Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Minecraft Movie Is The Defining Cultural Moment Of A Generation

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason talk the latest stories in baseball with MLB Network's Adnan Virk (1:29), plus they talk about what to expect from this year's C's squadron with the season now underway, as Vancouver Canadians commentator Tyler Zickel (26:04) joins the show.  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.

It's time to chat with Adnan It's Adnan Ferkey's on the show We're gonna talk some baseball And take a trip to the silver screen That's right, it's time for Redman. Yes, Ed and Ferg, he joins us now. We'll head out to the ball game and talk about all the filthy scene. 705 on a Thursday. Happy Thursday everybody. Halford Brough, sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates BC's

first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 five-star reviews. Visit them online at Sands-Trustee.com. We are an hour or two of the program. Ed Nanberg from MLB network is going to join us for a little baseball talk and a little hockey talk. We'll do a little NHL Stanley Cup playoff preview, a little battle of Ontario talk. Hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason Hominock at jason.mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money,

then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him online at jason.mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. To the phone lines we go, MLB Networks Adnan Virk joins us now on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning Adnan. How are you? Mike J doing great. Always a pleasure to catch up. Always

love the theme song. I think I heard some chirping this time. I think I heard a murmuring of Adnan church. Maybe I'm just losing my mind. Oh my God. There's a good story on this one. So Maybe I'm just losing my mind. Oh my God, there's a good story on this one. So on the previous hit, we have the little, you know, what do you call it in TV? Is it a Chiron or Chiron? The little graphic that comes up on screen. Chiron.

Chiron. So for our previous guest, Luke Fox, Andy put it in wrong and put it Luke Box. So we were coming up with mistakes that Andy can make for Adnan Verk. And Laddie said, do Adnan Vork. And I said, no, do Adnan Verk. But instead of V, do a J and it'll be Adnan Jerk. So that was the joke that you are now privy to.

This is what we do here at the Haliford and Bref show on sportsnet 650 I do want to get to the baseball eventually with you However, I want to start with what we were talking about Stanley Cup playoffs get underway this weekend It sounds like the Battle of Ontario is gonna kick off on Sunday. Although it hasn't been confirmed yet by the NHL What were some of your memories, you know, like being born and growing up in the Toronto area, working in the industry around those times of those great battle of Ontario's back in the early 2000s?

Well, it's phenomenal. Honestly, Mike, I had to jog my memory to remind myself that Ottawa never won because there were such heated matchups. I thought I'd send him when I got him once, but Leaves got him every time. Born in Toronto, but then I grew up in Kingston, so I was only two hours away from Ottawa.

So it was amazing hockey. And I made you always think about Chris Neil, face washing, Darcy Tucker. Darcy Tucker, all time punchable face. Like honestly, a supreme agitator, a guy, if he wasn't on your team, you just wanted to punch him in the face. And it was great matches.

I think of the star power, Hosep, Redden, obviously Sandin. And I get to work with Shane 90 who's a great guy Shane was in those battle of Ontario's and Maybe I'm just partial to Shane or the Ottawa area, but I hope it's 10 to the 7 I think it'd be great to see them back in the playoffs and then to finally beat the Leafs the class would be amazing But my one concern is fellas and this is obviously going to happen Leafs Nation is so powerful and so passionate They're gonna buy all those tickets in Ottawa. So we're gonna be one minute into the game in Kanata hearing Go Leafs Go. So hopefully the fans can overcome not only the road but also being on the road at home. Wow the Leafs fans are good on the road but they're terrible at home. So I mean they're pretty

quiet when it goes to Toronto for whatever reason. Do we sometimes have unreasonable expectations for these series that there's going to be that hate that we saw 20 years ago when the game was very different? You know I remember the Battle of Alberta that we had a couple of years ago. We were all like super excited and let's be honest that Battle of Alberta that we had a couple of years ago. We were all like super excited. And let's be honest, that Battle of Alberta kind of disappointed. There was a good wild first game when Calgary won nine six, but then the Oilers just kind of took over the series and they, and it was over in, in five games and I do remember anything like it never got like, Oh, this was crazy.

Right. And it's like, no, I just remember, I just remember Mark. You getting lit up a lot. Like it, like the game, the game is just so different now that we're all looking at Brady Kachak and we're like, do something, kick this off. But are there enough people to participate in all that? Yeah, a hundred percent. I mean, I, I can't imagine Ottawa dominates the least.

I could do the least taking care of business against Ottawa. You know, I think at least on paper, Ottawa hasates the Leafs. I could see the Leafs taking care of business against Ottawa. You know, I think at least on paper, Ottawa's got the better goalie. I think Olmark has had an excellent season after a little shaky beginning. He was awesome for the Sens. And depending on what you get,

wool and still arts, one can be hot, Jay, one can be cold. So I like Ottawa there. Obviously offensive firepower. Toronto's got a significant advantage against Ottawa. And even I think defensively, their shutdown pair has been really good. Tannin has been such a difference maker for them. But yeah, I think it should be at least in six, at least on paper.

