Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 8/13/25

Episode Date: August 13, 2025

Guest host Jamie Dodd tells us what happened in the last 24 hours in sports. Then, NFL analyst Nick Shook joins the show.  Nick weighs in on Shedeur Sanders, James Cook's new contract, and what to watch for the rest of the preseason. Plus, NHLer Kent Johnson talks off-season training and looking ahead to next season with Columbus. 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.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. You're listening to Halford and Brough. Line up to Bill. Nettos got it. Steps on second, through to first. It's a triple play. Whoa. Who hits a fly ball.

Pretty well tagged to left field. Now it's going to turn and watch it go. How about Ernie Clement? Good morning. Welcome to Halford and Brough here on Sportsnet 650, but of course, as has been the case for a while. No, Halford, no Brough. And we added a new wrinkle today as well.

No Josh Elliott-Wolf, so it's just me. Jamie Dodd, at least as a host here, holding it down for today. Josh had some stuff come up last night. He's fine. He'll be back later this week. I'll let him tell you all the fun story behind his absence when he gets back in studio later this week. So I'm riding solo today on the show, but I got producer Elon here with me. Morning, Gus.

And I got, of course, Laddie running the show as well. Hello, hello. Hello to you, Laddie. We are broadcasting live from the Kintech studio. Kintech footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. Halfen and Brough brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for debt help of over 3,000, 5 star reviews. Visit sands dash trustee.com 650. 650 is the Dunbar Lumber Text Line.

Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and rental warriors for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their third. three locations to serve you or online at dumbar lumber.com. And we always appreciate your text into the show, your what we learn submissions, your questions, what's ever on your mind, especially when I'm doing the show solo. Then I really appreciate your text. So start sending those in. Of course, we'll do what we learned as always at 830 later on in the show. But never too early for a text or a submission and we'll see what we can get to throughout the course of the show. before we even get to the guest list as well, I also want to mention it's Pirate Pack Day at

White Spot at your White Spot locations around BC. So this is the one day of the year where as an adult you can go in and get the authentic pirate pack experience, the cardboard ship, the chocolate coin, the whole deal. And we're very fortunate yesterday after the show, White Spot dropped off some adult pirate packs for myself and Josh. So I got to crush a burger and fries and ice cream at 9 a.m. yesterday. They also dropped off a bunch of the golden coins that are all like melted together and stuff. Oh, I think they may have separated now. Oh, really? Okay. They're looking good. You've been into it? I was about to dip in and then I looked at the clock and saw 545 and maybe I'll

wait a little bit. Yeah, I was like, well, maybe I'll just have the burger. I'm like, no, I'm going to absolutely crush this whole thing sitting here in the prep room at 9 a.m. So again, I'm going to tell you more about Pirate Pack Day as the show goes on. But of course, the proceeds are all going to a good cause. So if you're craving that AAA's hit, today is the day to go and get it at White Spot for Pirate Pack Day.

All right. Looking ahead to the show, we got a big four person guest list today starts at 630. Dom Lucision covering the NHL, yes. Dom of Dom's model from the athletic will join me. He's been doing some interesting pieces up at the

athletic this summer, had his regular look at the contract efficiency rankings for NHL teams. They're doing their big front office confidence survey right now. So we can maybe get into a little bit of who, which front offices he would rank highly in those metrics with Dom at 630. I'm probably chat a little conucks with Dom as well at 630. At 7 o'clock, Mike Corrine, he's an editor at Sportsnet.com.ca. He was all over the Vicki and Boko win at the National Bank Open last week. We can talk to him a little bit about that.

What's next for Mboko? Of course, the U.S. Open just around the corner. What are realistic expectations for her going into that tournament? And really beyond, there's always this rush to crown. Okay, hey, she's arrived. The new face of Canadian tennis. We also have to keep in mind she's 18. What does the medium near term look like for Vicki and Boko?

Coming off that national big open win? What's the state of the rest of the landscape for Canadian tennis as well? So we'll chat with that. with Mike Corrine about that. Again, editor at sportsnet.com at 7 o'clock. 7.30. Nick Shook from NFL.com regular here on the show. Lots to dig into as the NFL preseason continues. It's Shadur-Sanders mania in Cleveland where Nick is based.

So we'll get his thoughts on that. Was that the greatest week one preseason performance of all time from a rookie quarterback? I don't think so. But we'll find out what Nick has to say about that. Among the many that come to mind, you know. Yeah. So many legendary ones. We'll talk to Nick about that and lots of other storylines around the NFL at 730.

And at 8 o'clock, I'm looking forward to this one a lot. Columbus Blue Jackets Ford and, of course, the pride of Port Moody, Kent Johnson will join the show. Johnson, of course, as I'm sure a lot of you have seen on social media in town, skating with Connor Baird, skating with Macklin Celebrini. So we'll talk to Kent Johnson about his season last year, a real breakout campaign for him. Real breakout campaign for the Blue Jackets as a whole. And, of course, one of the best stories in the NHL last year coming off the incredible tragedy of Johnny Goddrow and his brother's passing and falling just short of the playoffs ultimately. But a really exciting young team with a lot of offensive firepower. Kent Johnson, chief among those players. Looking forward to chatting with Kent Johnson about how his summer's going.

