Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 8/6/25

Episode Date: August 6, 2025

Guest hosts Josh Elliott-Wolfe & Randip Janda talk to recently retired Canadian tennis icon Genie Bouchard about her playing career and the National Bank Open, the boys chat with ESPN New Jersey Devils television commentator Don La Greca about the upcoming season, as well as if Devils fans have their eyes on Quinn Hughes, plus the guys look back at the previous day in sports. This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. We bring in Jeannie Bouchard, former tennis pro, now retired, and Sportsnet analyst for the National Bank Open. Appreciate you taking the time, Jeannie. How are you? Hi. Yeah, I'm great. Thank you for having me. No worries. And again, we appreciate you taking the time. I'm sure it's been a whirlwind of a week for you. How can you put into words how it's felt, you know, these past seven days?

Yeah, it's definitely been a whirlwind of a week for you. lot. I feel like I have an emotional hangover. There's been a lot of mixed emotions from last week. Obviously, for me, it was such a great way to end it all, to be able to do it in my hometown, where I was born and raised on these courts where, you know, I played as a kid and went to the tournament and all of that. And to actually win a match and play some good tennis, have my whole family there. You know, there's sadness that it's over, but also, you know, happiness, excitement for the future. So really, I felt like I experienced the full spectrum of human emotion last week.

Yeah, congrats on a fantastic career as well, Jeannie. And, you know, having that moment to speak to the crowd after your hometown, like take us through that. What did that mean? Just to have that one-on-one conversation, you mentioned your family was there, but also tennis fans from the region. Yeah, and that's part of the reason I wanted to do it in Montreal. I've really felt so much support from my Canadian fans and specifically in Montreal.

the fans there as well. They're so passionate. They really support one of their own so well. So I wanted to give them a chance if they wanted to to come out and watch me one last time. So it was for them. And then it was also for me, you know, being able to do it with my family and everybody nearby. So to be able to, yeah, just express to them how much I've appreciated their support over the years has meant so much. And I tried to spend so much time with my fans, you know, all the time, all over the world, of course. But especially, in Montreal. So after the match, I took a picture and signed autographs with every person who wanted one. So I was out there for over an hour for sure. But I don't know. I just wanted to show them that, like,

I appreciate the love they give me and try to return it back to them as well. It might be too soon, but have you had the time to reflect on your career? And are there any moments that stand out to you as ones you look back on most fondly? I've definitely, like, slowly started to reflect. But then, you know, after playing my last match, I flew to Toronto and have been doing Sportsnet all day every day since then. So focused on the tournament and other matches for now. But of course, I can look back and appreciate in terms of results. You know, of course, making the woman final is one that stands out.

But non-result one for me is playing in the Olympics. I won around. I lost second round to Kerber, who was the second seat, and she ended up making the finals. So I was kind of close to a silver medal if you think about it. But I just really appreciated being part of a team, playing for something bigger than just myself, because in tennis we're so used to that individual aspects.

So playing in the Olympics for Canada was in Rio in 2016 was a highlight for sure. That's awesome. And you talked about picking up the mic, putting the racket down. You're not the only one that's retired after this tournament. Vashik Pospisville, of course, from the West Coast. We know him well. He's kind of going through the same process. Like, what has that experience been for you in terms of just,

it's not the first time you picked up the mic, but just having to go through this process with somebody who kind of shares a path with you. Yeah, and I've known Vashik since we were kids, so we've known each other more than half our lives and we know each other very, very well. So it's kind of funny to be doing this with him the same week and we're at the desk with each other every day.

And it's kind of nice because we can relate to each other so much and relating with the emotions and being on TV and our family and friends. and just like every little aspect, we're going through a very similar path right now. So it's nice to kind of have a buddy to go through this with. And he obviously did some great things for tennis in Canada as well. So we also got to acknowledge his great career too. And shifting our attention to the National Bank Open currently going on.

The main story, the main headline has been 18-year-old Canadian Vicki Mboko and what she's been able to do. Playing in the semis tonight, what have you made of her tournament so far? I know this is turning into the Vicky Tournament. We talk about Vicky all day, every day. I'm so happy for her. I know her a little bit. She's a nice kid.

She's humble. She has a good head on her shoulder. She's smart. And so, you know, I'm so happy for someone like her to get success like this. And, you know, it doesn't have to stop, at least at this tournament. And, of course, for her career, I think she has so much upside because she has great weapons. You know, she has that serve. She has that powerful game.

And that's what's led her to get to the semis so far. and her poise as well, her mental, you know, her mentality. She's just been so calm and, like, handling the moment so well, very maturely, I would say, for an 18-year-old. For sure. And she's also mentioned that your support has been an inspiration for her as well during this tournament. So she's definitely watching a lot of tennis.

She's watching the reactions from the crowd. But what I'm really impressed by is her mentality. It feels like she's playing without expectation. And to be 18 years old, the spotlight being on you, Like, that's got to be a pretty unique thing. Maybe like us regular folks, non-athletes, it's tough for us to kind of understand. But when you're in that position, it's your first go-around. Is that normal or is that something that you have to learn?

Yeah. Well, you know, I do have to say so obviously when you're a younger player, you have that freedom because you have those no expectations. Earlier this year, she was ranked in the 300th. So she's playing free, she's swinging free. That's how most players start to play at the beginning of their career. that's how I felt. And the trick is now is to see how she will begin to handle it once that shifts.