They won the division for Toronto. They have to feel great avoiding the Panthers or the light in the first round. But there's no question Ottawa is plucky and Kachak has been such a firestarter this year for Ottawa. I really think this was his coming out party, especially in America because the four nations and hopefully he can provide a spark for them But you're right to say that sometimes these provincial matchups can be a dud I hope particularly this one will not be and also it's different in the past right at least in the past You knew well if I would get pushed around a little bit

We'll get some fights and some tough stuff now the game has changed, right? They're not necessarily gonna muck it up the way they used to so I hope it's a good matchup But I do share your concern and isn't always as great as one might think we're speaking to add Dan Burke That's add an VI RK Burke here on the Halford and rough show on sports that 650 Let's turn our attention to baseball now We'll stay in Toronto though quick check in with the Blue Jays what an outing from the Jays last night. Chris Bassett strikes out 10. The Blue Jays set a single game, nine-inning franchise record with 19 strikeouts. Amazing for the Blue Jays pitching staff. Maybe not so good for the Braves batters though. No, I mean, it was an amazing performance, particularly by Chris Bassett. If I said to

you, who's the best starting pitcher in the Blue Jays, it'd be probably pushing Kevin Goshen or Jose Barrios bound in Francis, obviously tremendous. The season ago, but that's, it's got a sub one ERA. He has been liked out of the gate. What a surprise. The guy in his walk here, he's going to be free agent after this year, bad, they're looking to get paid. He's in his mid thirties, but he's been awesome. And you mentioned those 19 strikeouts. We're talking big names here for the Braves in Michael Harris and Riley and Matt Olson.

Those guys, those three struck out a combined 11 times. And it was Bassett Company who did it. Again, James franchise record for a game, climb into the record of 18 previously all by himself. In Toronto, it looks like foul is at least the early going. I know we're only 10% of the way through the season, but last year can be viewed as an aberration. Rather than the beginning of a decline for a Blue Jays team, you go, no they've been a 90-win team. Last year was

a blip on the radar. They're going to go back to being a potential 90-win team. And this division right now it's them and the Yankees for first place. Red Sox are 500, Orioles and Rays a little bit under. Only two and a half games separate first to fifth. But I think it's been a promising start for the Blue Jays again i'm surprised that anybody that they signed vladi to 500 i did not think the jays would capitulate to that number vladi finally hits his first home run of the year bobershed yet to hit a home run and the jays are one of the worst teams in baseball when it comes to slugging the bo's hitting around 300 and the pitch has been good and one of the thoughts though is the bullpen significantly improved jeff hoffman gets save yesterday, gave up a run but so

what. A year ago their bullpen was the worst in the American League. 4-8-2 ERA. Hoffman been a difference maker. Sandlin coming over from Cleveland. Jay's looking good right now. Who is Tyler Soderstrom? A great story. It's always fun in April Jay. You look up and you go okay who is leading the league in whatever category? Average, home runs home runs RBI Soderstrom right now has been an absolute boon for Oakland who as expected Mike's favorite part the Sun is playing towards heavily favoring offense not good news for the A's pitching staff but it's good news for their hitters and you would have thought Brett Rooker

Lawrence Butler those are their two best bats both those guys locked up to long term gilts this off season. But it's that's Tyler Soderstrom was leading the party. He's a fairly nondescript player. I'm sure people in Sacramento would not know who Tyler Soderstrom is. He was at the local Target or Walmart. But he's had a great year so far. The eight home runs bashing the ball, clearly paying dividends there at the start.

Juan Soto wishes he could hit the ball like Tyler Soderstrom. It's been a tough start for him with the New York Mets. And I know it's because it's in New York and it's because of the gigantic contract that there's even more scrutiny on him. But walk me through what's gone on this last week. I know there were remarks made to the New York Post about how he's being attacked differently

without the protection of Aaron Judge in the lineup. And then, you know, he acknowledged that Aaron Judge is the best hitter in baseball and Judge kind of had some remarks defending Soto. So layout what's gone on over the start of the season, the last couple of weeks for Juan Soto in the New York Mets. The good news for the Mets is they're 11 and seven. They and Philadelphia pretty much the class of the NLEs. And that's good news.

Pitching has been surprisingly good despite the fact they've been hit by injuries. Soto specifically, on base percentage always great. He'll never lose that batting eye, really ever. He'll always know how to work a walk, he knows how to discern between a strike and a ball, but he hasn't shown much power at all. Slugging percentage has been poor, only two homers so far.

