

So maybe we can talk to Mike more about this and see if he has more reasoning for why Josh Allen got three tier two votes. But to me, it's like if that's your only reasoning for him playing hero ball and maybe having more turnovers than you would like. I just don't really agree with it. And I would pretty clearly have them in tier one for quarterbacks. Yeah, that's a pretty easy one to me. And we should round out, you know, it's a big list in tier two. But Jane Daniels, Justin Herbert, Jared Gough at 8, C.J. Stroud and Jalen Hertz tied for nine. So Gough above Hertz is a bit of an interesting one for me as well.

Baker Mayfield, Dak Prescott, Jordan Love, Brock Purdy, rounding out tier two. That's right, good for him. Absolutely. I would, I'm a little surprised Hurts isn't higher. Well, he's got everything he needs. Yeah. The best team, the best O-line, the best running back. Yeah.

Amazing defense. I would still, I still have him as like a tier two quarterback, but for those reasons. But I would have him higher than someone like Jared Gough still. Justin Herbert, like, yeah, maybe I'd take Herbert over Hertz. Same with Jaden Daniels, but I don't know. I think Hertz is a top eight quarterback, and right now he's tied for ninth. So I guess it's not that upsetting, but I don't know.

So I was trying to do this exercise, but apply it to the NHL. As we do. Because tears, we love tears. Yeah. We're almost like the athletic. It's called Thomas Strand. What's he up to?

You know what? He would be absolutely game. He would wake up and be like, let's go. You guys are talking tears? I'm in. So the first question, if you're trying to do the tears, and I'm not going to limit it to position,

I know this one's just for the NFL quarterbacks, but if we're just talking NHL players, I think the first question is, do you have McDavid in a tier by himself? And I think if we're trying to mimic Sando's list here and Sando's exercise, I don't think you can put McDavid in his own tier. Like tier one has to...

Because otherwise tier one would just be one player. Exactly, right? So, okay, tier one has to include more players. So I'm going to do that. So here I came up with four tier one NHL players I think it's maybe

pretty obvious but McDavid obviously Leon Drysidal Nathan McKinnon and I have Nikita Kutrov in there

is that is that the accurate tier one for you in the NHL I think I would agree I think you can maybe make the argument that tier like Kutrov could be in tier two

if you if you want to split hairs I still would have them in tier one but that would be the only guy like he's obviously like the fourth guy that's what I mean

like the other three are clearly ahead of them It is just like, he has put, he has scored so many points. Nikita Kutrov, like he is an absolute machine, 121, 144, 113. And that's why I still have him too. 69 and 47 games, right? 85 and 68 games, 128. Like, he has just been phenomenally productive.

He's also got the postseason success. So I get it if you want to say, oh, 32 and he doesn't, not like the physical specimen that those other guys are, but I think he has to be there in tier one, considering what he's done, even if you have him was the fourth guy of tier one. Yeah, I'm fine with that.

Tier two, so this is where I think you start to get into like, there's clearly a gap between tier one and tier two at least for now. Austin Matthews, would you have them in tier two?

I would have Austin Matthews in tier two for sure. Okay. He's one of the guys that like he's probably been in tier one throughout his career. He's the up and down. He's like the next guy

to break through to tier one. Yes. You know, because he had the 69 goal season a couple of years ago, right? If he does another one of those has that type of two-a impact again, maybe the injury or whatever was lingering for him this past year he gets over, then I think you'd be talking about him as another tier one player. Back-to-back Stanley Cup champion, Sasha Barkov. I think he's got to be tier two.

The two-a impact? Yeah. Right? Whole, you count the whole game. He's probably a tier two player. Then maybe we get into some defenseman. Kill McCarquin Hughes, same tier. I think they have to be.

Yeah. Don't they? Now, could you make an argument for either one to be a tier one player? I think a lot of NHL fans might have Kail McCar there. That's what I was going to say. I think a lot of people outside of Vancouver would be like, well, you could put Kail McCar in tier one. If you were going to do like a token defenseman, you would have Kail McCar in tier one.