So now she'll be a player. She'll be ranked around 30 or more, depending how she does in the tournament. Now she'll have a target on her back. She'll be the next up-and-comer. She'll be the girl that other girls want to beat. And so it'll be interesting to see how she handles the pressure mentally from going to the unknown underdog to now, you know, the next it girl with expectations. and that's a really hard transition

and that'll be her next task. It does seem like a difficult transition. What would be the key to handling that transition and handling the additional pressure that will be on her moving forward? Yeah, it's tough because right now every match she wins is like a surprise

and if she loses it would be normal and then that's going to shift to if she wins it's normal and if she loses it's a disaster And I went through exactly that situation in my career. And players who have a quick breakthrough, they go through that in a short amount of time. So I feel like it can be hard to deal with. The important thing would be to just keep working on her game and keep trying to improve because now once she starts winning matches on the big scene,

all the child players are going to watch and they're going to start analyzing her game and start trying to poke holes and try to figure out what her weaknesses are. And so she keeps developing and keeps trying to improve her weaknesses. you know, it's like you have to kind of stay ahead of the bad guys and keep improving. And then also just stay focused. You know, don't listen to the outside noise. Just stay, listen to your immediate team and kind of disregard the rest. How difficult is that on home soil?

You know, we often hear, you know, pressure is a privilege, which it is, of course, but pressure is still pressure, especially on your home turf. Playing in Canada, like how difficult and how much noise is there as you're just trying to focus on the task at hand? Yeah, there's a lot that goes into. it. And with every match she wins, she's doing more media than she's ever done. She's signing more autographs and things like that can kind of pull you out of your bubble. And these are things she's not used to. She won a bunch of challengers at the beginning of this year. I guarantee you,

she wasn't doing that much press during those challengers and she wasn't signing that many autographs. So this is a whole other world for her that she's going to have to get used to. And that can kind of tug at your focus a little bit. And especially being in Montreal, you know, the attention is just, you know, times 10 or whatever you want to say. That's, it's very important to stay grounded, stay in routines. Like I said, she seems like a very humble kid and she has this, like, youthful innocence to her. And she's very sweet. And I just want her to stay grounded and keep her focus.

And looking ahead to today of the semifinal, she's taken on Elena Robocana. What will be the key for Vicky if she's going to beat Robocana? Yeah, we actually spoke about this on Sports Night yesterday. what I like about this matchup is that actually I do feel she doesn't have the pressure at all. I would say after being Cocoa Golf, her quarterfinal match people were looking at her and she had expectations

and she had an opponent ranked 50 and Vicki kind of was expected to win. Now she's playing a former woman and champion and she played Robocana a week ago in Washington and lost and throughout my career, whenever I played a player weeks back to back, which is pretty rare, whoever won

the first match I felt always had more pressure and whoever lost kind of had a trip on their shoulder and wanted to win. So that's Vicky's situation right now. Rabakana has all the pressure. She's playing, you know, the underdog, the young kid with the crowd behind her. And Vicky kind of has nothing to lose. I mean, to me, everything is gravy, no matter how she finishes this tournament.

You've got to be able to handle Rabakana's big strengths, which is the serve, her big shots. She has to absorb that, stay in the point and try to, you know, dictate herself. She has her own great weapon, like her serve, like I mentioned. She really has to be able to use that in the match tonight. And in terms of, you know, I don't like highlighting the weaknesses in games, but is it getting Rabakana on the move, like going side to side? Is that the way to win this match?

For sure. Rabakana is a taller girl, and she likes to do first strike tennis, big serve, big shots, and she likes to go for it, keep the points short. So you have got to stay with her and handle those tough shots and then give yourself a chance to get into the point so you can dictate and you can move her around. So for sure, her movement is not her strength. So Vicki will be wanting to step in. Also, you know, try to play close to the baseline.

It's something she's been doing well this week. Even trying to do that on second serve returns, she's often been actually with her feet inside the baseline. Obviously, Robocana's serve is better than some of her recent opponents. But, yes, to stay true to her game is also, you know, an important thing. Well, Jeannie, it's not every day we have a tennis pro in the highest level. You would have done scouting reports on the other two tennis players as well. want to get your scouting report on that matchup,

Naomi Osaka versus Tawson of Denmark. What do you see in that matchup? And can Osaka make this final? Does she have a good shot at this? Look, we've seen a different Naomi Osaka this week. She has played five quality matches. What we've talked about is that not only has she shown some really good tennis in her matches, but she's done it consistently over five matches,

which is something she has not done since her return. So I think she's finally finding her bearings since her return. the beginning was a little bit tough. She definitely was not playing the way she wanted to. She's just playing vintage tennis. So it's been so fun to see. And so great for the sport of tennis to have such a champion, have this comeback like this.

And so, yeah, and Towson, oh my God, like she's been, you know, knocking off Grand Slam champions, right, left, and center. She has a big game. She hits big shots. Naomi does as well. So it's kind of a battle of hitters, as we're going to see tonight. I think Towson, her bigger weakness is the movement. and Naomi's going to want to exploit that.

But she's been doing so well, taking advantage of the point so early on, serving really well, placing it, that Naomi has to kind of handle that first to give herself a chance to dictate with her big shots. Jeannie, we appreciate you taking the time. Once again, congratulations on a great career and all the best moving forward. Thank you so much. I appreciate talking to you guys. No worries. There is Jeannie Wouchard, former tennis pro, and now an analyst for SportsNet for the National Bank Open,

along with Vashik Pospicil, who we spoke to a couple weeks ago, I believe it was, on the Halpert & Brough Show as well. If you want to go find that on the podcast, he can. He's been on the station a couple of times. We had him last week as well. So he's doing the rounds. Pre-retirement and post-retirement.