Basically what he said was he was honest, he said well, it's different not hitting with Aaron Judge behind you, he's a better hitter in baseball. And he's right, you do get much better pitches to hit. A year ago, 41 homerun, he said, well, it's different not hitting, he was there and judged behind, he was the best hitter in baseball. And he's right, you do get much better pitches to hit. A year ago, 41 home runs, 107 RBI for Soto. Peter Lanzo, for the record, had an excellent start for the Mets so far this year, but Soto was just being honest.

And I think sometimes, you know, we in the media want the honest answer, then when we get it, we go, what do you mean? How could you say that? So I appreciate the one, answered the question properly, and Judge, for his his credit has been amazing eating for now i know it almost lead the league in the eighties he's got several runs twenty one rb i last year they were dropped a very slow start the first three weeks of the season and then obviously took over one second mvp so judge is not missing so what so ever he's having a bountiful april which is rare for him and

so was definitely missing judge but but the good news the message They're 11 and 7. They're a good team first place team one solo gets rolling a little bit They should be better as the weather warms up. Hey, I think we finished with a movie question Of course Mike every time okay, so Tyler texted into the show Adnan is a Minecraft movie a generational generational event and must see. My kid's going to see it this weekend. Oh my god. All I see. Seems like a nightmare. What's going on? Because all I see are videos of people freaking out. Chicken jockey. Shut up, shut up. It's a movie. People freaking out in the theater, throwing popcorn,

yelling lines at the screen. I don't really get what's going on. Actually, little Jason would have loved the chaos. I know something's going on here, but I don't know what's going on. What is going on here? Well, it's funny, we always talk about the fact that no one goes to theaters as much as they used to. They only go to the tent all movies. Whatever the hell, Mission Impossible, Tom Cruise, coming out of the latest Jurassic Park iteration. And if this Minecraft movie, I would't say it came out of nowhere,

but I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction. I'm like, okay, fine. The game people will go see it. I'm aware of what Minecraft is, but whatever. I did not expect it, like, this break of records here in the middle of March and April and no one's watching movies until later. So to Jay's point, I think it's a nightmare.

My kids want to go see it. This is currently spring break. I'm finding every other diversion possible. Yesterday we did Chuck E. Jay's point, I think it's a nightmare. My kids want to go see it. This is currently spring break. I'm finding every other diversion possible. Yesterday we did Chuck E. Jay's, today is Hum Diggers, it's a bowling alley. It's Saturday, I'm willing to pay 100 bucks ahead for this indoor waterpark in American Dream, which is the equivalent of West Edmonton Mall.

It's this lavish mall, $10 billion to 20 years to build, right next to where the giants are in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Fellas, I'm willing to pay 100 bucks a head for a water park, and I've got four kids, rather than go see this Minecraft movie. I don't wanna go see this movie. I think it'll be an appalling experience.

I'm doing everything I can to avoid it. Okay, so I'm not gonna go on Saturday now, in light of this. Thank you for the heads up, I really appreciate that. And I am now checking out American Dream and this place looks awesome by the way. So enjoy your weekend. Enjoy avoiding the Minecraft movie.

Thank you as always for doing this. We really appreciate it. Thanks Mike. Thanks to enjoy the hockey splash pods over Minecraft any day of the week. Thanks buddy. That's Adnan Burke here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650.

I felt terrible, terrible. As you should. That Adnan thought that I was calling him a jerk. I would never do such a thing, just to be clear. But in one of, I am sure Justin and his fan will find this. My reaction during the Luke Fox interview of seeing the Chiron read Luke Box. Luke Box, Juke Fox, isn't that his handle? I'm just like, I'm dying laughing, trying to keep it together during the interview.

I'm just thinking of Adnan choosing to go to Chuck E. Cheese with his kids over the Minecraft movie. It tells you a lot about- To be fair, Chuck E. Cheese is awesome. Okay. I can see that, that you would like Chuck E. Cheese. It's awesome. Have you seen the viral tweet that went around about Chuck E. Cheese is awesome. Okay. I can see that. That you would like Chuck E. Cheese. It's awesome. Have you seen, have you seen like the viral tweet that went around about Chuck E.

Cheese? I found it. No. And I don't know who to credit to because a lot of people just steal these tweets. Okay. It just goes, hi, welcome to Chuck E. Cheese.

Everything is visibly dirty and our mascot is a rat. Eat some pizza near a sneezing child. Come on down for some rat pizza at our child casino. Rat pizza at the child casino. The child casino is bang on, right? The child casino is really good. Yeah. Come on down. Gotta get it started early. Come on down for some rat pizza at our child casino. Visibly dirty. It totally is, right? It is.

Visibly dirty. It's part of the charm. Every single part of the floor is sticky. Okay, so pivot back to the Canucks. Wah, wah. So I asked the listeners to text in if they had any untouchables on the Canucks. Besides Quinn Hughes, and we got some candidates on SineTech, Connor Garland, gotta keep that guy,

he's a grinder so much heart. Uh, Andrew and Victoria, it appears Demko is untouchable. The team plays such a different game when he is in net. Uh, another one Demko is untouchable. Can you imagine if they actually fix the forwards and the defense is good? And then the tandem of Lankan and Sealos fails the team. A healthy Demko level goalie is impossible to find. Ask the Oilers. Okay.

So. You heard my loud sigh there. I still maintain that the only untouchable is Quinn Hughes. And this is probably why we'll hear Pedersen's name in rumors. At the very least, the Canucks need to explore what trading him would look like. I'm not saying it's a solution, but you have to explore the option and I think they will. I don't think, I just don't think the connects

are in a position, I already said this, where they can make anyone, anyone besides Quinn Hughes untouchable. My second place might be Demko just because I don't even know how much you're going to get on the open market for him. And I do think that the Demko, Lankton in tandem is their best chance of coming back and having some

stability next season and in, in terms of the team, because, you know, if your goal-tending is good, usually you got a chance to win every night. Um, now don't yell at me. Okay. But would you consider, cause we gotta go through it. We gotta go through some names that are going to be uncomfortable here. Would you consider trading Heronics?

What are you crazy? I'm just trying to think of guys who would have meaningful value on the market. They just fixed the defense. They just fixed the defense. They just fixed it. Because look, if they trade Garland, for example, he's only got one year left on his deal. I think there would be some interest in him, but how much are you really going to get for a guy

with one year left on his deal? That's, you know, it's not quite a rental of the trade deadline, but. It's close. I don't think you're like, no team is going to be like, we have this great young forward that we're going to trade and we've got him under contract and you know, he's club controlled or

whatever, we're going to give them up for, for Connor Garland. No. And then you, and then you don't have Garland anymore. That's the other thing. He was one of your few play driving forwards. And even if you want him in the bottom

six, he's still a pretty valuable player. Hronik though, like maybe they could rob Paul to pay Peter this time because they've already robbed Peter to pay Paul. That's how they got Philip Hronik in the first place. Yep. But now this is again, crazy idea. I realize this is, you know, Quinn Hughes quite likes Philip Horonek, although he hasn't been playing with them lately. And you wonder if this

is a test. Is there a rift? No, there's not a rift. Ah, feels like a rift. But with Will Ander. Getting rift vibes. With Will Ander and Mancini on the right side, could they get by without Horonic? If Horonic brings them back a considerable return, which a very good right shot defenseman under contract could in the NHL. I'm just throwing ideas out there. Yeah. Horonic, by the way, no one talks about this.

He has a no movement clause that kicks in July 1st. That's according to Pacpedia, because I think he's in the same situation as Elias Pedersen with his no move clause. Can I- Would Heronic getting at a bigger return than Willander? Okay, let me add.

Because- Let me go down that road. Let me go down that road. Because you know what Heronic is, you don't know what Willander is. The box. The box. Yeah.

So that's why you might want to trade Willander over Heronik. Because you could argue Willander may not be as good as Heronik. Willander could be anything. He could be a Heronik. If Willander, you'd have to make a big bet on Willander and get him signed.

You'd have to make a big bet on him and hope that maybe, I mean, Hughes and Heronik, sorry, Hughes and Willander could be a pair, you know, could be. Um, but then, you know, like you got to look at the, what happens below them, right? Because the nice thing about moving Hronik away is that you could have him with Marcus Pedersen, for example.

So. But I'm just talking about like. I got a follow up question for you. Are you entertaining the idea of trading active roster players? Maybe not even subconsciously But just because you don't want them to do what everyone assumes they're gonna do which is trade prospects and futures and picks Well, cuz I don't even know if that'll get it done though. Yeah, I think so

And also looking at a package big enough look at it as simply as possible You have too much of one thing not enough of another thing So you got to trade the you need to you need to add two impact players into the top six. Yes. Right? A center and a winger. Two impact players that are youngish and have upside. But there's no point in adding. You think you're just going to get that for prospects that don't pick? But there's no point in adding them if you're taking away from what was a, what 92.2.

But that's what I'm saying, like could you. You're almost talking about like robbing Peter to pay Peter, like I'm talking about mortgaging the future, and I mean mortgage to make the present as strong as possible. I think if you're going to make a bet, you could say like, okay, Hughes can carry Will Ender while Will Ender is learning the game.