But I think having both of them below the McDavid-Drysidal McKinnon-Kutrov group, but in the same tier is correct. So my tier two of NHL players would be Austin, Matthews, Sasha Barkov, McCar, Quinn Hughes, and I'd have Carol Caprizov in there as well, which might be aggressive for some people, and we'll get to some names farther down the list

that I have him over, but again, like, you talk about importance to the team, the track record of production, I know he was injured for stretches this year, that guy's an incredible player, just a phenomenal, phenomenal player. I think he deserves to be there. I would agree, and yeah,

it's the, the, I can't really point to issues out now the I guess the conversation is like how big would tier two be that's the thing because I think you could throw someone like David Pasternak into tier two I think he's a couple oh you think so yeah I don't know like oh okay hold on okay so if you're talking like we want to win one game you don't have to think for a second are you taking Posternak over Matthews no doubt Matthews yeah are you taking Barkov over Posternak no doubt Bacruz same thing caprice off for me same thing

Caprizov for me is the one where it's like I'm taking Caprice off easily I would take Caprize off but I don't think it's that big of it I just think if you're not even having like I would sooner move Caprizov to tier three the move past up to tier two I guess I could see it he's just not in that conversation to me because okay so you look at point totals

for the last three years Pastornak 10 110 113 pretty good and I'll give that to you that's pretty good And Boston has been not good this past year, right? And he's still got over 100 points on a bad Boston Bruins team. I don't know. I think he's a guy that for a while I probably would have been like, oh, he's a really good piece.

And now I think he is a guy that drives a team sort of piece. Like Caprizov where I'm like, this guy can be the centerpiece of a team, even though he plays on the wing and that team can still be good. It's just tough to say that he drives a team to success when he's having this incredible season and the team sucks. Yeah, but the team also sucks. Right, but it's like, well, he's the difference.

It's like, well, he's not making the difference, though. Yeah, but I think he's the, like, it's the same as, like, the wild need help around Capriza. Yeah, right? Like, you have Erickson Neck and you have Boldy, you have other pieces. Yeah, well, they've got Charlie McAvoy. Okay. They've got Powell's Sacka. Yeah, okay.

There we go. It immediately gets really bad for the Boston Brewers. Yeah. And that's kind of the reason I kind of feel bad for Pastor Neck, I guess. It's a tough spot to be in, but I would have them in the same tier as Caprizov. If you want to make the argument that Caprizov should be Tier 3, I can get on board with that. Maybe I'll, that's tough, but I think that's where I would land. Okay.

For whatever, I don't know why. It's not like I have anything against David Pasternak, but I'm really against you moving up to Tier 2. Not on my watch. He does not serve to be there. Okay, moving on. So in the Tier 3 conversation, and I kind of put. Now, Tier 3, I think, we'll go through some names.

It's a bigger tier. It could be a much bigger tier. Yes. But another winger I would kind of put in that conversation of the Pastor Nat Caprizov category, Miko Rantan. Yes. I thought about Rantanin in that group, but I think, yeah, Tier 3. Now, Rantanin is interesting because he's going to go be the Clearcut best forward on Dallas. If he has a monster season and it translates to more playoff success, like playoff production like we saw from him,

I think he could be making a case for a tier two spot. next year when we do this exercise in a year's time, which of course we will, Josh. It's definitely going to happen. No, but I would agree with that because I do think there's still a decent amount to be proven with Miko Ranton away from Colorado. And then if he goes to Dallas and does what I think he's capable of, I think next year he could be clearly a tier two player and the driver on a team.

I do think he's going to be the driving force in Dallas, but I just, I don't know if I, if I put him on a clear tier two caliber player yet. Sydney Crosby, would you have him on, on that tier two? Or tier three, I guess. The, as well. That tier three as well. Kind of in like the memorial spot. Because I don't know what he is still.