We got you covered here. He's going to be a regular. You have his own theme song. Maybe you can wrap it to that beat we had earlier on. Nobody wants to hear that. Yeah, well, I believe in you. I want to hear it. It might be a one-time here.

We don't want to hear it over and over again He's not going to do hits after he hears it Well I think with Jeannie it's gonna be She'll be on networks moving forward Like she is really good with her analysis You heard her And also at the same time Just somebody that's been doing

Scouting reports up until like last week Like she's got the lowdown on every single player And so You know you've got Vashik You've got Jeannie and our guy Rob Faye as well Yes and yeah Geney once again I'm sorry Brad Faye Rob Faye

Which one is he? Bradfair. Bradfair. Bradfair. I was got the phase confused. Yeah, yeah, it's fair. The two syllable names. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, Jeannie Bouchard, joining the show, really appreciate it. She did have a great career, and you think back to the Wimbledon final.

The one thing, you know, with her, with Andrescue, who did win the U.S. Open, and she won the Canadian Open that year as well, the Indian Wells. You want to see Mboko kind of go on a similar run and have similar. results because it is fun. It does kind of take over the sporting conversation in Canada, especially when it's happening over the summer. You know, there's no hockey happening or anything like that. It's kind of just baseball and these individual sports. And it is, it is an opening for Mbocco to kind of go on a run here and get some of the maybe unwanted pressure, but there is going to be pressure on her moving forward past this tournament and potentially into the U.S.

Open as well. Yeah, I think that was a really important comment from Jeannie about how do you carry on and manage the stress, manage everything in your career, because you go back to 2014 for Jeannie Bouchard. She was a finalist at Wimbledon, semi-finals at the Australian, semifinals at the French Open, fourth round at the U.S. Open. Like, that is an unbelievable season. She was also in the third round of the 2014 Australian Open. Like, that is immediate success just like that.

Yeah. But you heard it from her dealing with that. understanding, you know, how your life changes. That's not for everybody. I think Emma Radikano is a great example as well. She had the ultimate success. But then you have to manage your schedule. You have to understand that, oh, you know, I am going to be targeted by the other players.

They see me as a threat, therefore they're going to prepare for me very differently. So, you know, it's kind of growing up on the court. And for some people, it happens a little smoother. For others, it doesn't. But you hope for Victoria Mboko is that she's given time to kind of, like, ease into, to this because to go from rank 300 in the world to be potentially Josh like she could be a top 25 player yeah if she wins the tournament she would be in the top 25 that is yeah that's a steep learning curve so you hope for the long term you know obviously this is a positive story right now

but you want it to be a positive story moving into X amount of years right and hopefully there's longevity there too but so far heard really good things about vicky and boko in terms of your interviews but you just got to make sure that you know tennis is a tough sport for a young young player. As we've seen, that success doesn't last. So you have to make sure that, you know, you kind of go into it the right way and you get the right learnings out of it. Yeah. And it starts, once again, it starts, or not starts, continues today for Vicki Mboko as she plays in the semis, center court in Montreal at the National Bank Open, taking on ninth seed, Elena Robocana at 3 o'clock. So for your sports viewing pleasure, it's a really ideal day. noon the Blue Jays take on the Rockies in the series finale you can hear the call for that one here on Sportsnet 650 at 3 o'clock the semi you can watch on sports net with Mboko and Rabakana so just a just an ideal day and then after that do what you want yeah listen to the radio listen to sportsness 650 catch up on your podcast yes exactly I'm sure Saty Arshan bicknasar I believe they are on three to five today I could be super wrong I'll check the schedule but They'll be on today as well, and I'm sure they will be covering everything going on with Mboko

and what's going on in the, in her semi-final as well. So stay tuned here. It's 4 to 6 here on SportsNet 650. So I'm sure they'll have the result of whatever happens in the semis as well. Before we go, it is Halford & Brough, Josh Ellie Wolf, Randy Janda, filling in for the guys. We did want to mention, so Thomas Mueller obviously is going to come to Vancouver, but it is not yet officially been announced by the club.

What's going on here? Yeah, some feelers out. I'm trying to figure out what's going on here. We got some radio. The longer it takes, the weirder it gets. It does. It is Don Legreca host on ESPN 880am in New York and New Jersey Devils play-by-play announcer.

on MSG Networks. Appreciate taking the time, Don. How are you? Always a pleasure. How are you guys doing out there in Vancouver? We are doing very, very well. A new gig, which is Play-by-Playman for MSG Networks for the New Jersey Devils. So congratulations on getting this job, and I understand you're a Devils fan growing up as well.

So what does this moment mean for you? Oh, it's amazing. First of all, to be the full-time voice of a team. And I filled in for Kenny for going on 20 years. And there were some years I did, like, more games than Kenny, you know, Kenny Albert, with football and basketball and baseball. He had so many other things going on. But he was still the voice.

You know, him and Sam were still the voice. But to be a voice of a team I grew up rooting for, I fell in love with hockey because of the devil, I'm a Jersey guy, to be able to walk in the same footsteps as the Gary Thorns of the world and the Mike Emmericks of the world and the John Steve Cangelosies. It just, yeah, I'm on the, I'm over the moon now. This summer's been just amazing to get the news, to get that gig.

and I just can't wait to see you guys in Vancouver. I get to make all the trips now. I'm over the moon, man. I can't even describe just how excited I am to get this season started. It looks like it's a fun team that's kind of trying to come together and stay healthy. So I think my timing's good there, but it's incredible news. I just can't wait for the season. Yeah, congratulations.