And then you've got the upside of DPD, you've got some veterans, Marcus Pedersen and Tyler Meyers. And maybe you bring in another veteran as a stopgap. Um, you know, maybe you bring back Derek forward. I'm just throwing ideas out there that haven't really been thrown out there because we've all been through like, trade the first round pick,

trade one of the prospects, right? It's a great idea, conceptually. It's a great idea, conceptually. The problem, the problem would be. Losing Hronik. Yeah, and this management group being like, we're not doing that. But that might be the only way

to get the top six player that they need. He's the only player with enough value to. He's the only player with enough value where you're like, hmm, maybe there's a solution with the younger guys that you could find. I wonder, you know what, okay, let's go down this road. What profile of team would be ready to acquire Hronik? And I mean, like, where are they?

Cause he would be a guy that I think a win now team would be interested in. I don't think a team that's two or three years off from being a contender would be interested in acquiring them because it just wouldn't fit with their timeline. I think a lot of teams would be interested in acquiring Philip Peronac. You think?

Yes, yes. He's a solid right shot defenseman. Yeah, but what happens if you're not competing for the playoffs of the Stanley Cup? Are you bringing in a guy like that? Sure. Okay. Sure.

So you've got a wide net to what you're saying. I think so. In this hypothetical scenario. I think so. I think so, yeah. Cause you know, it makes sense from the way that you laid it out. There are options, all terms,

I think maybe asking Will Ander to step in and play top pair minutes alongside Quinn Hughes is a heavy ask of both Will Ander and Hughes, but you could do it. You could do it. It doesn't have to be done right away. Sure. I mean, who's Hughes been playing with lately?

DPD, right? Yeah. I just wonder if they're- And they're out of the playoffs. I just wonder if they're experimenting with things. Yeah. By the way, speaking of DPD, did you notice he was not one of the names I read out?

I mean, the guys that are going down to Abbotsford? Yeah, I just wonder if he's in the mix for the Worlds. You gotta think, right? Yeah. That would make sense. That'd be a nice feather in his cap in the mix for the worlds. You gotta think, right? Yeah. That would make sense. That'd be a nice feather in his cap. What a year for him.

Guys, there are no bad ideas. No, that's true. Like, I think the connection- Even trading news, that's a good idea? That's not a good idea. I think you gotta throw out all the possibilities at this point, and I bet there are some wild ideas being thrown around in the Vancouver front office.

Like you're just trying to find something that works. That's a good point. Because like if your immediate reaction to everything is don't do that. And I'll like, there are some people out there that, well, I don't want to trade any more first round picks. Okay, well let's take that off the board.

I don't want to trade any of the young guys. We need these guys. Okay, we'll take that off the board. What are you left with? How are you going to do this? Why? They're going to have to pick, whatever happens, if they go out and add some meaningful forwards, whatever happens, like there's going to be something like, Ooh, I wonder if we're going to regret that. Welcome to the Vancouver Canucks. Okay. Coming up on the other side of the break, we're going to dive back into a little bit of baseball local style though. The Vancouver coming up on the other side of the break, we're gonna dive back into a little bit of baseball.

Local style though, the Vancouver Canadiens are currently in the midst of a six, yes, six game home stand, which will end with three consecutive nooners on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all of them against the Gene Emeralds. Eugene, but they've been here so long, as Jason said. You can call them Gene. Tyler Zickel, play-by-play voice

of the Vancouver Canadiens, is gonna join us next. You're listening to the Haliford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd. And Thomas Strantz. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on Sportsnet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. 7.35 on a thrash Thursday.

What's the name of this track, laddie? It's a nice little ditty called Worse Than Death. What's it called? Worse Than Death. Worse Than Death. How people feel when they listen to the Haliford and Bruff show. Worse Than Death. Sweet relief of death after listening to the Haliford and Bruff show. You are listening to the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates,

BC's first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3000 five star reviews. Visit them online at Sands-Trustee.com. Claire will be so happy to hear that. Yeah. Sometimes the bits work. Sometimes they run up against sponsors. We are in hour two of the program. Hour two is brought to you by Jason Hominac, who will also be thrilled, at jason.mortgage.

If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him at jason.mortgage. So I was on the golf course yesterday and yeah. Remember when Dom used to do it? You got in a fight? Remember what Dom used to do?

Yeah, I got in a fight. Got in a huge brawl. Does anyone remember what former producer Dom used to do every time? Would you shoot? Would you shoot? Would you shoot? Even though Jason hated it.

Former producer Dom. Former. Former. So what'd you shoot? There it is. Had to do it. Oh, you gotta test it. You gotta test it.

There it is. You shouldn't have told me that. I gotta do it every time. And it was, that's what Dom said. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Um. Keep going. So I was looking around and I was like,

it is such a beautiful day. I actually think I got a sunburn yesterday. It's Nat Bailey weather, man. It is, absolutely. And this weekend, you've got three, three consecutive nooners at the Nat. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all of them against Eugene. It is the opening home stand for the Vancouver Canadians.

And joining us now to talk about it in a whole lot more, the play-by-play voice of those Vancouver Canadians, Tyler Zickel here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Tyler. How are you? Oh gentlemen, I'm terrific. And hey, with that power metal, getting me rocking and rolling for my second here, I mean, couldn't be better. But you know what's worse than death?

A three hour and 24 minute game in the fridges temperatures with 18 combined walks on Tuesday night, but a much better Canadians win last night for their first home win at the Nats this year. Oh yeah. So the, the homestand didn't start especially well, but they did manage to rally last night for their first home win at the Nats this year. Oh yeah. So the, the homestand didn't start especially well, but they did manage to rally last night. So, but before we get into the currently ongoing homestand, uh, for those that aren't aware,

the season of them playing baseball right since the beginning of April, you guys started with a lot of games on the road. So for the listeners that might not be aware, get everybody caught up to how the season has started for the Vancouver Canadians. Yeah, absolutely. Nine game roadie to get it going here in 2025. The boys won two or three against the angels affiliate and then split the series in six games. That's Spokane, the Rockies affiliate, the reigning Northwest league champion and a lot of good. And of course,

in April you get a little bit of things you're still trying to work on. The good, this team can hit starting with top prospect Arjun Amala. He certainly can swing it, but up and down the lineup, these guys can find ways Starting with top prospect Arjun Namala, he certainly can swing it, but up and down the lineup, these guys can find ways to put together crooked numbers. In fact, they've had more multi-score innings than any other team in the Northwest League over these first 10 plus games of the season now, so that's certainly a great sign. The starting rotation, also elite, has been leading the Northwest League since the season started in ERA, one of the top ERAs in all of high A,

that's 30 teams across minor league baseball. And if there's one thing that might need to be a little tuned up, it's the bullpen. There've been a couple of games that have kind of frittled away late because of the bullpen, kind of still trying to find it. But we saw last night, great starting pitching, solid bullpen work, and the boys taking advantage

of some Emerald mistakes and cashing in with runners in scoring position. So it's all coming together. So you mentioned Arjun Namala there, the 20th overall pick in the 2023 draft. I remember when he got selected a lot of fanfare around the pick, obviously one of the highest prospects in the organization. Again, small sample size. It's an early start to his career. What have you seen so far? What can fans at Nat Bailey expect when they see Arjun?

Eye popping power, easy swing, and a guy who is getting his feet under him at shortstop as well made a couple of nice plays at short last night. He did a couple of home runs this season that has been absolute tanks. The first one over the first weekend out in Pasco, Washington at Giza Stadium. We've been going there in my tenure for five seasons.

I've never seen a ball hit over the scoreboard out onto the soccer fields that are there in Pasco. The farthest ball I've never seen a ball hit over the scoreboard out onto the soccer fields that are there in Pasco. The farthest ball I've ever seen hit that is at that ballpark. So a guy just 19 years old who's got some big boy pop and I don't know what you guys were doing at 19 but I was not hitting the ball 475 feet. Let's talk about Nat Bailey the stadium which is often the star of these games. People go out and they love the setting, Bailey, the stadium, which is often the star of these games. People go out and they love the setting. They love the stadium.

There's been a lot of work being done. Nat Bailey, what will fans notice when they show up? Yeah, certainly. Well, the first thing that fans will see is they come up those steps into the seating bowl, brand new field, both dirt and grass. You may have seen that video we posted on social media where the time lapse of the field getting completely redone. And that has been the biggest fan facing thing for this year, but it's a two part project. So got some things underneath the stadium that had been completed, new dugouts,

a new clubhouse, a new weight room, a new bullpen. In fact, both bullpens are now beyond the left field wall out there by the neutral zone porch. And then phase two, which is currently underway, you may remember the barbecue area down the right field line. There's going to be a two story building floor one. That'll be for the Canadians. The home clubhouse will be on the first base side starting next year, brand new commissary training facility, all that. And then the roof will be a patio rooftop area for fans to be able to enjoy the Nats in a brand new view that we've never had there at our historic ballpark.

And it's all about bringing the Nats into the modern era, meeting those MLB standards to keep baseball in Vancouver for generations. Did they have to bring in turf? Like I'm a lawn guy, so this is, this is interesting to me. Did they actually bring in sections of turf or did they grow the grass? Cause it's been cold. They brought it in and I'll tell you what, it's not been this green at this time of the year since full season baseball returned to Vancouver back in 2022.

So they did bring in the turf. They got it all sorted. The edges are super clean and nice. And you know what, if you need some help on the lawn, I'll have to talk to Levi Weber and see if he's got a couple extra rolls of that turf in his back warehouse. That would be amazing actually.