He's Sydney Crosby, though. I can't, I can't disrespect Sidney Crosby. So, yeah, I'll have them there. Absolutely. Okay. And then this next one might be controversial. Mitch Marner. is he a tier 3 player

is he on par with Miko Rantanin and that sort of Posternak? Probably not probably not pasta but he's close I think he's close enough to be in the same tier it depends how big we're making the tier we're already getting suggestions in right we're getting if you have Hughes and McCar

you need Heiskenen like Miro Heiskenen would be Tier 3 I wouldn't put him in the Hughes and McCar tier but if we're doing tier 3 all positions I'd have Heiskin in there I think we had someone else say Sam Reinhart is really underrated Ryanhart's a fascinating one I mean one of the first six name for Team Canada

multiple times Stanley Cup champion Selky nominee 50 goal score he kind of doesn't get the recognition because he's not the guy in Florida if we're going through the conversation though of do you need to win one game tomorrow are you taking Sam Reinhard or Mitch Marner

well it's at least an interesting conversation The difficult thing about Mitch Marner is I think he is a very talented player who can consistently get over 100 points. Is this a regular season game or a playoffs game that we're talking about? But I'm like, he's got no clutch. There is no clutch factor to Mitch Marner. And so that can factor in.

And that's why I honestly think if Mitch Marner had a clutch factor, he would be a tier two player. Yeah, that's his upside for sure. Yeah. But he doesn't, so that's why I have him in tier three. Yeah, that's fair. Because he is consistently a hundred point guy. And then if we're going to throw a goalie in there, Connor Hellebuck, Tier 3?

What do you think about that, Laddie? Is that an outrage? Are you insulted for goalie? Should he be Tier 1? Well, he was in the MVP conversation. He won it, did he not? Yeah, so he's funny. He dominated the conversation.

Should be a little higher than that, shouldn't he? I mean... Yeah, but he's a goalie, laddie. Have you considered that? Yeah, the most important player. You're making a case for me here. I would have him tier 3.

Maybe tier 2. If you really want to put a focus on goalies. Tier, like, he's not going to be Tier 1. He's not going to be McDavid-Drysidal McKinn and Kutrov.

Put it this way. Who are the Jets without Hellevuk? Well, they're bad. That's why he's a tier 3 player. All of these teams are bad without a tier three player. How hard it is for a goalie

to turn a bad team into a first place team? They wouldn't be that bad. They'd be... It'd be a playoff team with, like, decent goaltending. Air Comrie starting the whole year. Well, there's a backup.

They wouldn't have to roll with the backup. They can acquire a different goalie. The vibes would be at a all-time high. They would. That's true. Okay, those are very official tiers. I want to say tier three is bigger than that.

Yeah. I feel like we could go through and find like 10 more guys. I was going through like the kachops and you know what I mean. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. You could maybe put Basilavski in there too. A lot of people texting in about where would Elias Patterson figure in this?

And Bort, if PD moves his feet, would that make him a tier two player? Ah, I don't know what tier two. Maybe. Maybe. That's, well, we'll see. We'll see what tier he gets in. to this season. Right now he's not tier three. I will tell you that for sure. Absolutely not. Coming back on the other side, we're going to speak to Nathan Rourke, BC Lions quarterback, about their season and what's going on for the BC Lions. That's coming up next. It is

Halford & Brough, Josh L.A. Wolf, Jamie Dodd on Sportsnet, 650. Welcome back to Halford and Brough. No Halfer, no Brough. It's Josh L.A. Wolf and Jamie Dodd here with you, coming to you live from the Kintech studio. Halford & Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates, B.C.'s first and trusted choice for debt help. With over 3,000 5-star reviews, visit sands-trustee.com. This hour of Halpert &Bruff is for Jason. Mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. That's jason.com mortgage.

and also the BC Lions, Saturday, August 16th, your Lions face the alouettes for the show and shine game featuring over 200 classic and exotic cars. Get tickets at BCLions.com, and you will be able to see our next guest on Saturday. We go to the hotline powered by Power West Industries. It is Nathan Wark, quarterback for your BC Lions. Appreciate you taking the time, Nathan.