What's next for him? Expectations. And also just being part of this wave of talent coming out of the Vancouver area. So that's the guest list, and of course I will do it in reverse. 8 o'clock, Ken Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets Forward. 7.30, Nick Shook from NFL.com. 7 o'clock, Mike Corrine. He's an editor at Sportsnet.com and 630, Dom Lucision, from The Athletic.

That's what's coming up on the show. Of course, Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. No, what happened? I missed all the action because I was. We know how busy your life can be. What happened?

Miss that? You missed that? What happened? What happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance, making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources, and safety training, visit BCCSSA.C.S.A.com. And of course, we will focus in on Major League Baseball at this time of the calendar. And it was a great day for baseball fans of all varieties here in the lower mainland.

Jay's and Mariners both win. We'll start with the Mariners. They shut out the Orioles 1-0 on the road. Josh Naylor drove in Randy or Rosarena in the first inning. That was it for scoring for the game. George Kirby goes seven strong as pitching really just continues to be a major, major strength for this Mariners team. That is now eight straight for the Mariners.

And we'll get to what that means for their positioning in the AL West in a minute here. but eight straight wins for the Mariners as they are one of, not the hottest, that would be Milwaukee, but one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball. If you're looking for a flying the ointment right down for the Mariners, then it is kind of nitpicking, but Suarez continuing to scuffle a little bit since rejoining the team at the trade deadline, 0 for three with a strikeout last night. So the offense didn't come through last night, but as I said, the pitching staff continues to be a major, major strength for Seattle.

They pick up the win, and that is their eighth. straight win. And as I was alluding to, Houston lost last night to Boston. So that means Seattle and Houston now tied atop the AL West standings for first place. And it wasn't that long ago that I think it was a seven game lead for Houston. So Seattle has gotten awfully hot. And I know Josh and I were talking earlier in the week and saying, Houston now with the Correa acquisition, that's a pretty scary team. But in the midst of that, Seattle has managed to chase them down and tie them for first place in the AL West. And saying they lost straight win.

Saying they lost yesterday is a bit of an understatement. Yeah, they got crushed. It was 14 to 1. Like, they got pummeled at home by the Red Sox. Not what you want to see. Not ideal for the Houston Astero. The Red Sox might be scarier than the Astros. They might be. They might be. Absolutely. So that's the Mariners

won nothing over the Orioles on the road. Again, Josh Naylor with the game winning RBI all the way back in the first inning. The Js, they win as well. Clement stays hot. He had a three run shot in the fourth. The Jays beat the Cubs five one at home. That's home runs in three straight games for Ernie Clement. Four of his last five. Four of his last five. And I did have to laugh because on the broadcast when he hit his home run, Dan Shulman, who legend was on the show yesterday, was like, I'm pretty sure that's Ernie Clement's first time ever hitting home runs in three straight games. And then the next thing he was like, I've been informed

that's incorrect. He did it last August as well. But anyways, Matt. massive hot streak here for Ernie Clement, not only home runs in three straight games, four of his last five, as you said, Laddie, also his second straight game with a game winning home run. Of course, he had the game winner in that dramatic finish against the Dodgers in L.A. on Sunday as well, Jay's really relied on their bullpen after Jose Barrios kind of toughed out, five and a third shutout innings, loaded the bases in the third inning, but was able to get out of it. Not a sharp outing, but still five and a third inning of shutout ball for Jose Burrios. And I think the other story here for the Jays is Jeff Hoffman coming in didn't get a

save with the score 5-1, but he gets to come in, pitches a clean ninth inning against a good offensive team in the Cubs to seal the win. And I think that's just a good bounce back opportunity for Hoffman after a really tough outing against the Dodgers over the weekend. And you know, the bullpen continuing to sort it out, Varlane kind of lurking there as an option should Hoffman Falter. He had a good inning yesterday as well, or a good appearance yesterday as well, but good to see Hoffman come in, kind of settle

things down again. Not a save situation for him, but a clean one, two, three, ninth inning to seal the win. Around the league quickly, before we get into kind of the bigger picture implications here for the Jays and the Mariners. As you mentioned, Red Sox crushed the

Astros, 14 to 1. So the Mariners now tied with Houston atop the AL West. Jays, maintain a four and a half game lead on Boston in the AL East. I also wanted to mention this one in the National League, so maybe not front of mind for a lot of our listeners, but the Milwaukee Brewers are absolutely red hot. They roughed up.

Paul Skeens of all people early. I think four runs on him in four innings, ended up beating the Pirates 14-0, and that's 11 straight wins for the Brewers. They comfortably have the best record in baseball, and I was kind of digging into it. I don't know how many casual fans could name a lot of brewers. Like there's Kristen Yelich, but he's well past, you know, his kind of MVP type days from when he first joined the team and when he even going back to Miami, he's kind of a shadow of himself in a lot of ways.