That's always been my dream to work on. Like as a, when I retire, just work on the grounds crew and just cut the lawn all day. Maybe I can do that on a volunteer basis. What's the most special thing for you about the start of any baseball season? Let's just, you know, what we can be able to achieve as a team. And of course I occupy just a small role on the team. I can sit in my catbird seat, the press box and watch these guys go to work every day. Our new manager, Jose Mayorga, who was with the club in 2017 and 2018 in an

assistant coaching role has really picked up where North Delta BC Brent LaValle left off after the last three seasons. Brent, of course, is double A now. Jose continuing that winning tradition. But for me as a baseball lifer, if you will, this is my 11th minor league season and eighth in the Blue Jays system. This time of year brings so much opportunity, so much hope, and so much expectation.

And after these first 11 games, I think these Canadians have a little bit something special cooking. This roster's got some juice, so we're looking forward to having fans come out and cheer them on all season long, giving them the best home field advantage in the sport. Nobody's been better at their home ballpark

than the Canadians over the last four seasons. Okay, real quick, before we let you go, set up these next four games on the homestand. There's a evening game tonight, and then not one, not two, but three consecutive nooners at the net. Yeah, absolutely. We're finishing strong.

Throwback Thursday tonight, we're gonna get those beauty blue throwbacks, the most Canadian look, bike up back on the field tonight, and then a Fortis BC nooner tomorrow, who doesn't love a Friday, 1pm start. And then we're debuting our lumberjack jerseys on Saturday for a Saturday matinee emphasis on the a of course it's a red and black plaid boys

are looking real good in those and looking forward to putting those on the field Saturday and a white spot family fun Sunday with a throwback to give away postgame kids from the bases. We'll wrap up the home stand Easter Sunday in some fun style. Go check them out over the next four days at the NAD. The Vancouver Canadians are back and they are in town. They're playing ball.

Hey Tyler, thanks a lot for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the remainder of this homestand. I'm sure we'll be doing this again as the season keeps rolling along. Appreciate you fellas. We'll keep the yard dog warm for you. Go Seas.

Let's go. Go Seas. Thanks Tyler. That's Tyler Zickel. Vancouver Canadians play by play man here on the Halferd and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. My nephew's Hastings Little League team went out to the the yard yesterday for the game last night because Little League baseball is now back. Everyone had Hastings had their opening ceremonies last week and I think Little Mountain right? Yeah. Yeah. So everything's back. Baseball is now back fully. Once the kids are out and the 27 walk innings that take seven hours to complete. Get the ball across the plate. Ah, you know, baseball's back.

I'm going tomorrow. Are you? I'll be there. To the little league game or to the seas game? Both. I just can't get enough baseball. I can't get enough baseball. Nice. Yeah. Well, I have a good time. You know who's not having a good time right now? The New York Rangers. What is going on with Panarin? What is this news?

So this morning, Katie Strang passed along a report courtesy of the athletic, the outfit that she works for. Our Temi Panarin, now I don't have the story in front of me. Do you have it in front of me? I can give the Colesnose version of what I read this morning, but our Temi Penneran. I'll give a summary here. The Penneran and Madison Square Garden, which owns the team, apparently reached financial settlements in 2024 with a former Rangers employee who alleged that Penneran

sexually assaulted her in December of 2023. The incident allegedly took place during a team road trip where Panarin reportedly lured the woman to his hotel room and attempted to pin her down. She managed to leave after retrieving her phone. The woman did not initially report the incident, but disclosed it months later during an internal investigation into a separate matter. Afterwards, she was placed on leave and later left the organization following the settlements, which included non-disclosure agreements and no admission of wrongdoing. The NHL stated an independent investigation

was conducted and considers the matter closed. Neither Panarin nor the Rangers confirmed whether any disciplinary action was taken. The Rangers recently named Panarin the MVP for the 2024-25 season. So if you had followed the Rangers story throughout this year, and I believe we had discussed it once prior with Vince Mercogliano, who were trying to get back on the show, because back in December, he had a piece, sort of a deep dive into the dysfunction within the Rangers team that extended to various

reaches of the organization. So beyond the room and the on ice and the relationship between the players and Peter Fabiolet. And there was several bits of anecdotal evidence where like the social media team was no longer able or permitted to travel with the team. Yeah, there was clear separation of players and staff. There was a series of rules and actions that went on during the year that was designed to create a clear divide between staff members of the New York Rangers and team personnel.

I suppose, again, I don't want to infer anything, but I would assume or suppose that what Katie's writing about with the Panarin incident was the related. The match that lit the fire that led to sweeping changes on how the Rangers essentially conducted human resources and a whole new set of policies across the board between staff and players.