How are you? I'm doing well. Thanks for having you, guys. Yeah, no problem. And before we look ahead, we did kind of want to talk about this past game against Hamilton on Thursday. It was a wild game. It was a back-and-forth game. How important was it for you guys to get the win coming out of the bar?

Yeah, I mean, it's always tough to get wins in this league. But obviously, when we're playing quality teams like Hamilton, you know, they're leading the East right now. You know, that's always big. Way games are always big. but I think it gives you a certain sense of confidence when your team can rally and win close games like that. You know, we were in a one very similar to that at home a couple weeks ago against Hamilton.

We weren't able to finish it out. So to be able to, you know, get some restitution and, you know, close one out. That's big for us. Hopefully we can turn that one win into the street. Justin McKinnis had the big game at wide receiver, eight catches for 159 yards. But you did really spread the ball around in that game as well.

multiple guys with over three catches in that game. How important is it for you as a quarterback to have that receiving core where you know, okay, maybe I'm throwing it to McKinness a lot here, but I've got those other guys that I can trust and spread the ball around too as well. Yeah, I mean, it's super important. I mean, we, just the way their offense works, we'll have guys who have big games one week and then it'll be somebody else the other week, right? And I think just the more we can be able to have guys, you know,

everyone touching the ball. I think that just makes it tougher for defense is the key on, one guy. You know, we have multiple guys who can have, we can be our leading receiver. And I think that's just, you know, great for us. And certainly as a quarterback, I just want to be able to get the ball on their hands and let them go make plays with it. Not a receiver, but of course, another big part of your offense running back, James Butler, and he had another really good game against Hamilton as well. And I know you had some high praise for Butler earlier this week after practice, calling him one of the best players you've been around. What is it that makes him

such a good teammate, such an effective player still in this league? Yeah, he's got such a great attitude. I mean, he works so hard. He's a guy that, you know, when there's special teams are going on, you look over on the side, and he's getting, he's getting working, he's doing bad work by himself, he's doing boss-degree stuff.

You know, he cares so much about, you know, his craft and getting better. And I think, and also he's not a guy who, he takes pride in really everything he does. He doesn't really let any, anything, let anything go. He takes a lot of pride in his past protection. He's the guy who can do a lot of great things in the past game as well. And we're just, we're just not limited by anything that he does, you know, and that just allows us to do a lot of great things. And, you know,

he's dangerous when the ball's in his hand. And we're just very thankful that we get to have someone like him and be able to, you know, feed him the ball as well. I mean, he's just a workforce. And not, not anybody subbing in for him on, you know, on long drive and stuff like that. He's the guy who's, he wants the ball all the time, he wants to be on the field all the time, and I think that's just a testament to who that person he is. How do you feel about how the offense has kind of progressed as a whole throughout the season, you know,

first year under Buck Pearson and maybe some of the changes that come with that? Yeah, I think there's certainly been some learning opportunities, you know, just trying to feeling out, you know, how things work, how concepts feel, how they time out, you know, some details, you know, from the receivers and, you know, me getting on the same page with Buck and the Cedar coach, Coach Berg's, and, you know, I think it's, I think there's, you know, there's always going to be an opportunity to learn and grow, but I like where we're at. I like that we're progressing. I like that, you know, we're putting up points. We're

finishing drives. And I think as long as we can do that and, you know, our defense break and not turn the ball over, I think we can still always do better in that regard and not turn the ball over and, you know, keeping, ending each series with a kick, you know, I think we're going to be okay. On a personal level, I know you missed a bit of time with some injury, but how do you feel about where your game is at right now? Yeah, I feel good. I feel like I'm getting better every week. And at the end of the day, for me, as a player, that's what's the most important.