He's still a good player, but not injuries, but he's not an elite player, right? But beyond that, like, who are these guys? I think is what a lot of people would say. They kind of remind me actually of like a souped up version of the J's where it's just you look at. And it's like, oh, this guy is like a two-win player. This guy's a 1.8 win player. Like, they just have a lot of guys contributing who are not household names. Yeah, their rotation is kind of a, you know, there's a few names in there, but it's not quite

comparable to the J's. But yeah, in terms of the lineup, I think it's very similar in how everyone's sort of contributing. And then the acquisitions they brought in, like Andrew Vaughn has been incredible for them, who, by the way, is a former Victoria Harbourcat. I had no idea. He was a pretty highly touted prospect coming up through Chicago, but apparently, played a summer in Victoria.

So there's a Canadian connection there to Andrew Vaughn who's just on this incredible run. And it's so funny to me because in 27 games, he hit his eighth homer with them. And he played for Chicago earlier in the year. And he still hasn't caught up to how bad his season was with Chicago. Like, it's amazing how it mirrors how horrible he was with Chicago. And then as soon as he puts on a Brewer's jersey, it's like he's a superstar. So something about the Brewers this year. They got that real team of destiny feel to them.

Yeah, no kidding. right and as I said I don't get that team of destiny feeling with the jays but the brewers as I said just like a a souped up turned up version of what the jays are doing and that has kind of pushed them into that team of destiny feeling so right now again mariners tied atop the division with the Houston Astros jays of course have been in first place in the allele east for a while a pretty comfortable four and a half game cushion over the red Sox at this point here as we near the middle of August. So I wanted to pose this question to you, Laddy, and to our listeners as well. Between the Jays and the Mariners, which team is under more pressure to go on a run in October? And you can

define that however, however you want. I'd say probably to really be a run, you're talking about the ALCS, right? If you're bowing out in the divisional series, it's like, that's not really a run. That's more of a playoff appearance. So which team is under more pressure to not just get in, but to actually do something, make it really feel worthwhile, and go on a run in October. And I'll run through both options and kind of what I see the factors weighing on either side.

So starting with the Jays, we're talking about the pressure on this team. I mean, I think you have to start with just the fact that the, what I'll call the Vladian Bo era, has really through no fault of those players necessarily been tremendously disappointing. We all know the stat, three playoff appearances, no wins, not as a lot. single win in those playoff appearances and there's there's so much hope and excitement and hype

around those two players coming up they've had very good individual seasons although there's been some inconsistency that's been frustrating as well but it's just never materialized it's never all come together for the team since they came up in 2019 this is now their seventh seasons uh in the big leagues it's never come together and i think that weight of just the all the aura of disappointment kind of hanging over this version of the team does put a lot of pressure on the Jays to do something. I also think you look at their pitching staff. It's getting a lot older. There's a lot of uncertainty, I think, around the starting pitching going into next season. Do you have to capitalize on the fact that you actually have a deep, pretty deep, decent rotation right now to go get something done?

And then, of course, I think the other thing is just the level of frustration with this front office. And we can talk about Mark Shapiro and his future in a second here. It was so, high coming into this season, sky high. And it really felt like this was kind of going to be it for them for Shapiro and Atkins if something like this season didn't transpire. And probably just the fact that they're having this season has done enough to kind of cool things off a little bit there. But again, we're talking about years and years of built up frustration, built up kind of false promise or or unmet expectations here for the J's. And anytime you're in that scenario, it creates a ton of pressure again not just to get into the postseason but to actually do something certainly to

win a game but win a series go to the a lcs so that's the case for the jays having more pressure on the mariner's side where we're at one playoff appearance in the last 24 seasons now at this point and they beat the jays credit to them they got swept right after that so it was okay hey you made it but it didn't materialize into a run it was a one and done performance that ultimately i think left a pretty disappointing taste in Mariners fans' mouths. Also, that huge or that element of frustration with the front office, that very much exists with the Seattle Mariners as well. Are we ever going to spend enough?

Or do we really have from ownership on down that kind of mentality at win at all costs? That always adds a layer of pressure to take advantage of these seasons. Then I also think you look at it, they are getting just an absolute historic season from Cal Rally as a catcher. We've talked a lot about this. He's almost certainly going to set the record for home runs in a season by a catcher. Any way you slice it, one of, if not clearly the best offensive season of catcher has ever had. And when you're getting that type of production from catcher, that goes a long, long way.

And I think if they are not able to take advantage of that from Cal Rally, take advantage of what he's doing, man, that would be tremendously disappointing. You also throw on top of that, they've never won the World Series. They've never been to the World Series. These opportunities don't come around that often for the Seattle Mariners. At least they haven't in the last 25 years or so. So you add it all up. Close. But I think there's more pressure on the Mariners to do something than there is for the Jays.

And then it's partly just the team history of both of these franchises, right? We talk about it all the time with the Canucks. They've never won the Stanley Cup. It has nothing to do with the individual players. It's not their fault. or anything, but when you play for those teams, you kind of accept the weight of that history onto your shoulders. And I think back to each year over the weekend telling the team, hey, seize the moment, you've got the talent. We had Jen Muller who covers the Mariners on the show

earlier this week. She said, yeah, the team feels that. And I think you look at the moves the front office made. I won't necessarily say going all in because they didn't have to pay as big a price as people thought maybe for Naylor and Suarez, but those were aggressive moves. Those were moves designed to seize the moment, designed to say, hey, we don't want to waste this season from Cal Raleigh, I think if you have a one and dumb playoff appearance in those situations, that would be really, really hard to take. So I think there's a lot of pressure on both teams, but I will give the edge slightly to the Mariners having more pressure on them to go on a run in the postseason. I think the Mariners pressure was there even before they knew Rally was going

to have a season like this because they let go of a pretty well-liked manager many years with the organization in Scott's service to bring in Dan Wilson as a sort of a wake-up call to say, hey, things need to be different this year. We need to go on a run. So if they don't, I think that's going to be a massive failure in their eyes. They're sort of at the peak of this run that they've been on. Like you said, they made the playoffs in 2022. They had 90 wins the year before that, 88 the year after that. And they were a pretty good team last year that didn't make it. But, you know, they've been trending upwards. And now you need to start seeing those results. Because Otherwise, that window starts to close.

And I think that's the worry with the Mariners. But the J's, you don't get the same sense, right? You don't feel like that window is closed. Maybe because they locked Vladia up. Things feel a little more stable going forward. A little bit more, for sure. And I guess also with the Jays and, you know, I love to Pat Rogers on the back, but there's not the same questions about spending with the Marriers, right?

So you get the sense that the money is going to be there to, okay, hey, if we got to replace Kevin Gosman, okay, we're going to go out and do that. We're going to use our resources to go out and do that. And that's always been a concern with the Mariners. So I think when you have the kind of perfect storm of things coming together, like you do this year for the Mariners and even their front office and their ownership has said, okay, we got to go make acquisitions at the deadline. You're really got to strike while the iron is hot. And you really got to take advantage of those situations. 650, 650 is the Dunbar, Lumber, tax line, text in, which team is under more pressure to go on a run in October?

Is it the Blue Jays? Is it the Mariners? I say the Mariners, but it's close. There's a lot of pressure on both teams. Quickly on the Jays, I mentioned Mark Shapiro, president of the team. It's been around for quite a while now, I believe, coming over in 2015 from Cleveland. He's in the last year of his deal. He did a big media scrum yesterday before the game says, hey, I want to stay. I would love to stay beyond this season. And as I was just saying there, you know, if they had had another disappointing campaign, I think Mark Shapiro is staying on. maybe it would be a bit more of a question. Considering the year they're having, getting Vladdy locked up, all of those sorts of things. I think there's a very good chance that if Mark Shapiro is out there saying,

yeah, I want to be here. I'd like another contract and even kind of alluded to already having some good conversations with Rogers about that. Seems pretty likely that Mark Shapiro will be here, we'll be where, or there, I should say with the Jays beyond this season. Also of note says they are working hard, trying to bring the All-Star game back to Toronto. I think it was 1991 last time.

It was in then Skydome, now the Rogers Center. Right after it opened pretty much. Yeah, pretty much. When it was the shiny new stadium, just like it is now, right? It's got a roof that moves. Now every stadiums got it.

You see how much concrete they used in this? This is incredible. This is where all stadiums are going from this point forward. This is the future. Oh, wait. No, it definitely is not. So that would be cool to see the Jay's host an All-Star game sometime in the near future.

All right, that's the Major League Baseball conversation. Now, we're going to have Dom Lecision on the show here in a few minutes. And, you know, we're all going through the process of getting ready for the NHL season, doing our prep, digging through teams, all of that, all of that sort of stuff. And I started to kind of think about this. I'm trying to identify which team is going to be the next one in the NHL to take that jump to elite status. And I'll define what I mean by elite status. I think there's a very, very clear group of seven teams that have separated themselves as the clear upper crust of the NHL, right? Florida, Vegas, Colorado, Tampa, those are the teams that have combined to win

the last six Stanley Cups. And then you've got Edmonton, Dallas, and Carolina, all teams that have made multiple conference finals in the last few years, of course, multiple Stanley Cup finals in the case of the Edmonton Oilers. Those are also the seven teams with the best odds to win the Stanley Cup going into this season. So I don't really think there's any, I can't imagine which team you would say, no, no, no, they've been more elite recently than any one of those seven. I can't see who you would bump into that group. It's Florida, Vegas, Colorado, Tampa, Edmonton, Dallas, Carolina. Consistent excellence in the regular season, consistent deep runs, or at least a Stanley Cup championship in the postseason. The clear seven best,

most elite teams over the last four or five years, whatever you want to say, in the NHL. but which team is poised to join that group? Which team is poised to take the jump? And maybe it's a jump from way down the standings, you think. Or maybe it's a jump from being a perennial playoff team that's had some disappointing results. Which team is poised to take that jump and join that elite group of seven, maybe next year, maybe a couple of years down the road. We can go through this a little bit with Dom. I want to get his thoughts on it.

And I'm not talking, by the way, just about, you know, oh, hey, hey, they had one good year and they made a run to the conference finals. I mean an elite stretch of three to five years where you're winning a cup or you're going on multiple really deep runs. A stretch of truly elite performance. Who is going to join that group of seven that has really dominated the NHL for the last few years and join them or potentially knock one of those teams out as age and everything starts to catch up for them? Again, we'll talk about this with Dom Luceon coming up here in a few minutes. You can send your thoughts on it, 650, 650 to the Dunbar-Lumber text line.

who is going to be the next elite team in the NHL. I'll tell you, it's kind of hard to find credible options if you look around, but we can go through that later on in the show. It is Halford & Brough here on Sportsnet 650. 650, 650 is the Dunbar-Lumber text line. Jan Pro from conference rooms to kitchenettes and everything in between. Jampro keeps workplaces tidy, clean, and disinfected for a free quote. Visit janepro.com.com.

Domlicision from the athletic talking to NHL next here on Halford & Brough with Jamie Dodds, Sportsnet, 650. All right, welcome back to Halford-A-Bruff, Sportsnet 650 here on a Eurodance Wednesday on the show. Jamie Dodd filling in for Halford and Brough today. No Josh Elliott-Wolf. He should be back tomorrow on the show with me. Of course, coming to you live from the Kintech Studio, 650-650 is the Dunbar-Lumber text line. Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and rental warriors for.

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hotline powered by Power West Industries from NFL dot com he is Nick shook Nick thanks for doing this today man how are you I'm good how are you thanks for having me Of course, our pleasure. I'm doing very well and preseason football now in full swing in the NFL. And I think it's fair to say the single individual performance that has generated the most discussion, analysis, maybe even excitement and optimism is Shadur Sanders with the Cleveland Browns in his preseason debut. And I know you're based in Cleveland is, is Shadur Sanders mania in full swing for Browns fans?

Well, he's the talk of the town. I don't know if mania necessarily sets in. because even Browns fans have a little bit of rationale when it comes to preseason games. But I've been asked about it pretty incessantly since Friday night. And, you know, understandably so. I mean, he impressed me. He was better than I expected him to be. He wasn't perfect. He had some mistakes, but he also made some, you know, impressive throws that, you know,

including the second touchdown pass and made me say, wow, you know, I didn't expect this from him. So that's all a good thing. Those are all positive things that we look toward and say, okay, encouraging, especially considering where the Browns are as a team right now at quarterback. And I think that fans are kind of on, you know, they're on board with that because 50% is the hype that's followed him from Jackson State to Colorado. It's now to the NFL and the old Dion thing as well. But I think the other 50% is that Browns fans would just like to have an answer at quarterback.

You know, there are a lot of people in this town who may have felt that, you know, Baker Mayfield, they gave up on them too soon. I personally believe that Baker and the Browns were never going to work out for a number of different reasons. But since then, they haven't had an answer. You know, the Sean lots of things flopped on them. So they get one game, one, you know, half to three quarters of a game and a preseason game where they think that could be the guy and suddenly they're all on board. So we'll see what happens.

We get two more preseason games to figure it out, right? Yeah, and it is interesting because part of this is, of course, the name and the hoopla and the excitement around. Sanders as a prospect and then sliding to where he did in the draft. That's part of the discussion. Another part of the discussion is, as you alluded to, like the kind of crowded but also unsettled quarterback room for the Cleveland Browns. And I know, of course, there was a lot made of all Sanders' fourth on the depth chart. And they drafted another quarterback in the draft as well.

In Gabriel, what does the path forward from this point on look like for Sanders as he kind of navigates all of these different factors and specifically the rest of the quarterbacks on the Cleveland Browns. Well, first I would like to say that the only position that depth chart matters at this point in training camp is every position not named quarterback because a lot of these depth charts are not, they don't really inform you on how these position battles under center are going to shake out. They're very helpful at other places because there are more players to sort through so teams kind of need to be a little bit more honest with the depth chart. but when it comes to a quarterback, I would not look at that as any sort of, you know, canon or anything like that at this point.

But, yeah, I mean, I think that it's an interesting situation with him because from all the people that I've spoken to and heard from, you know, at Brown's camp, you know, there was the whole narrative last week about how, oh, he hasn't got any first team reps and they're setting him up to fail. But I've also heard conversely that he's been receiving, you know, additional attention from Kevin's fancy, you know, the play caller head coach himself. that, you know, on a separate side of the field during camp often, you know, really focusing on his development outside of the structure of working with the ones and two. So I don't know if they thought that he got there and he needed more tutelage, you know, more tutoring, whatever, to get up to speed at the NFL level. But the challenge is going to be now, you know, dealing with the noise and also trying to string it together twice.

Because, again, look, it's a preseason game. And you're playing against some starters, some backups. And it was the Carolina Panthers. not a great team in the NFL last year. So the expectation is going to be higher, and you hope that when he faces better defenses, in the preseason especially, because who knows if he actually makes it to the field,

that they'll be able to, you know, he'll be able to capitalize. The rest of this quarterback room, I mean, I think Joe Flacko is essentially your starter right now. Can he pick its hamstring injury, kind of took the life out of any competition between veterans, and it really depends on who you talk to about Dylan Gabriel and kind of reveals their agenda,

because some people think he's the way. worst quarterback in the history of the NFL and other people think that he's actually thrown some nice balls. So there's still a lot to sort out as we get a couple weeks left in the preseason with the Browns. Before we get to some of the other noteworthy quarterback performances and debuts and all that, some significant news for the bills this morning. James Cook running back signing a four-year extension ending a dispute. He was back at practice yesterday. So they get four-year, $48 million deal done. 30 million dollars of that guaranteed. That's per NFL Network Insiders

Ian Rappaport and Tom Pelliserow. What does this mean for the bills? How important was it for them to get this done at this stage of the preseason? I would like to see how this contract is structured because I'm kind of surprised they've paid him.

This has been going on for a while. This has been going on since essentially at the end of last season. James Cook said he wanted in the range of $15 million. dollars. He was never probably going to get that. Kairn Williams' recent contracts kind of set the market for what James Cook could expect because, you know, he's an excellent running back.

I felt as if they should pay him, but there were concerns about his ability to be an effective pass blocker and do they want to give, you know, 10, 11, 12, $13 million a year to a guy who's not a true three down back? Because, you know how it is the NFL, unless you're in that upper cross, excuse me, unless you're in that upper crust, that top five to six running backs, you're not getting paid. And I feel as if Cook has the potential to get up there, but you also have to evaluate his performance over the last two seasons, a couple of back-to-back thousand-yard rushing seasons, but he's also done it against one of the better offensive lines in the NFL. In an offense, it's quarterbacked by Josh Allen, so it's not as if you're facing defenses that

are loading the box a lot. But ultimately, he gets the deal that he wants. I guess they get a compromise. The bills tell James Cook, hey, we need you to be back on the practice field before we can negotiate. That's what Brandon Bean said today. And they got the job done and he gets $12 million a year. I think it's money well spent. I don't know how they're going to fit into their cap. I don't know how long this deal actually ends up lasting because the numbers that we get when somebody signs often are not real money. But it makes a lot of sense. I think he's earned the contract and we'll just see how much longer he's with that. Because two years from now, a year from now, not a year from now, or probably two years from now,

If they're really up against him cap, I could see him being a cap casualty just because it's the nature of the business. But right now, I mean, it makes a lot of sense. And again, I'm pretty surprised that they're going to pay him $12 million a year. I didn't think this is going to get done. It does feel like we've kind of reached maybe a little bit of an equilibrium in the running back market. Of course, you know, you go back a few years. And the conversation was all like, oh, you can't pay running backs, never give them the big money deal. And that's certainly become way less common.

But as you said, with Kyron Williams signing and now this James Cook deal, it feels like there's a little bit of clarity about what that more. middle class or above average class of running backs can expect and maybe it's less fraught than it used to be the idea of the next contracts for running backs in the NFL? Yeah, you know I think it's a bit of an apples to oranges but since they're both

running backs, I'll compare them both. If you look at Kair and then you look at James Cook I felt like oftentimes you can truly understand the value of a running back by how your offense looks when they're not on the field and Cairo Williams, you took them out of that offense with the

Rams last couple of years. They lost a lot because of just the explosive type of player he's been, you know, out of the back field, the pass catcher as a runner. James Cook, you take him out of that offense and you're going to get a lot of, you know, Ray Davis, who's one of my favorite backup or spellbacks in the NFL. Ty Johnson's been a phenomenal pass catcher for the bills out of the backfield. I mean, they have found ways to make it work without him. And I don't know if that's short-sighted of me to view the value of running back that way, but it's just kind of how I do. So that's why I think, you know, we'll see how long this deal lasts, but it does help,

you know, that middling group. And we can, you know, everything is cyclical, right? Like, we expected running backs eventually to get paid, but I still think it's a position where if you go look at most of the depth charts around the league, like I think, you know, Bija Robinson's going to get paid, but go look at a good portion of depth charts around the league. It's a lot of committee or we have multiple option backfields, not a lot of backfields that are carried by a bell cow like it was.

in the 90s of the early 2000s. While we're talking about holdouts and contract disputes, of course, Micah Parsons, front and center in that in Dallas, just the latest baffling contractual situation for the Dallas Cowboys. There's a trade request, but it doesn't seem like it's trending in that direction. I mean, is this all just kind of window dressing until a deal gets done? Where do you see this going going into the season between Parsons and the Cowboys? Yeah, I mean, it's, you know, it's August.

Window dressing, I don't know if I would necessarily describe it like that, but we're all going to look back at this eventually. It's like, oh, remember all that timely wasted, like bringing our hands over whether Micah Parsons is going to sign, you know, romantic cowboy for a long time? And the reason is simple. You'd be a fool. You'd be insane to not re-sign Michael Parsons and give whatever he wants. Like, he's in that very elite category.

He's in the Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Miles Garrett, I guess even Jamar Chase, Nate Justin Jefferson. like there's very few elite players where you just look at them and you go we absolutely must keep you on our team will give you whatever you want and that is micha parsons look at the resume and he's got multiple all pros he won defensive rookie the year and damn near one defensive player the year as a rookie uh with the cowboys he's he's a game wrecking force of a player he's also you know supposedly not 100% healthy right now and and i think of some of that is probably related to the contract as well for participation matters but um it's I just can't imagine that they wouldn't pay them Cowboys do this stuff I mean they wait way too long to pay guys but I think that it's just something that personally I'm tired of talking about

just because it's pretty simple to me pay the guy and he will eventually because he has to just why not he'd have done now and I don't know it drives me nuts yeah it's it's kind of baffling because if you're doing the classic you know past behavior predicts future behavior thing

like it's all playing out exactly how you would expect right like inexplicably not paying him but then what's happened in the other examples they've paid the guy and it would just be He's so baffling. Once Jerry Jones paid Ezekiel Elliott, his entire approach changed after that. Like, Zeke got on, you know, the stand and was like, hey, I demand more money before his contract was over. He did it early in the process.

And since Jerry kowtowed to him, he's never paid anybody early or really on time since then. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Very pleased to have on the show forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets from Port Moody. He is Kent Johnson. Kent, thanks very much for doing this this morning. and man, how are you? I'm great, yeah, thanks for having me on. Yeah, it's our pleasure. How's your summer going?

Yeah, it's been awesome. So, like you said, I've been back in Vancouver here. So it's so nice here. I can't complain. Yeah, it's been a pretty decent summer here. And it's awesome that you're back for the summer. And, you know, we've seen on social media, you out there skating with Connor Bedard,

McElverni, I'm sure others have been involved as well. What's it like getting on the ice on a regular basis with those guys through the summer. Yeah, it's really fun. You know, we keep in touch in the season. We're good friends. And, yeah, we definitely, you know, we really enjoy it, just training together, pushing each other.

So, yeah, I know, really lucky with the group we got here. And it's fun. I was doing a little reading just on, of course, you know, you and Bedard, I know, have known each other for a long, long time going back to, you know, playing roller hockey together in your minor hockey days at the North Shore Winter Club. And it was pretty funny. One of the things you had to say was you're three years older,

but he was so good at that age, you know, you're 15, he's 12, and you're still like, man, I got to keep up in my game to make sure I stay better than this kid who's coming for me. Is that still the case when you get on the ice with him, that he motivates you to keep working on your game? Yeah, no, definitely. Like I said, I think it got to a point there where he was closing the gap, closing the gap, and there was no gap.

And if I didn't think, maybe I had to close it. So, yeah, no, it's pretty cool. And, yeah, like I said, and Mac too, like just such good players. So it's really, you know, competitive every day and, you know, push myself to, you know, try to be better than them. And so, yeah, it's really lucky. Well, I was going to say, now you've got an even younger guy to worry about, right? And in McElabrini, I mean, pretty incredible also. I'm sure you were, you know, obviously locked in on your season, but you know these guys, your friends.

I'm sure you're following what he was doing in his rookie season. And, I mean, it's been a while since an 18-year-old has come into the NHL and had that type of performance. It was pretty remarkable to see what Celebrini was able to do in his rookie season. year. Yeah, I know exactly. He's an unreal player. It was fun. I was roommates in that world too. He had just been getting to know him even more and yeah, great kid and yeah, just unreal a year too, too. So I wasn't too surprised

after I've seen him on the ice in summer before. He looked really good. But, yeah, no, just both them. They should be top players in the league for a long time. So it's fun to get to chair with them. Yeah, and we've talked a lot here on this station, you know, with Bedard and Celebrini and yourself. And I could go down the list of just incredible, incredibly impressive young talent coming into the NHL from the Vancouver area. What does it mean to you to kind of be a part of this group of guys

who, you know, really, it's kind of a golden age for talent from this part of the world? Yeah, no, it's unreal. Like I said, we really enjoy it. We really enjoy training together. And I think, you know, it kind of goes insane. We don't talk about it too much. But I think, you know, we want to just keep getting better

and, you know, be kind of the top players. in the league and I think it'd be pretty cool if you know we can have a group like that from Vancouver and they just you know keep doing what we're doing in the summer together so yeah no it's awesome well I'll I know you guys aren't talking about this I'm not putting words in your mouth or anything but like with the return of regular

international hockey I mean I I want to see at some point here maybe down the road a little bit you guys you know all grow into your games and whatnot but if we get like an all Vancouver line at you know World Cup Olympics something like that down the road. I mean, that's a possibility now with the talent that's coming out of this city. Yeah, I know definitely. That would be really cool. So I don't think we've all ever been on the same team in the summer, same line.