It gives us a whole new perspective on the Rangers season, frankly. So the Mercogliano piece was sort of a itemized list of everything that had gone wrong and saying that the levels of dysfunction within the team didn't just stay on the ice, that there was this constant, I would say like fires that were blazing. I think the key word is there was this state of

paranoia. Yep. That was taken over that everyone was wondering, you know, walking on eggshells and, um, you know, when something like this happens, I imagine, uh, it has a big impact on the organization. You know, a lot of people kind of wondered like, what, what was Drury doing, the general manager, when

he threw out that email and basically said like, Crider's available and Truba's available. Now they tried to trade Truba in the off season and he blocked the trade. They also kind of, I don't want to say played dirty, but they used the CBA in order to trade Barclay Goodrow. Was that it? Or did they get rid of him somehow? I can't remember. Barclay Goodrow was, they waved him and he was

picked up by the sheriff. Right. But it was one of those things where it's like, I think he wanted to play out the remainder of his contract with the New York Rangers who he signed with. Yeah. Yeah.

There was that and the Truba and the Criator, and then eventually there's the Zabinijad where they were trying to shake up the veteran core. So the answer. Strong arming them, if you will. The answer to any dysfunctional team, of course, is to go out and add JT Miller. That's what you do. It's the best way to solve your problems.

He's a calming influence in the group. He's a people person. I'm gonna be really curious to see what happens. I mean, I was already curious about what was going to happen with the Rangers this off season and what their press conference. Now that this is out, I mean, is this, are people going to call this a coverup?

Well. Are people going to try and say that they swept this incident under the rug? This is, okay. What is, I think one thing that we should be prepared for is a examination of the owner, James Dolan on this one it's against happening with one of his teams.

Because you'll remember back in 2006, 2007 with the New York Knicks, the Isaiah Thomas scandal where he faced a lawsuit alleging he sexually harassed one of his female employees and that eventually went to court and the jury found Thomas and MSG guilty and liable and awarded, I think what his name was, the Neutra Brown Sanders, $11.6 million in damages. But that went to court, this one had a settlement, right?

Right, but what I'm saying is if you just wanna go on the broad strokes of this happened with two different teams that James Dolan was the owner of. I think people are very sensitive, especially in hockey circles, to the idea of these problems occurring and nobody knows about them. And then you find out that there was a payment to make the problem go away.

Hockey Canada learned that, right? Yep. Is there going to be a similar backlash to this story? and nobody knows about them and then you find out that there was a payment to make the problem go away. Hockey Canada learned that, right? Is there gonna be a similar backlash to this story? Like if you're- That's a very legitimate and probably pressing question. Okay, imagine if this was a Canuck. Imagine if Panarin was a Canuck and you found out that there was an incident

and there was a settlement. There would be a lot of digging and a lot of follow ups and a lot of questions to be asked, especially since. There'd be a lot of people being like, I don't want this guy on the team anymore. Right, and especially since, remember, the Rangers still have yet to conduct their end of year media availability, right?

All the teams that were eliminated from the playoffs are going to be doing them within the next couple of days and the Rangers, like many other teams, have not done there yet. So I would suggest that that line of questioning could be front and center when Chris Drury and whomever else meet with the media following what was widely considered one of the most disappointing seasons in the entire history of the New York Rangers. I just wonder if Dolan's going to feel the

pressure to do a complete house cleaning. It could spark that. It could, I mean, here's the thing. You know, I heard. They didn't have the greatest footing before this. There were a lot of reasons why you could point to the work done this year and say, this is grounds for dismissal on its own.

I thought one of the interesting things from that Mercagliano article was how much the organization misses Glenn Sather as a buffer between James Dolan and management. Yeah, that's a good point. And how James Dolan actually saw Glenn Sather as a bit of a father figure. And I think Sather could talk to Dolan and he

would be the buffer between James Dolan, who is an interesting character and hockey ops. But now it seems to be like Dolan and there's no buffer, so it's Dolan going right to Drury. Right? It is an important role in NHL franchises. It's been a topic of conversation in Buffalo for a long time. It's been a topic of conversation in Vancouver. Yeah, sometimes having a owner with a direct line

to a general manager isn't the greatest situation. You need layers and you need people who can work relationships and massage conversations and deal with a very stressful environment and often headstrong people. You need an intermediary sometimes because those conversations can be blunt and they can be directed, they can be short. I want something done and I want it done now, get it done. Yeah.

Sometimes that you need someone to. That's why I hired you. You want to pay you the big bucks. Sometimes you put someone in between to soften that or to spin it in a way that allows the message to be heard, but in a way that it's received not as a threat. Filtered way.

Yeah. In a more filtered way. Well, we're going to hear lots more about the New York Rangers, I'm sure over the next few days. Thomas Drantz is going to join us next and Drantz here just wrote an article for the Athletic. He just published it. I haven't had time to read it yet, but the headline

is what comes next for the Canucks after a season of dysfunction and disappointment? Um, so, uh, my first question for Thomas Drantz when we speak to him in about seven minutes is what comes next for the Canucks after this season of dysfunction and disappointment? You're listening to the Halford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650.