You know, outcomes are what they are. But I think, you know, you try to stay close to the process and try to find ways each week to improve and take a step forward. And I think that I've done that. And obviously, you know, there's, you know, as much as you like it, you know, progress is never linear. You know, you're going to, it's going to undulate, you know, with high games and low games.

And, yeah, that's just the course of pro football and that's how it works. But, you know, I'm happy before I'm at and hopefully we continue to build and continue to put some wins together here. Yeah, you talk about kind of that, the effort to stay level over the course of a long season from an individual level. And, you know, I imagine that's really important that the team level as well. I think it's fair to say it's been an up and down season for the BC lines, of course, coming off the big win over Hamilton.

From a team perspective, and of course you're an important leader on the team, how do you go about making sure you're trying to stay level and not get caught up in the roller coaster and the ups and downs of a long season? Yeah, I think it's a big question. I think it's obviously we want to win more games, and we haven't, you know, there's been at times that we haven't played up to our standard. And so I think it's it's about making those corrections and learning. But understanding that it's a long season and we just have to take it day by day

and we can keep that approach. I think we're going to be okay. What would you say the mentality of the team at this point in the season is right now? I think we've, I think we're quite hungry. You know, I think that we've, you know, coming off a game like that, knowing that we can beat one of the better teams in this league and we can be that team. And there's still room for us to play even better. to improve.

We know that we're close, and we're just working hard. I think our practices have been great to have a lot of energy, and if we can continue that, I think we're going to be in good shape. And hopefully, you know, we've got another good team in Montreal coming this weekend. And so another great test for us to see if we can continue to build and play at the level and we know what people will have. Well, we mentioned earlier it's Buck Pierce's first year as head coach of the BC Lions. What have you learned about Buck Pierce as a,

as a head coach so far this season? Yeah, I just love his approach. You know, he's got so much knowledge, so much experience in the offense, but he's still, you know, so open to feedback and to hearing what I like, what the receivers like, what other guys in the room like, and, you know, building a collaborative plan going ahead. And I like the way that he's been calling it. And just this communication style, he brings a certain level of just dedication.

and enjoy to the game. You can come see him around in the facilities during the day early in the morning, late at night, and he's excited to be here, and I think that's contagious and all good things you like to see from your head coach. Before we let go, we did want to ask about your brother, Curtis as well, drafted by the 49ers,

no he's recovering from an ACL injury. How's he doing right now? Yeah, he's good. I get the opportunity to talk to him on his off days. He's, you know, I've obviously very busy in camp. They're in Vegas, or they'll be in Vegas this week, later this week, you know, for their joint practices with the Raiders. He's really enjoying the experience right now.

It's been really good to be around, to learn a little bit. And obviously, he's frustrated at the, you know, where he's at with his injury. I'd love to be able to be playing. But, you know, I think both of us are taking a lot of pride in the fact that the organization has, you know, made an investment in him. They see a long-term future with him, with the team, and, you know, this is just one step in that process. So I'm really excited to see what the future holds,

and I know he'll be by the time when he gets back and he's given a chance to prove what kind of player he's going to be, he's going to be 100% healthy, and that's a blessing in itself. Hey, Nathan, appreciate you taking the time, and best of luck this week. All right, thanks, guys. Appreciate it. No problem.

There is Nathan Morg, B.C. Lyons, quarterback, And yet his brother, Curtis, was drafted by the 49ers, has an ACL injury right now. But I know Elon's a big fan. His nickname is the Maple Missile. That's a pretty good nickname. I'm sold right there.

That is a good nickname. He found it. Now he has to work out. Now he has to live up to it. And interesting to hear Nathan there talk about still the level of hunger from the BC Lions. And despite all the ups and downs and the underwhelming performances mixed in there,

and five, I mean, as you said, off the top of the interview, getting that win against Hamilton, just massive, right? Four and five, so much different, psychologically even than three and six. And the path to the playoffs still wide open, whether it's catching Winnipeg, who they're just behind in the West Division, of course, the crossover path as well, they've survived what could have been a first few months that derailed their season, right? And I think that's the key thing, especially in the CFL, with the length of the season. They've put themselves, in a position now to try to make a charge with Nathan Roark healthy, playing some really good football, and be a dangerous team come playoff time.