We try to mix it up. So usually two of us are playing against one of us. But, yeah, it would be fun to play altogether. I'm sure it'd actually be a pretty good fit, too. We're all a little different. I like it. I like it. Talking to Kent Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets, forward, of course, Port Moody, product here on Halford and Brough, Sportsnet. 650 and it was really I think it's fair to say kind of a breakout breakthrough season for you this most recent year really really productive can't with the Columbus blue jackets what did you feel kind of clicked or went right for you that allowed you to have such a productive successful season

yeah I think just you know people around me coaching staff and teammates you know made it really easy to see her and you know I was in a good situation to succeed and and then obviously, you know, just getting older and getting a little faster, stronger, whatever. It just, you know, just over time helps a little bit. So, yeah, I think all those things were good. You mentioned the coaching staff there, and of course, Dean Eveson taking over behind the bench and then the assistant coaches as well as part of that staff. How did Dean, how did the assistant coaches help you in that process, as you said,

with maturing and just kind of learning the league and getting stronger, but how did the coaching staff help you take those steps as well? yeah i think uh you know just giving me a great opportunity there in preseason and you know even some some roles i didn't really do before in columbus you know i got to pk again and um you know i just like more trust defensively and um you know i think uh that was a big thing and you know just putting me in the right situations to succeed and use my skill set though so i think that was the biggest thing that's interesting to hear you know because we're talking about so often we focus on the offensive side of things right and we're look at look at your production

and wow, that's a really great offensive campaign. And then you reference, you know, the trust on the PK, the trust in the defensive situations. Is it the case sometimes that almost when you get that extra trust and that extra responsibility, it can give you the confidence that, yeah, even though I'm playing in some defensive situations, I have the confidence to go out and be the best offensive version of myself as well. Yeah, no doubt.

I think, you know, I think just as an offensive guy, like the more you're on the ace, the more you get in the rhythm and, you know, feel comfortable. you know, the less shifts you get, it's harder to kind of, you know, make some of those, you know, tougher plays to kind of create goals and stuff. You know, you don't want to make too many turnovers, especially if you're not getting many shifts and you won't get many more after. So, yeah, I think just being in the rhythm offensively is very helpful.

I don't think anyone would say that. Breakout season for you last year, and you're talking about, of course, you know, getting stronger and as you get older in the league and more mature and the extra responsibilities as well given to you by. the coaching staff, and what do you see as kind of the next steps, the things you want to work on going into this coming season? Yeah, I think, you know, pretty similar to last summer in terms of just, you know, faster and stronger off the ice,

and then for me, like, still working on a lot of plays off the wall. I think it's really important, like, the puck's on the wall all game. And for me playing the half wall and power play, got to be able to handle pucks off the wall and make plays and then, like, stick battles to something. I worked a lot on. I never really worked on until last summer, and I thought, you know, paid some dividends this year and helped me, you know, be a little bit better in my battles. And so I think those are two kind of big focus areas right now. In conversation with Columbus Blue Jackets forward, Kent Johnson here on Sports on 650, Halford and Brough.

And, of course, from a team perspective, Kent, I mean, we all know the incredibly difficult circumstances you guys were in at this time last year with the the Godreau family tragedy. and then you do ultimately fall just short of the playoffs, but for so much of that season, it was just an incredibly positive, upbeat story, what you guys were able to do. What made you as a team able to kind of come together and perform as well as you did in those circumstances? Yeah, I think just, you know,

everyone leaning on each other. You know, I love my teammates. And, you know, I think everyone in that group, like we just kind of lean on each other is the big thing. So, yeah, just really thankful for those guys and obviously, you know, a tough situation and, you know, life's unfair sometimes. So, yeah, definitely it was great to just have those guys and, you know, yeah, so it was definitely hard, but definitely, I think, you know, Johnny and their family and them, they're so strong. And I think, you know, everyone just kind of, you know, living really joyful this year, living like Johnny. So, yeah, no, it's definitely, definitely a crazy situation.

but, you know, I think help make the best that we could have it. And I'm sure, you know, coming off the season you guys had last year and there's a lot of other really promising young, exciting players on the team. I'm imagining the mood for the rest of the blue jackets and yourself. It must be pretty optimistic, pretty excited to get going again this year. Yeah, no, definitely. I feel like most excited I've been to get back to camp. And just, yeah, I think we definitely feel like we got some good,

Good work to do coming into camp and just, you know, exciting. I guess a lot more exciting than some of the past years. Just we feel like we can build off that, like you said. Yeah, I know. That's great. I got to ask as well. I mean, you know, I'm focusing a little bit on the talent up front with yourself and Fantilli and Marchenko and Voronkov, but, you know, Zach Wrenski, what he was able to do on your

blue line last season was just absolutely phenomenal. And, you know, I don't know how many of our listeners were kind of locked in on a daily basis watching Wrenski and your guys's games in. Columbus, but just what was it like to kind of witness him, have that type of season, and lead the team in scoring ultimately from the blue line? Yeah, I know he's unreal. I always thought, like, he was, you know, so good in my first two years. And I think just a little underrated there with the way our team was playing.

He wasn't getting, you know, the recognition he deserved. But then this year, yeah, you saw it. Like, you know, I think he's right up there with McCar, you know, and Quinn Hughes, like, best team in the league territory. so it's just really cool to see what he does. The impact he has on both ends of the rink every night. But yeah, definitely a guy to learn from. And for me, like, love, I love when he's on the ice.

Always looking down the bench to see and hoping that he's coming on the ice with me. So it's fun. Kent, this was awesome, man. I really appreciate you taking the time. It's been cool to see the social media updates of some of you guys getting out there and skating together. And you're doing the city proud. Go out and have another great season in Columbus.

Awesome. Thank you, guys. That's our pleasure. That is Kent Johnson from Port Moody forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.