And it should be an exciting season for the Devils. And maybe they haven't necessarily hit expectations. in the past couple years, but what are fair expectations, I guess, for the Devils when you look at the way the roster has kind of shaped out over the offseason? Well, if everybody's healthy with Hughes and Nico and Markstrom

and Dougie Hamilton for sure, because he got hurt at the end of last year, too. I think they could compete for the division. Carolina's kind of had their number. I'm interested to see if Washington can follow up the surprise season from last year. But the Rangers are in a bit of a reimagination as they like to put it with the

coaching change and it looks like they're more of a slow burn. So I think getting in the top three in the in the Metropolitan Division I think is the goal and competing to the division I think is is something that's definitely on the table for them. If they can stay healthy, I don't see any reason why this team can't be certainly a top three and then if not you know, competing for the top spot in this division. Well, we had devil's defense and Brendan Dillon on the station last week and I

I joke that Canucks fans watch the Canucks but their second most viewed team probably this coming season will be the New Jersey Devils because of Luke and Jack Hughes. And, you know, there's obviously an intrigue and I'm sure the Devils fans are keeping an eye on Quinn Hughes as well. Is that a storyline in New Jersey or are we just overthinking it here in Vancouver with the eventual UFO status of Quinn Hughes? Well, listen, it just felt almost like it was, they gave kind of an idea of where it might be going here. So, yeah, the people in New Jersey are excited about it. about that possibility of it happening, whether it's a trade this year or just eventually free agency.

It would be a great story to have all three brothers together. I mean, you can make the case to Quinn's the best of the three. I mean, just the position that he plays and how just tremendous he's been over the last few years. So there's a level of excitement for them all getting together. But we'll see. I mean, it does feel like it's inevitable, but we'll have to wait and see whether it's going to happen. But people in New Jersey are really excited about seeing all them together. Yeah, the vibe here is that we hope the inevitable definitely does not happen.

Don, we appreciate you taking the time, and best of luck moving forward. Well, I'm looking forward to seeing you guys this year, and thanks for reaching out, man. Sounds good. There is Don Legreca joining us on the Halpert & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Also, joining us from vacation as well. From vacation. What a gentleman. You know, this is a solid to talk some Yankees and Devils. And talking about the inevitability. It feels, it does feel like.

Look, if I were on the outside looking in, if I were on the outside, if I was not in Vancouver and I had no vested interest, I'd be like, Quinn Hughes is probably going to New Jersey at some point. That being said, I am in Vancouver and I am heavily biased. We see that, Thatcher Demko and Connor Garland, who is his best friend on the team, signed six years. Extended. They brought Bessor's back. And I wouldn't be surprised if Vitaly Kravsov has some connection to Quinn Hughes to. It's like, who knows? This is all part of the plan to get the Hughes brothers out of the devils and come here. This is what I'm going to say.

This is what's going to happen. This is Jim Rutherford's master plan. Exactly. When we had Brendan Dillon on the show last week, I asked him, how much are they smiling over there? Are they happy? He said yes, but I'm not sure I fully believe it. Luke doesn't have a

contract right now. So he can't be smiling that much. No, yeah. They're playing hardball with him. Quinn's going to be like, I don't like that. It's disrespectful to my brother. I don't know if I want to go there. It's all coming together. And now all of a sudden, in a few years, Jack Hughes, his contract is going to be up,

coming to Vancouver. Or all three of them go somewhere else. They're all going to St. Louis for some reason. Jack went to Seattle? What? Yeah, this sucks. Could you imagine, though, like, if it was the other way around, where Vancouver has been so, like, eager to jump on, like,

even misinformation. I remember Marion Gabbard of buying a house in Vancouver way back in the day of that obviously did not happen. He just really liked Vancouver. He wanted a second home. Maybe he's like a guy that just goes to dealerships to test drive. You know what I mean? Like, hey, I'm going to an open house just because I like architecture.

Yeah, he just liked the vibe of the house. Wanted to get some ideas for interior design. Maybe. Like, Vancouver would be so on this if they were on the other side. They'd be like, oh, it's confirmed. Yes. Like, if it was, hey, the Canucks had Quinn and Luke. And we were talking about Jack having a contract that expires in a few years in New Jersey.

It'd be like, ah, Jack Hughes is coming to Vancouver. Yeah. And it's obviously the same in New Jersey. Jersey. That being said, I think it's, I'm not on the train of like, it's a foregone conclusion. That being said, a lot has to go right for the Canucks this season. It's all about how they play.

Like, if the Canucks win and are good for the next two years and are more importantly playoff performers and go deep even, then the narrative changes completely. Because Quinn ultimately, I think, wants to win more than he wants to play with his brothers. So, I mean, if he can win here, and if they

show him that it's possible, then he'll probably stay. But it's up to the Canucks. And it comes back to the theme of the offseason of, well, it depends on what Elias Patterson is next season. Because if he's good and the Canucks make the playoffs, then maybe Quinn Hughes is like, well, now I can see a future here in Vancouver and I can see a reason for me to stay. And maybe even without that, maybe he does consider staying.