Yeah, and they're playing one of the teams they have beat this year too in the, in the Alouette, so I'm hoping to make it too. And yeah, it's been a, it has felt like a season where it's, it just kind of feels like if things do come together for the lines, they can be dangerous, but it just hasn't really come together yet, especially on the defensive side of the ball. And I know there were some, some changes made to the scheme and, and some different players put in different spots last week on the defensive side so we'll see if you know coming out of the buy last week

you get another week to kind of install that does that help moving into this week against the ls we'll see but yeah you do want to see things start to come together a little bit for the lions a little bit more they only uh so they were one of the last teams i think they were the last team to have their buy this season they played hamilton last week they play against montreal this week. They go to Toronto next week and then they have another buy. So it's a time where you can kind of get some rest into. This was a long week because they played last Thursday against Hamilton. So hopefully that helps and we'll see what they're able to do moving forward for

the BC Alliance. 650, 650 Dumbar Lumber Text Line. We got so many, so many hyphenated names coming in. People, this is the genius of guys naming names on the people show. People love it. I just thought of a guy. Yeah. I got to tell someone about it right now. His last name is hyphenated, where he plays for whatever team. Yeah, it's been, there's a lot coming in. Okay, so we do have some ask us anythings as well.

I know it's not Friday. Yeah. It's a Wednesday. We're breaking all the rules. We're breaking all the rules. It's summer, we're the fill-in crew. It's actually not Wednesday either. Yeah.

It's Tuesday. It's Tuesday. But what a. you're having a tough one I don't know what's going The math goof Yesterday that was tough Now you can't tell

The days of the week Yeah What's going on but You know what I blame Because last week Was a four day week We had Monday off Maybe that's where

That's not doing it for me Sorry I'm not taking that As an excuse Fair enough You sound like You sound like PD Talking about his tendinitis

And I'm Rick talk And I'm like Yeah Don't doesn't cut it Doesn't cut it for me Fair enough It's a Tuesday Day. It is the Halford & Brough show. It is Josh

Elliot Wolf and Jamie Dodd. We got this one Juan from Comox. If you could create the ultimate NHL team using the best players from one decade, the best management from another, and your favorite jerseys from

another decade. So we've got to spend three separate decades here. What would you choose? I don't fully understand the question. Say it again, but slower, please. Okay. But, like, what do you mean my favorite management from a decade? Like, a management team that had a good decade.

All right, okay. That's a write-off. I don't care about that. You're not like, oh, I'm so excited to watch this team. They've got Kyle Dubis. That Burns is GM. Wow, all right. I guess he was a coach, but still.

Because some people would be like, oh, you know what? What's his name in Carolina? Smart guy. Yeah. That guy. Tulsky. Eric Tulski. Eric Tulski.

There it is. Of course. Eric Tulski. Some people would be like, oh, I'm. I really want Eric Tulski. And that would be your 2020s. Sure. Sure.

And then... Bill Zito. Yeah, or Bill Zito. Yeah. So, like, regardless, someone from the 2020s, right? All right. And then you can forget about it. You don't have to think about it anymore.

That's good. That's what I want to do. And then I think you just... Just say Bill Zito, move on. You just pick a... I think you just kind of pick a dynasty team. Yeah. Or are you picking just like, I can have any players from the NHL in that decade?

I don't know. See? There's some holes in the... question here. I'm picking a team. A team. Yeah, I think a team from a decade. So I would take like the 2000s Red Wings.

Okay. But then do you have to take the management team of a Red Wings team? No, I don't think so. Oh, man. I kind of don't get how the management team impacts the on ice here. See, this is what I'm talking about. Never mind. We're lost.

All right. I, yeah, I don't know. I don't get that one. Anyways, we had another question that came in from Stewie from Richmond. We're moving on. We're moving on. I don't know how to answer it. Yeah, no.

I agree. I agree. I thought it was a good question that I read it and it's a hard one to answer. Juan, rephrase the question and try again. I can take the management team from the 1920s, Ottawa Silver 7. What do you want me to say about it? I don't know. Juan, try to rephrase the question. We'll see if we can get to it. Stewie and Richmond Texan, would you rather A, get to go to space with Jeff Bezos or B, go to the Titanic with James Cameron? neither of those sound that appealing to me to be perfectly honest I'm not like clamoring to spend time in a confined space with a lot of inherent risk with either of them but if I had to do it I guess I would go with James Cameron

I can't imagine enjoying hanging out with Jeff Bezos I don't think he does not sound like a fun hang I would rather go to space but I don't want to go to space with James Cameron can I yeah yeah can I mix and match here like one question I would love to go to space with James Cameron That sounds awesome

Can I go to space with Jeff Bezos But wear headphones the whole time And listen to like a book on tape Can we send Bezos on a sub Down to the Titanic? Yeah He can be in a different room He doesn't have to be in the same room as me

I just want to go to space Would you ever do the What those celebrities did Where it's like you go into space Orbit for a minute And you come back down? I don't know Because like how good you

Here's what you're going to space for. You're going to space for the view. Yes. How good was their view? That's the question. I don't know the answer to that. Because it's like very low orbit, right? Yes.

So it's like, well, you're technically in space. You're going for like the rep. Yeah. The aura. You're going to far as going for Instagram. Yeah. Like you can't take a picture up there. Can I say something?

Really? They're getting their phone out and they're taking a picture? I don't know. They were taking like videos up there. Yeah. Can I say something controversial? That's not going to space. Yeah.

That's what I think to. I think it's not going to space. I think it's fake going to space. You're not an astronaut. You're on the upper limits of the atmosphere. You're not in space. I wouldn't call them an astronaut, but I would say they went to space. But it's like an asterisk.

You went to space. You got to say it like that. You're an asterisk. Yeah. Oh. Don't ever do that again. Andy's not here. I thought we were away from it.

I also think going to space, like look, would I turn down an opportunity to go to space? No. But I think there's a lot that like goes into it. That's unpleasant. that we don't think about. Probably. You're in a very confined space. You probably, like,

I've seen Apollo 13. Yeah, that's right. This angry text or text in, they don't orbit at all, guys. Learn your orbital dynamics. It is in space,

though. They are above the Carmen line. Never heard of that. I'll have to take your work for it. This could all be made up stuff and I'd be like, yeah. Okay,

yeah, sure. Oh, yeah, the Carmen line. Of course. How could I have forgotten about the Carmen line?

Uh, okay. So what are you're doing, you're doing the sub with James Cameron? I actually I have a fear of like deep sea waters so I think I would go to that's a smart rational fear yes yeah yeah yeah scary it's I don't know one of my actually one of my most irrational fears and I don't know why this is a thing sea turtles like the big what the big ones they're so lovable the big ones small ones are fine the big ones are you afraid of I think when I went to Hawaii you when I don't know when I like turtles when I

Josh is the opposite for the first time. I was like, I saw them on the beach. I was like, man, those are way bigger than I thought. Yeah, but they're like, they're so gentle and peaceful. They move so fast in the water, though. That scares you? It kind of freaked me out a little bit. But not like to hunt you, just to go where they're going.

They're just going about their business. The other part was like, you're not allowed to touch them. And I think part of my fear was like, if I accidentally come in contact with them, I'm going to get fine. That the coast guard is going to, like, jump out from behind a rock and arrest you. In the water? They scoova up to you. Yeah. Gotcha.

Throw the cops on you. All right. You touched that turtle! We got you. We were waiting. It touched me. It touched me. That is an irrational fear.