I do feel like sometimes we get a little ahead of ourselves here, but I do think there is a lot of it comes down to Elias Peders. You know what's a big factor in all of this is that that Quinn Hughes, doesn't speak very often in the sense that he speaks he does media availability but he's never going to let you know what he actually thinks

like he is the classic I'm going to maybe give you a little bit but I'm not going to over divulge anything so out of silence comes a lot of commentary comes a lot of speculation comes a lot of hey what do we think is going to happen anytime I'm doing radio hits in other cities like oh what's going to happen to Hughes

I wish I knew like honestly it'd be so nice we're in the locker room we talk to the players but it's not like the players are telling us what they're going to do in their next contract. Like, the world doesn't work that way, right? So Quinn Hughes, even more so than anybody else, is, he's, he's reserved. He has his life with his family. I'm sure they talk openly about future plans and all that, but this is a guy that,

to your point, Andy, wants to see what the team probably has in store first. Are you a winning culture? Are you a team that's back on track? And a big part of that is going to be Elias Pedersen, massive, massive part of that. to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Dun-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. Darling to Cross, craps off. In front, Sid, Dan, that might have been Seth Jones. It is. Crafsoff has his first as a conduct. Swing and a miss, he struck him out on a cutter. And the Rangers have shut out the Yankees 2-0-0. Hinty, right field, into the nice guy in the upper deck at Coresfield.

My goodness. Good morning. Welcome to Halford and Brough. No, Halford, no Brough. It's still Josh Elliott-Wolf and Randy Janda here with you coming to you live from the Kintech Studio. Good morning, Randy. Good morning.

Good morning. Good morning, Adog. Good morning. Good morning, Laddie. Hello, hello. We are coming to you live from the Kintech Studio, and Halford & Brough is brought to by Sands and Associates. B.C.'s first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 5-star reviews.

Visit sands-dustee.com. We're broadcasting live from the Kintech Studio, Kintech Footwear, and Orthotics, working together with you in step. And you can text in on the 650-6-6-50, Dumbar Lumber Text Line, Metro Vancouver, trusted choice for contractors and renter warriors for over 50 years, visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at Dumbar lumber.com. Full show today. At 630, we're going to speak to Mike Tenier, a writer, editor, founder of the two deep zone. A lot of NFL talk will go around the National Football League as training camps are underway. Preseason NFL

football is about to start happening. Get pumped. It's going to be bad, but eventually it'll be good. And that's all that matters. The Hall of Fame game wasn't the official launch? Nobody watches that. Nobody watches that. Even like the first week of the preseason season. Like, I'm a, I'm a Vikings fan. So they announced that J.J. McCarthy was going to play. And I'm like, please don't. That's a bad idea. And so, yeah, that's, that's all that matters. And then at 7, Don Legreca, host on ESPN 880am in New York and New Jersey Devils play-by-play announcer is going to join us. Randipe, the Yankees are bad.

I don't know what's going on. They lost again. Devin Williams, he's not been very good. Has a beard. So that's good for him. Good for him. He's winning off the field, I guess, in that regard. But a meltdown yet again, and this is a couple of games in a row. It's not good for the Yankees.

Five in a row, Don Legreca is a, if you follow him outside of, you know, his devil's work, He's a very opinionated radio host in New York City. I'm sure he has thoughts on what's going on with the Yankees right now. So, yeah, we'll talk Yankees and we'll maybe talk some devils with him as well. At 730, 730, we're going to talk to Luke Fox from Sportsnet. He had an article up on Sportsnet.com, detailing the latest rumors and reports around nine RFAs remaining unsigned in the NHL, including a couple that Canucks fans are keeping a close eye on in Marco Rossi, Mason McTavish.

Luke Hughes, too, but he's not offer sheet eligible, so less exciting. But those two, and then a few others as well. So we'll get into that with Luke Fox at 730. Including Laddie's guy, Luke Evangelista as well. Yes, another big name on that list. I'm a big Luke Evangelista guy. We'll lead the interview with Luke Evangelista talk. And then what we learned will be at 8 o'clock.

because at 8.30, we're going to talk to Jeannie Bouchard, former, now retired, tennis pro. And she's putting in some work on the Sportsnet broadcast for the National Bank Open. So we'll talk about that. We'll talk about everything going on in the tournament with Vicki and Boko and what runs she's on. But also, we'll talk about her own career, finally ending at the National Bank Open on home soil, all of that and what she was able to accomplish in her career as well. It was, you know, Jeannie Mania took over Canada a number of years ago and there was some success, of course, making a final at Wimbledon.

But beyond that as well, you start looking at, there's a lot of challenges too, right? Being a young athlete, playing with pressure, having that pressure of a nation on your shoulders. Like, there's a lot of good, but there's a lot of things that I'm sure Jeannie can talk about and probably relate to Vicki Mboko or Leila Annie Fernandez as in other athletes that are having to go through that right now, being the hope for a country in a sport. So working in reverse 8.30, Jeannie Bouchard, 8 o'clock will do what we learned.

So get those in early 7.30, Luke Fox, 7 o'clock, Don LaGreca, and 630. It's Mike Tenier. That's what's happening on the show today. 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. 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 BCCSA.com.com. So, the Vancouver Canucks, they said it couldn't be done. On August 5th, it was like, no way they're making news today. No way they'll make a big splash in the free agent market.

No way they'll add to their forward group. And they said, you know what? We got something in store for you guys. A two-way contract for Vitaly Kravsov. Get pumped. He's coming back. Craftsov mania is coming back to Vancouver. He has signed a one-year deal, two-way with the Vancouver Canucks.

27 goals, 31 assists in the KHL last year. Good for Vitali Kravsov. And good for the Vancouver Canucks. This player comes back. He comes back on a two-way deal, as you mentioned. And I like this because you can start off in Abbotsford. You can build his game. You're going to get a chance to see what he can do overseas.

And we know the KHL stats are misleading in a lot of ways in the sense that you can put up points in that league. They don't know what defense is over there. Yes. And just look at the scoring list. And we'll get to this a little bit later on in the show. But all you need to know is it's a who's who of former NHL depth. players. Specifically former Canucks as well. Yes. I'm going to, I'm going to leave with Josh Lebo led the league in scoring, which is a shocker to me. Did he break a record? He had 80 points. It was

so good. Bring him back too. Forty-nine goals. But anyways, this is about with Calligrab. Six games, no less. It was incredible to watch. But Andy, you're right. Defense is optional in that league. Yeah, they don't, it's not a thing. So how far has his game actually developed? You know, in that press release that the Canucks did send out, there was one line that I like hearing this from Patrick Alvin. We'll see how his game has developed. There's

something along those lines where he says, we'll see where his game is at. Yeah, this is a one-way deal and it tells me, or excuse me, two-way deal, one-year deal, it tells me that the player is willing to put in the work in Abbotsford, and that's the most important part coming in with the right attitude. Yeah, because

a lot of times players come here from Russia and it's like, hey, if I'm not going to be in the NHL. I'm going to go back to Russia. And like, that's fair. You can make your own decisions. But it is, it is always a little comforting, I guess, when it's like, hey, even if you, even if crafts off or whoever it is doesn't stick at the NHL level, there's still time for that prospect or that player to continue to develop within your own system. And the Canucks have done a pretty good job lately of developing these guys who are maybe tweener players into guys who can at the NHL level, right? And at least they have similar systems and structure in both Vancouver

and Abbotsford that have made the transition a little bit easier. So if you get Kravsov just into the system in some way, I'm not looking at him and being like, ah, he's the, he's the answer in the top six. But he's another guy that I think the Kinnucks have a lot of players between, you know, 23 to 26 years old where it's like, well, if one of them pans out to be more than anticipated, that's a big win. From the team's perspective, I get it, because he's still in the right age range to be a player that you can

say, all right, where is he at? And at the very least, the HL level is where he can play. Okay, I got a question for you guys. What's up? What is he going to do this time, though, that he didn't do last time? Well, I can tell you what he did last time, and it was not much. Having covered a lot of those games, he was...

We played his lone goal highlight. He had a one. I mean, I get it's a risk-free move in the sense that you're not losing anything, but what's their, like, what's their mindset? Like, do they think he's going to be a different player? I mean, so he has, in the, in the last couple years, in the KHL, his point totals have increased. Like, so before he came over, and obviously he was younger, he was less than half a point per game, uh, in the K. Now he's closer. He's essentially almost a point per game in the KHL. So maybe their, their reasoning is like,

hey, his offense has developed to a point where there might be some pop. And like, Like, again, it's a lottery ticket. It's a low percentage shot. But maybe there is some offensive upside that can translate to the NHL. Or at least, like, even if he doesn't, I think he is a good piece to have in Abbottes. So with Vitaly Kravsov, he's 6'2 to just under 200 pounds. But he doesn't play that game historically, right? And a priority for the Canucks this past offseason was players that get inside,

players that are able to, you know, get to the middle of the ice where the goals are scored. Now, he's got to show that he's that player because the last time he was in the NHL, he wasn't that player. So to your point, Josh, was there an element of development in the KHL that saw him become more of an impact piece? And was he a little bit more willing to get inside? It's a lot easier to get inside in the KHL. The NHL is a different animal altogether. So he's going to have to show that A at the HL level. and if he can maybe have some development

like Alinas Carlson who was very much that player this past year there is a path there but he's got to show a lot because the last time he was in North America the last time he was in the NHL he was a perimeter player he was a player on the periphery

and you didn't really notice him all that much he's got to show that he's not that player anymore Phoenix was a good point in the inbox yeah but show me his stats into Beauty League yeah fair enough they're non-existent unfortunately Randy by I guess you get you in on the joke. Oh, I know the Beauty League.

I've been listening to your show. Oh, come on. Howbrough hates it. Just, especially Halford. Just hate it. You know who also hates it? So obviously we make sure to bring it up whenever we can. Rick Tockey used to hate it, too.

I don't know. Not a fan of that. You know when Derek Forward's putting up points in the Beauty League? You're scoring highlight real goals in the Beauty League. You're like, maybe this doesn't matter. I would say them back in my 1040 days, I remember having to, I was forced to put it into my sports updates. Because people cared at that point. just like blowing my mind.

I'm like, all right, here's our De Beauty League update for the day. Those were dark days when there was no other hope and you had to kind of focus on Brock Besser off season. Especially, yeah, it was Brock Besser. Yeah, he's got three goals in the Beauty League. Check it out. It's like, guys, it doesn't matter. Okay, but in terms of where he kind of sits in the depth chart, I guess.

So you mentioned Linus Carlson. I still think Carlson is clearly above him. Neil Zomon, I would still have a head of Positionally, he can play center as well That's going to get hidden points Atu-Ratoo again with the center ability And I just think he's someone They have a little more hoping

Lekrbaki I still have above Craftsov Ty Muehler Max Sasson Is that kind of the tier he falls in Well here's why a lot of those players And I would say the Mueller range Is probably where you have Craftsoft Because all of those guys have shown you

That they can play in the HAL Cravessov hasn't recently. He did with the Rangers. Yeah. But it's been a bit. So I think at the very least you have that player. But yeah, Linus Carlson, Atu, Ratu, Neil Zomann, Arsdi Bans.

Those guys are, you know, a level up from Vitali Crabsoft. Now, with Kravsov, though, we've talked about the team and why it makes sense for the team. For the player, he's 25 years of age, right? It's every player's dream to play in the NHL. the first time around didn't work out so well. The second time, like, you're in, I would say, like, you know, entering the prime or this is where you should start making kind of your money, making, you know, some headway into your professional career. So why not give it another shot?

Either works for the Vancouver Canucks and you develop as a player or at the very least, you can position yourself to say, hey, if you, there's a log jam of forwards in your organization, I'm going to play my way into. maybe a trade. I want to be an NHL player one way or another, whether that's with your organization or another. So since they retain his rights, this is a natural move for Kravsov too, just to say, I believe I can play this at this level,

hopefully for the Vancouver Canucks. But if not, moving forward, you know, if you got to move me, that's cool, but I want to try to make it happen with your organization. Yeah, he is, so he is 25 years old. It is the time where it's like, hey, if you're going to make another run

at trying to play in the, the NHL now is the time. And then if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. So we'll see how it all goes for Vitaly Kravsov and the Vancouver Canucks. And if he is in the conversation for a roster spot at any point this season, I think that would be a, that would be a win for the Canucks and Kravsav as well. Okay, moving on to baseball. The, I was going to say the Vancouver Blue Jays, the Toronto Blue Jays. They are not the Vancouver Blue Jays. Hold on a second. A lot of Mariners fans are going to start. I know, I know. That's why I'm going to start calling them the Vancouver for Blue Jays.

Yeah, the Canada's team, Blue Jays. Not this again. The Toronto Blue Jays. They won again. They beat the Colorado Rockies who are still a bad team. 10 to 4 and the power, the power bats were there. Dalton Varsho. He has 24 hits this season.

11 of them are home runs. And he had two more last night. Isn't it 18 or extra base? Like it's something wild like that. He's a high-of-end player. He's either getting. multiple bases or he's not getting on base. That is the Dalton Varshow experience.

And then he's making diving grabs against the Colorado Rockies the night before. I love it. It's a fun experience. If you're a neutral fan, like he's must watch because he's whiffing, he's hitting home runs and he's making diving catches. Yes. Vladdy, this is the nice thing. He also hit a home run and that's the thing we were

talking about yesterday. It's the thing people want to see from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Is the power bat, the power element of his game kind of a resurgence. Again, I don't know, I feel like it might be a slightly overblown issue just based on you look at the rest of his stats and you're like, well, he's still a very good player. But it is, it is nice. And we talk about come playoff time, like, hey, if you have that element

of someone that can hit a home run in a clutch moment, we'll see if he can do it against teams that are better than the Colorado Rockies. But which is everybody, which is every team in major league baseball. But it was nice to see Vladia hit a home run and he hit a long fly ball as well yesterday. Yeah. I'm happy with the long fly ball personally. That was great to see. That was a highlight. You know, it's easy against the Colorado Rockies when you're just like, oh, that was a nice long fly ball as well. Everything is going right. Even the outs are going well. It's like, well, that was a 400 foot out. Okay. Vladdy doing his thing. Love it. Dalton Varsho. Good for him as well. Everything is going right for the Blue Jays. But we do need to

focus on the fact that this is partly about the Blue Jays, but it's also about how bad the Rockies are. They are Major League Baseball's version of a slump buster. Like essentially, when something is going wrong, so wrong, don't worry, the Colorado Rockies are just around the corner and you're going to

feel good about yourself again. Yes. Unfortunately, it is only a three game series. It wraps up today for the Jays at noon. It's a noon first bit. Can the Yankees get the Rockies next please? That would be great. I hope not. The Blue Jays Actually, I just forgot I was going to say

You cut me off Something about the Blue Jays Duh, Blue Jays That's just how I wanted to end it The Blue Jays Okay, so yeah The Jays, they play the Rockies At noon today

You can hear the call here on Spice Oh, I remember what I was going to say Okay Perios, the Jays are something like 11 and 2 in his last 13 starts But is he the pitcher You're least confident in When he's on the mound?

I feel like it is Because the last three or four starts he's had, the end of his starts have been a little dramatic. And it was the same thing yesterday, too, even though they had the lead. It ended up 7-4 when he was taken out, and it was getting a little questionable. Yeah. I haven't been like super comfortable at all

when he's been pitching, to be honest. But I can say that about it kind of feels like every Jay's pitcher. Even like Eric Lauer, every time he pitches, I'm like, oh, yeah, I'm waiting for it to come back down to Earth. He hasn't given up more than three a start yet. Yeah. During the game, I have no issues with it. Max Scherzer

too, it's like, oh, he's been excellent in the last two starts though, right? Exactly. Like, Berrios might be the one I'm least confident in when Bieber gets ready. Yes. Yeah. Which is kind of shocking to say. There's an argument to make that he could be one of the guys where you, when Beber comes back, you're going to be put in a situation where you have to, you know, move one guy or a couple guys to the bullpen come playoff time. And I think there's a very good argument to make if Beber returns at full Bieber form, that Barrios could be one of those guys. And we heard from Blair yesterday. They don't want to do the six-man rotation.

You don't have to. But, hey, I think the next start for Bieber is on Saturday, if I'm not mistaken. In Buffalo. In Buffalo. So, Josh, you'd say you're a believer? I'm a believer. He certainly sounds like one. I'm going to come in wearing purple shirts every day, Shane Bieber pitches.

I'm going to, at some point this week, call him Justin Bieber. But Shane Bieber. Yeah, for now he is Shane. One start, rehab start, great. Good sign, you know, looks sharp enough. But, guys, there's a long way to go still, right? Like, in terms of Tommy John's surgery, coming back. It provides a rosy outlook for the Blue Jays

No doubt about that But he's still got to show a lot more He does, he does So yeah, the Jays wrap up that series at noon Once again, he can hear the call here on Sportsnet 650 And then they have an off day And then they are in L.A. To take on the Dodgers

And I believe the projected starters For the Dodgers include Blake Snell and Clayton Kershaw And someone else Someone else that's good I forget who else the projection Someone who's not injured on the Dodgers staff right now. Someone who can actually pitch for the Dodgers that is healthy.

So that'll be a big test. But maybe they get the confidence from this series to carry over to the next one, to the other team that people in this region care about when it comes to Major League Baseball. The Seattle Mariners with a big win. They beat the Chicago White Sox 8 to 3. Suarez, Naler, they both hit home runs. So the deadline additions working out well. for the Seattle Mariners.

And with that, they have surpassed your New York Yankees for the second wildcard spot. Yeah, the Yankees are like me and the gross grind right now getting passed by everybody. This is a rough situation.

Yeah. And what, half game ahead of the Rangers now as well? They are, yeah, I think it's either half a game or one game. Yeah, it's half a game ahead. That was a big game for the Rangers, too. Massive, massive. And they play again today at 1130. So the Rangers, if they win, if they complete the sweep, would pass the Yankees,

and the Yankees would be out of the playoff picture. This is a needless to say, when you've lost five in a row, you're in that market, your bullpen continues to melt down. Devin Williams, who I thought was a great off-season pickup, and I think a lot of Major League Baseball was like, all right, good pickup for the Yankees. He looks like he's gone. Like, he looks like he's lost. Did you see the sky that was going around?

Oh, yeah. He's given up the same amount of runs this year with the Yankees that he had. had in the previous, was it three? I think it was three seasons combined. Yeah. That's unbelievable. What is going on? Yeah, he's been rough.

Jake Bird, one of their deadline editions, had to get optioned yesterday, too. So it's just, it's not going well for the Yankees bullpen. Well, we heard Blair talk about it, and I'm going to, you know, obviously when I asked Don Legreca about this, too, because some guys are cut out for New York City and the pressure and some aren't. And that stat you reference, Lattie, is that's a pressure stat to me. That's a guy that doesn't have his stuff anymore and is rattled maybe by the pressure. Being the closer in New York City is not easy.

And it actually makes me respect Mariana Rivera even more because he put up unbelievable numbers in that market. Whereas Devin Williams, he's crumbling right now and the entire team is. Yes. So, yeah, the Yankees, they're in a precarious position right now. Is he surviving this? Yeah. If it continues like this, no. to the end of the year

he might because him and Cashman are kind of tied to the hip a little bit right if they miss the playoffs he's definitely not there's no way that city would allow him to keep a job if they didn't make the playoffs and even if they make the playoffs remember they made it to the World Series last year yeah it's crazy it's crazy

and then also the Boston Red Sox they stay hot they win yesterday they have won seven in a row now they are yeah they can stop that now it'd be really nice if they chilled out a little bit I believe they are three games, yeah, three games back of the Blue Jays for top spot. Devers was really holding them back. You know, apparently, that's the most unsettling thing about this.

If I'm a rival of the Boston Red Sox right now, it's like their vibes are so bad. And now it's like you get rid of one guy and the vibes are great again. They're like, we can be beaten. This is what the Canucks wanted in around February and it did not happen. No. It's working for the Red Sox though. It is working for the Red Sox. They let Devers go and they are doing really good.

at this point of the season. Also, before we go, an NFL note, Keenan Allen returning to the LA Chargers, a reunion on a one-year deal. He is 33 years old. He might be bad at football now, but he is going back to the Chargers and they need receiving help, so maybe he can help.

So Jim Harbaugh last week mentioned, hey, everybody else on this team needs to get to the level of Justin Herbert. So they brought Keenan Allen in, Prime Keenan Allen, 33-year-old, which in football years is getting up there for a He's ancient, yeah. I'm still not liking those weapons. Like, he's, sure, he's got the resume, but what, you got Ladd-McConkey, Quentin Johnson. Yeah, it's...

I think they have, there's another, they have another rookie that's, Trey Palmer, I think his name is, I could be wrong, that that's a little hyped up, but still, it's like, man, a lot of these are bad, I like Ladd-McConkey, but it's not a, it's not inspiring receiving core. No, he's, is he a waiver pickup in most fantasy? drafts or is he going to be a late pickup? Because he could be like the number one receiver potentially. Keenan Allen?

You could on this team. Yeah, I mean, yeah. On this team you could be. I think he's a, if we're talking fantasy, I would take him with a late round. Yeah, not a number one receiver across the league. I mean, on this team specifically. Yes. Yeah.

Is he a one receiver on any team now? Yeah, but he could be a safe option. So he's returning to the Chargers. What I do, what I do like, and we saw it with like Damien Lillard going back to Portland and Chris Paul going to the Clippers. I do like when stars of a team return to a team on like more than a one-day contract. Trudevius White to the bills right now. Yeah.

Which like he's shot too. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like ideally you want them when they're good. But I just, I love a reunion. I'm, I don't know. I like it. So we'll see.

I hope it works out. Wait, you like them being run over by the younger kids? Like, man, that's sad. That's harsh. Lose your spot again. You're listening to the best. of Halford and Brough.