It's actually a guy in a turtle costume. Would you rather collapse in a deep sea submarine or blow up in a spaceship? Oh, come on. Whatever's quicker. Yeah. Whatever's less painful. I feel. No, I think I'd rather blow up in space.

Don't you think like expanding sounds less torturous than getting I would agree, yeah. Sounds longer. I think the crush would be over before you even realize. The crush, so obviously there was that one. It did happen. Yeah, it did happen. And that supposedly was instant.

I don't know how instant the blow up in space would be. But I would agree that the idea of like being crushed in a compact space is scary. The blowup doesn't kill you. You're dropping to Earth. So the blowup would kill you. I think you're dying in space with the lack of atmosphere. That's probably. Are we actually?

I thought it was going to be like, are we above the carbon line here, I was going to say, are we in space, or are we just launching in this space? We're above the carbon line, so I think that's going to kill you. And then your remains are orbiting the earth. That's got dark.

Throwing it out like you. Ask us anything from Tyler, athlete edition. What would be my 40 time and how bad would I beat Dan and Sat? I beat them both pretty. Like, Sat's knees don't work. Oh, I guess that's true, yeah.

Yeah. If he was in full tip top health, I think it would be close, but I would beat Reach. I think you would be at reach. Not as fake 40 time. No, you would be a reach. What do you think? I have no idea, Ian had to guess, like, what my 40 time would be.

Yeah. Like, I don't know. Elon, you might have a better idea. What's an average person? I've been around a 40 in 10 years. Right. What was it? Do you remember what your 40 time?

No. Okay. I think Richo would be sneaky fast. Well, I think he is like sneaky fast. Yeah. I consider myself fast. Not sneaky, just straight up fast. So the average person of 40-yard dash time is typically between 5.5 and 6.5 seconds.

I would say I'd be between 5 and 5.5. Rich Eisen's was 5.94 and he runs it in a suit. Yeah. Okay, so I could, yeah, I could be between 5 and 5.5, I think, is where I would be. All right, I'll buy that. Yeah. I don't think you're cracking 5. No, I don't think so.

You're not breaking 5. No. I do think I would beat everyone here at 650 other than... Wow. Other than Elon. Other of an Elon, sure. I don't know. What about basketball, Ben?

Ben probably will be. I think basketball Ben would take you. Ben would be able to. Kind of forgot about Ben. Haven't seen him in a while. Insults. Wow. Yeah, but I think I'm coming top three.

I'm meddling. You'd beat all of the 650 employees you can remember. Except for Elon. I will ignore the rest. And the other ones I forget about? Well, they don't count. 650, 650. Dumbar lumber text line.

Keep the text coming. there and we'll try to hit more as the show goes on obviously more about blowing up and dying in space yeah yeah leaf texted in if you blow up in space your energy is lost to the universe but i don't know if that's an argument in favor or against blowing up in space is that a bad thing or a good thing you're returning your energy to the galaxy lost to the universe yeah well you can make the argument that in the ocean it's lost to the ocean lost to the ocean it's not coming back you feed some sea creatures i don't know so much about the ocean we just like don't know about it's frightening It's like a different planet down there.

I know. It covers so much of the world. That's why James Crammerin loves going down there so often. That's why he's obsessed with it. Yeah, it's crazy. All right. That was good. Yeah, good job, team.

Keep the text coming in, 650, 650. Get your what we learns in. We have actual ones that will be sports related that we'll get to later in the show, but also you can get yours in as well on the 650, 650, Dunbar Lumber text line. Jampro from conference rooms to kitchenettes and everything in between. Jampro keeps workplaces tidy, clean, and disinfected. For a free quote, visit jampro.com.

It is Halperdin Brough, Josh Elliott-Wolf, Jamie Dodd, on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Big Nazar. Have your say and join me on the People's Show with big takes and even bigger bets. Weekdays 3 to 4 on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcast.