Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Moj Goes Off On The Canucks

Episode Date: January 24, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason hear from the listeners who had lots of opinions about the Vancouver Canucks (3:00), the boys do some Ask Us Anythings (12:00), plus they talk the lack of pride the Canucks are showing with commentator Bob "The Moj" Marjanovich (28:15), and also preview this weekend's AFC & NFC championship series with him.  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.

Music 703 on a Fiesta Friday here on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Someone just texted in, Fiesta! Getting a lot of special hat day vibes with the music today. I am the angel of death. So it's Fiesta Friday at the office. You can wear a sombrero or something, I don't know. You guys have a good day.

Enjoy yourselves out there. We do. We gotta have some fun with those guys. We have to. There's two options here. You can either yell and scream and get frustrated at everything, which we did in the first hour, but you gotta dial it back.

You know that scene in Breaking Bad where they have the confrontation at the Mexican restaurant, and they finally all figured out who Walt is, and then the waiter comes up, he's like, so can I get you guys any guacamole? Yeah. Is that what those cheese poppers? Walt is and then the waiter comes up. He's like so can I get you guys any guacamole? Yeah? So those cheese poppers that's what that's the media Any spicy marks for the table? You're listening to the halferd and brush on sportsnet 650 Alfred in breath of the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers They have a friendly knowledgeable staff that can open anything you sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in Hour 2 of the program. Hour 2 is

brought to you by Jason Hominuk from 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 them online at Jason.mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec footwear and orthotics, working together with you in step. Our next guest is the proprietor of AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. It's AJ here on the Halford and Brough show

on Sportsnet 650. What up AJ? Oh, what is going on? Hey, this is two Fridays in a row here. The Canucks are putting pressure on me. So AJ- That's what I learned. We just can't have any more Thursday games.

AJ texted me last night with a few ideas for what he wanted to talk about today. Cause halfway through the game he's like, you know what? He's like, we need a vibe check. We need to change up the vibes. We're going to have a good time instead. Right. I mean that that's just, but Hey, the next Thursday night game is against San Jose. So there's a, we're saying there's a chance, right? At very least there'll be some goals based on what San Jose has done this year.

There'll be something. I know what is going on. We can't even, let's not talk hockey. Okay. Let's just forget about hockey. Let's talk Jimmy Aces, let's talk Chiefs, let's talk the commanders. Yeah, let's talk about Jimmy Aces. So Jimmy Asus had the call that the commanders were going to upset the Detroit Lions. He did. And they did it. So what was his, what was his, again, I pictured Jimmy Asus as this mafia guy in New York.

Were the zebras crooked in that game? Like what was going on? Apparently he had some drones over the practice fields. So he kind of saw something. I mean, he was kind of like, oh, I'm going to in New York, were the zebras crooked in that game? Like what was going on? Apparently he had some drones over the practice fields. Oh. So he kind of saw something. I mean, we can say that here

because we're in Canada, you can't get in trouble. That's true. It's a lot, it's encouraged at times. Who does Jimmy Aces have this weekend? He's got, he has the commanders again. Wow. And then how far, I don't know, do you want to break it? I can't break it.

Because if I break it, my wife's going to divorce me. So this is the chiefs, he's got the chiefs, doesn't it? Yeah, he does. I know she's going to be so unhappy, but she's in Victoria. So I don't have to deal with it in the moment. So look, we've had this conversation too. But with that being said, right. But with that being said, if it is a repeat of 1992,

I mean how crazy would it be if the Redskins, or sorry, the commanders beat the Bills again. Yeah, like, Bref and I were talking about it yesterday, like, we want to see Bills, and I don't really care who the opponent is, we want to see the Bills and see where I'd like to see Bills commanders, I think it'd be a lot of fun. Yeah, me too. Going all the way back to that would be awesome. That'd be awesome. I think that'd be a lot of fun.

But logically speaking, I'm pretty sure that Kansas City is going to get, because that's how the script is going to go. And apologies to Teresa. I know she doesn't want to hear any of this. She's going to be texting you any minute. So this weekend at AJ's, it is a very good weekend to go by. We have $6 pints on Saturday because that's a banter. So you can just start drinking kind of all day.

And then Sunday, we got AFC and NFC championships and happy hour all day Sunday at AJ's Pizza. Right. It's gonna be super fun. And yeah, you know, Canucks gonna turn it around. And everyone get that. I got a good feel. And everyone should get their pizza orders

in now for Super Bowl, yeah? Yeah, 100%. Yeah, I would start pre-ordering now. It just, it stacks up, yeah. Beautiful. AJ, thanks buddy, appreciate this. Yeah, thank you guys, take care. Have a good one. AJ from AJ's Pizza, Ony's Broadway. AJ, thanks buddy. Appreciate this. Yeah. Thank you guys. Take care. Have a good one.

AJ from AJ's Pizza, Andy's Broadway. A reminder, go there this weekend. At the very least, if the Canucks don't perform well against Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, you can get a $6 pint. I haven't asked you to say anything. Okay. And I want all the dogs on it.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Thought about this last night. Now, you know, there is some stuff going on between Canada and the United States politically, right? Not aware, but okay. Okay.

If the Americans beat Canada, the four nations, is that event big enough for Trump to mention in some way? Good one. Hey, answer is probably no. It's not big enough. Yeah, I don't think so. I mean, he mentioned a vegkin randomly the other day. I think he's.

That's only because he plays in his own backyard. I, he, he follows sports, man. Yeah, I know. He, he knows like, so he was at the game. There was an interview, well, obviously a long time ago in 1994 specifically, right before game seven Rangers Canucks, Trump was in the building.

Like he, he, he likes sports. He likes to use it. And I'm not saying that he's going to use, he's going to be like previewing it on truth social or whatever he's got going on there. Right. But if the Americans, let's say USA and Canada, make it to the final, it's gonna be on,

there's gonna be a lot of people watching. There will be. And the Americans win. Would he mention it just because he's kind of in the process of needling us right now? It's a great question. If Canada wins, the tariffs would be 50%. So, retaliatory

tariffs. Here's the thing, I think if the Americans win, he mentions it in some way and he'll go, you know, if you just joined us, we could all team up. Here's why I'm going to say no, is that above all else, he wants and craves the platform. And I, with all due respect to the four nations face off, which nobody has, it's never been played before. It's kind of a made up event. I think that he would hold out that for the Olympics, not the four nations.

Like someone just said, there was a speech among the Monday, there was a speech of Monday's national championship. I'm like, yes, because that's the platform. Everybody was watching. It was the national championship. This isn't that. I'm already getting, by the way, and this side.

But the Canada US thing is right now and he's going to use anything he can, right? He's not going to go all the way to the Olympics. He's trying to accomplish something right now. I totally understand what you're talking about. My pushback would be that the platform is not big enough. Olympics? I got it. Yes. Yeah. I got it.

Also, Four Nations face off, we're a month out, getting a little worried about this tournament right now. Little worried. Why? Well, one, I'm worried about a health of a lot of the key players and what the NHL clubs are gonna do. Yeah. That's my biggest concern.

Secondly, have you kind of noticed that there's not a ton of hype around it? Well, except for Edmonton calling on McDavid to pull out of it. Right. That's the most hype. It's having one of the best players in the game, potentially do a silent protest by

withdrawing his services. I want it to work. I think once it'll be one of those things that once the tournament is on, I think people will get invested into it. Yeah. Although it's a short tournament. I think people need to have the right attitude

about it. And that is this is the first time we've seen this in a long, long time. So let's enjoy it and let's use it as a table setter for the Olympics. Hey, you don't have to convince me. I'm excited about it. I just am trying to read the tea leaves on this one.

Like for example. I think the players are excited about it. I really do. Yeah. Well, I'm more worried about the teams. And if they aren't, I'll be pissed off because they're the ones that push. Push through it.

Yeah. You know, the, the fly in the ointment could end up being the NHL clubs, the owners and the general managers. For example, like Jacob Markstrom, freege on the 32 Thoughts podcast, we played a bit of audio about the Canucks earlier. He said, Markstrom's out four to six weeks, it's gonna put him in jeopardy for that.

So I started looking around, I'm like, if you're the Maple Leafs, are you not telling Austin Matthews, like, you're not playing in this? Sorry, but you've missed a ton of time this year with injury. You don't need any extra games. We're giving you rest games with regularity for whatever this injury is. I think there's going to be a lot of pressure on the teams from the league. Yeah. No, no, no, from the league to-

I know, because it's the league. I mean, yeah. Get them out there. This is in the All-Star game. I know, it's a very, you gotta admit it's a complex dynamic because this is a league initiative, but the teams are like, yeah, I don't really wanna risk anything for this. Like if I was a general manager, for example, of the Vancouver Canucks,

I'd have a real hard time saying like, Hughes and Miller go. Yeah, I get it. I mean, I... We have issues at home. I'd be like, I don't want Miller and Pedersen to play each other just in case something crazy happens. I...

You know what shocked me? It was the biggest shock that I've heard. Drantz said the other day, he hadn't even thought about the idea of Miller playing Pedersen. That shocked me. Really? I'm almost more interested in that than seeing Canada.

I was like, what? Drantz also thinks of everything. He goes down scenarios and comparisons that no normal brain would think of. The fact that- Maybe his brain was too busy with that stuff. When you were gone, he did a- By the way, how's that sleeping giant theory of his going? They were still sleeping.

Any day now. This giant is dead. I just, I do want to add that while you were away, he had a comparison between Connor Zeri and James Harden. And I was like, dude, like I can't even begin to try and break that down in my brain. Like it's too much. How did the comparison of Connor Zarian, James Harden. The way that they would drive to the middle

of their respective ice slash lane and draw defenders. And I was like, I can't do this right now. We were so close to Christmas. I was like, we're almost off the air. But this is an example of where his brain goes. He had it at the ready. He had thought about it in that great a depth.

So the fact that he did not think about Pedersen versus Miller, which is all I've thought about when it comes to the four nations face off, to be honest. I'm like, I would love all the little inner working, cause there's hardly any rivalries, let alone one between guys that play for the same team. Anyway.

Justin and Yves Van, ask us anything. If someone gave you a box containing everything you've lost in your life. The box, the box. What's the first thing you look for and why? Wow. My love for the Canucks. I can assume you're more of a tangible object. So I had this bike when I was maybe 12 or 13 and it was, it was a mountain bike, but

it was kind of a kid size mountain bike and it had actually gotten too small for me. So it was effectively like a BMX. I could do so many tricks on that bike. Like if you wanted to be just like catwalk. It was on that bike. Like if you wanted to me to just like catwalk. It was a sick bike. No, it was just like I had a great feel to it. Like I could just go on one wheel, no problem. Like the back wheel, no problem.

And it was awesome. It was so much fun. That bike got stolen out of my backyard and I've never. You never got over it. Never, I've never been able to do that because my next bike I got was bigger. Right.

It fit me. And then I'm like, oh, this bike is too big to do cool tricks on. I had a trick bike growing up too. Were you good on it though? It was okay. They had the pegs on the front that you could kind of do like spinnies and wheelies and it had it was a

Baby blue Carolina blue diamond back. It was it was a good bike. It didn't get stolen or anything I think eventually I just got tired of it or I grew it my answer to the question and this will be a plug for Friend of the show rich who has a hat company the nine o'clock gun company. They make outstanding hats I have a couple of them. You've seen the Expo 86 hat, the blue one that I wear on occasion. I have a number of their hats. He made one of the greatest hats ever. It was a snapback mesh BC flag hat.

It was the best hat I ever had. I used to get, people would remark on it all the time because it was pretty rare and unique. The color scheme was perfect. Uh, we were boating on the lake and it flew off my head and into the depths of the Okanagan. I think the Yoga Pogo is wearing it now and I tried to make a move for it. I was like, do I, do I dive in the water? They're like, don't do it. It's not worth it. I'm like, but it's my favorite hat.

And I just watched it slowly sink away. It was like that scene from standby me when they're crossing the train tracks and Vern drops his comb. Or when Wilson's floating away and casts. Yeah, you just, and you just, you know, it's gone. You try, but in vain. Cause you know that it's gone forever.

And if Rich is listening, if you do have one of those hats lying around, I'd love to get it. I had a shoe swap lake loss too. What'd you lose? I lost a really good beach chair. My butt, we were house boating my, and I said, don't forget.

I told my buddy, Hey, can you put that chair on the boat? Cause we were packing up and then we left and he goes, Oh, forgot your chair. Remember that one thing you asked me to do? I didn't, I didn't do that. Uh, ask us anything from Lincoln and Surrey. The reason I enjoy your show is because you are all

real Canucks fans. Well, maybe not laddie who have experienced the same things we have experienced over the years. Have you ever considered, or would you consider becoming a fan of a different team or just watching games without cheering for a specific team? So I'm immediately going to say, I would not just watch games without cheering for a specific team.

For me, having a rooting interest in the game. Like I can watch some games like in the playoffs where I don't have a dog in the fight, but part of sports for me, a big part is having a rooting interest. Um, the other part, becoming a fan of a different team. No, I'm in it. I'm in it, man. I'm not going to change teams. I don't want to do it.

And I don't want to risk doing it and then all of a sudden the Connex turn around and win the Stanley Cup. I am all in with this team and that's why when I watch this team and I see the gloomy faces, I see the bad body language. And frankly, there are times when I don't see the love for playing for the team that others have shown in the past, whether it was Stan Smeal

or Trevor Linden or the Sedines or, you know, Burroughs and BXL, like those guys loved being Canucks. And I'm sorry, I don't see that same devotion from a few members of this core. Yeah, look, I mean, okay. And it really, really bothers me. I think at times critics of this show and of how Bruff and I specifically, we'll be like, you guys harken back way too much

to the 2011 group and the 94 group. And I'll say like, yeah, maybe because we're old, Brough's really old. And then I'll say, but at the same time, those teams, what they had in common was like a fabric woven throughout both groups where there was unity and there was a Wolfpack mentality and they were tight and there was cohesion. I think that all plays to what you're talking about. Like part of wanting to be on a team and wanting to play for the crest is also wanting to play for the guys that are also wearing that crest. To me, like sticking up for your teammates is a real make or break for if a team's going to do anything of note successfully.

Um, and this is a roundabout way for me to get back to what didn't happen last night when Corey Perry spiked Quinn Hughes onto the ice last night. Like to me, I know it might feel like cherry picking those particular moments, but to me, those are the moments where you're put in a flash point of decision. You're either going to respond aggressively and very definitively, right?

Like it's not a, it's not a, well, should I go do this? Or what are the ramifications? It's, uh-uh, not happening, not on my watch, not to my teammate, not to my captain. You're literally jumping in there. Like, and I'm not using the word literally, like everyone else uses it. Incorrectly?

Incorrectly. You are literally jumping. Like, remember that?, like there would be something and guys would come flying in and jump in and you're right. It's a spur of the moment thing. You can't be like, well, I'm going to go have some words with him later.

Has anyone ever got into a bit of a dust up at a local watering hole or establishment or a night out and one of your buddies is suddenly in a spot, in a pickle, in a jam. Most of the time, your first instinct is to, I gotta help my buddy out here. He's in danger, he's in trouble. Oh, mine is like, oh, the bar's gonna be open.

Also, yeah, should I wait? No more lineups. Does anyone have a phone? Like, you know, like. Hey. Hey. It's very primal. And I understand that it comes with a lot of other conversations, but at its core,

there is an element of, hey, Corey Perry is specifically going after Quinn Hughes last night. Corey Perry very consciously made a choice. There was a lot of guys in that scrum behind the net when it was four nothing. And the instigator wasn't Quinn Hughes, it was Connor Garland.

But guess who Corey Perry went and grabbed? Quinn Hughes. And part of it was, I'm gonna tangle with their best player. You know what the other part of it I think might've been? Corey Perry saying like, I'm not too worried about anybody doing anything. Or let's see if anybody's going to do anything. How did nobody stick up for their captain?

This is so embarrassing. I think this is going to become a bit of a narrative. What does Quinn Hughes think of all this? Well, like you said earlier, I'm sure he's furious at his teammates. Like show some pride. Like have some pride for your teammates. But what I'm, like how far is he willing to go to fix this?

Yeah. And you know, again, there's this, I don't want to call it a narrative, but there's some idea that if the Canucks make these drastic changes to the core, like let's say they trade Miller and Pedersen, then they are, they're in it then. Right? That's, that's a rebuild.

That's your top two centers. That's massive. But the thing is, if you don't trade them, are you just prolonging the pain? Yeah, you are. Are you just prolonging it? Like people say you are. Are you just prolonging it? Like people say, well, you can't do that to Hughes. Well, have you asked him?

I was getting into that online last night with other people. Have you asked him what he thinks? Like I heard last year that Hughes was preparing. This was before, you know, there was all the stuff with like the Canucks want to talk to Pedersen, but he doesn't want to talk to him. And he would prefer to do it in the off season. I heard that Hughes was preparing for him to

leave, like he was thinking, okay, this is, this is not going to get to happen. And then it did. Then the Canucks played hard ball with PD and they threatened to trade them to Carolina and they got him to sign. Right? So, I mean, that's not saying that he wanted that to happen, but I heard he was prepared for it.

Right? So I just think it's dangerous to assume what someone wants and what someone is thinking, because that's your opinion. Right? And I try and take that into account for myself as well. We don't know what he wants. We don't know the best way to keep him and keeping

him is very much a topic that we should be considering. I know that's something that we haven't even like, I don't even think people want to have the bandwidth for that right now, just because you don't want the reality of Quinn Hughes going somewhere else someday. He's unhappy with the team, and when his contract's up, he's like, look guys, I'm sorry, I've spent a lot of time here, but it just hasn't worked, I'm going somewhere else, maybe to play with my brothers, whatever.

Nobody wants to think of that possibility. So the Canucks have to do everything in their power to make sure that doesn't happen. So stop it right there though, because again, we're starting to stack hypothetical upon hypothetical. Like exist in real events that have happened. And I pointed to this a few times now.

I was watching a random middle of the week, middle of the regular season game between the Florida Panthers and the New Jersey Devils. New Jersey Devils, not coincidentally, employed two of the Three Hughes brothers. Nico Heescher got trucked on a hit. Nico Heescher, not coincidentally, is the captain of his team,

unlike when he's the captain of the Vancouver Canucks, and is not a guy that is going to be a physical deterrent. There are physical deterrents to protect Nikol Hesher. And every guy on the ice for the Devils, when that hit was laid on him, jumped in and were like, this isn't happening. Not right now, not in this moment. Penalties to be damned, score line to be damned,

game to be damned, like we are making a statement right now that if you take a run at our captain, you're gonna have a bunch of guys in your face about it. So within the context of the NHL, currently that dynamic exists. The question you gotta ask is, why doesn't it exist in Vancouver? Because it's not like what happened last night

is a regular occurrence. That's the unicorn, that's the anomaly. That's the one that people are saying, how does this keep happening? How can Halford point to five different instances of this happening within the last couple months? Take your pick on the guy that gets trucked or gets hit or gets roughed up.

It happens a lot. And I don't wanna make this about Zdorov because I think that Zdorov was just the vessel that showed it the best. But after he got traded to the Canucks, I think it was mid-December, they were playing a game in Chicago and Reese Johnson trucked Pedersen. And again, it doesn't have to be Zdorov, but Zdorov was the guy that did it. And he jumped in straight away, did not ask any questions, did not hesitate, did not think twice about it. Pettersson said afterwards, I appreciate it so much. I don't mind a good hit, which Johnson's hit was,

but it just shows that Zdorov is gonna back me up no matter what. And the no matter what is the kicker, right? That's the thing. It doesn't matter what the circumstances or the incident are. I know he's got my back no matter what. It shows that you're playing for each other. And if that dynamic is missing where it exists elsewhere in the league, that's a big problem. I take Zdorov over De Harnay and Fort Worth. Yeah. But again, don't make it about Zdorov because then we're going to have a little bit on Jack. That's why Zdorov is getting paid a lot more

than those guys. But De Harnay at this point, I don't even know if you can play him in the lineup. I know we got to break. I was just going to say like, if I'm management, if I want to keep Quinn Hughes happy, I think it's much more probable you keep him happy by making changes than by not making changes.

If it's just, if you make it black and white that simple, you have the two choices, keep our captain happy. We don't want him to leave ever. We want him to be a lifelong Canuck. He'll be much happier with changes than without, if I had to guess. That's just my opinion. But I think if you just keep this core together forever until Hughes' contract expires, that's a big risk. Forever. Okay. We're going to talk about.

Forever. Forever. We're going to talk about the leadership group with Moj coming up and we'll also dive into the two big football games this weekend. Buffalo, Kansas City, Washington, Philly. Moj coming up next on the Hal Finnebrop Show on Sportsnet 650. Before we go to break, I need to tell you about Rogers Xfinity TV. The mystery has been solved. You can watch all new seasons of your favorite

true crime shows on Investigation Discovery. It's available on Channel 413 on Rogers Xfinity TV. I also need to tell you about Jan Pro. From the boardroom to the break room and everywhere in between Jan Pro keeps workplaces tidy, clean and disinfected. For a free quote, visit JanPro.ca. You're listening to the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. It's the Moch. I did not eat four burgers.

Yes, it's the Moch. I don't wanna go to Winnipeg. Nobody wants to go to Winnipeg. Yes, I love food. It's the Moch. I went online and kind of did a little surfing. Jamalala. Yes, it's the Moch.

Halpert's fine, but you know, Bruffa's just grumpy all the time. Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, This is the Rough Show on Sportsnet 650. Haliford and Brougham of the Morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service, or parts. We are an hour or two of the program. Moge is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason Hominuk from Jason.mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you.

You can visit him on the internet at jason.mortgage. To the phone lines we go. Here's a presentation of the Clayton Public House. Bob the Moj Marjanovic joins us now on the Halford and Bref Show on Sportsnet 650. What up Moj? Oh man, oh man, I feel for you guys. Actually, I don't feel for you guys today because it's gonna be a great show. It's already been a great show because there's so much to talk about. You know, you're right. We get this question a lot from people.

They're like, you guys ever get tired of this? Or does it ever feel like a drag? And I'm like, honestly, 100% no. We have a cool job. It's a lot of fun. We have a good time doing it. Can I get monotonous? Yeah. Can you get frustrated?

Yeah. But I mean, you know this as well as we do. Like this is pretty fun gig. You can't really complain about this. I wish the cadets had that type of attitude. It's true. Where do we start with this team, Moj? You know, um, uh, I just looked at this team and there's so many different events that you can point out. One thing I think you can point out is the injuries.

And I heard Ray talking about this with Donnie and Dolly and I totally agree with him. I mean, this goes back to so many years when guys miss training camp and when they miss an extended period of time, it's extremely difficult to get back on track and get your timing back and just feel like you're with it, whether it's Thatcher or Devco, whether it's JT Miller missing 10 games, whether it's Dakota, Joshua, um, Philip Bronic missing an extended period of time. Okay. I can live with those, I guess excuses if you want to call them, but what I can't

live with, and I don't think a lot of connect fans can live with is just the lack of emotion that this group shows, the lack of response that it shows after a game like Buffalo. I mean, they went into Edmonton last night and they were flat, I'm sure. They finally woke up a little bit and showed some signs of life. So I just look at this thing and I say,

okay, where does it start? And I know a lot of people are pointing their finger at Rick Hockett, but to me, it's not that. It's the leadership group's the leadership group of it The leadership core of this group think about it. They've gone through three coaches in green and Boudreaux now Tuckett To me adversity reveals character. I've been covering this team for 30 years I've been walking into that dressing room since the Coliseum days You guys have been around a long time to You guys have been around this team and to me there's just something about this

leadership group that's just off, that's just different. You know, how do I put my finger on it? I don't know but it's just a different group and I think you're starting well, I think you're starting, well, I think you're starting to see, you've already seen it in the past, but you're starting to see it again, how this group reacts to adversity, which really doesn't react that well to adversity. What is it like walking into the room and talking

to these guys, if they're even around? Yeah, that's a great point. If they're even around, it's just different guys. I mean, you know, it's such a strict, that's a great point if they're even around. It's just different guys. I mean, you know, it's such a strict, there's so many restrictions now in terms of how the media deals with players. Here's the thing that cracks me out too is like everyone likes to pound on the media and also media as well. Oh, the pressure of the media. You know,

I'll give you an example. That whole thing with Pederson and Miller, the big, the rift supposedly, right? You know, that everybody talked about, they were questioned one time on that, that one weekend or whatever it was, that two day span, that was it. It's never been brought up since it wasn't brought up before. And you know, just looking at Pederson's reaction where he stormed off and I'm just kind of like, dude, just answer the question, put it to rest and that's it. You don't need this, you know, this, this entire drama playing out. Um, it's just different. I mean,

before these players seemed a little bit more approachable. You could talk to them, you know, there was some levity in the discussions. This group, it's like, it's like they're miserable half the time. Even with the way they think they're miserable. Just think you're in the National Hockey League. You're making millions of dollars. Come out there and have some fun. Have a smile on your face for crying out loud. I just, I don't know. It's just, who knows? I might just be howling at the moon, but it's like I said, it's just a different, different group.

Victim mentality comes to mind a lot. Yeah, it's poor us, whatever the case may be, but like I said, you're playing in the National Hockey League, you're making millions of dollars, go out and have some fun. And here's the other thing too, when I look at this team, what are these leaders, these so-called leaders done for this group to get them out of this slide? I mean, like I said, okay, maybe you can give some mulligans to certain guys that have missed time with injury and are trying to get their game back. But even then, what about Pedersen?

Guys making $11 million a year. Did you notice him last night? Nope. Have you noticed him this season? He won the Selkie that one night in Toronto. Yeah, that one night he won the Selkie. Congrats. But I mean, here's a guy that, you know, he just doesn't seem to be having any fun.

Well, guess what? You can do two things. You can sit there and sulk and go through the motions and you know what it's not going to be fun for a hell of a long time or you bring your lunch bucket to work you work your you know what off you work your butt off and you start having some success and guess what it's fun again but to me it's just you know it's just right now I look at this team and I just see a bunch of guys that are feeling sorry for themselves. It's almost like that Boudreaux rant back in the day when he was with the Capitals. He was just walking in the locker room and that's the way I feel about this team right now. You want to feel

sorry for yourself? Go spend three hours at Canuck Place Children's Hospice. Then come back and tell me if you're feeling sorry for yourself because you're not playing well in the National Hockey League making millions of dollars. It's just get it together. I mean, it's so frustrating watching this team and it's frustrating because they have so much talent. This isn't a team that doesn't have talent. They've got talent, but for whatever reason right now, well, maybe some of the reasons

we've stated, they're just, I don't know, they're just blowing it is what they're doing. All right. Let's turn to football and I don't know, I know I want to get to the games this weekend, but I don't know if you've heard, but it sounds like Pete Carroll, a pretty enthusiastic guy with a good attitude is going to be the new head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

It's official now. They just made it official. I love that move for the Raiders because the Raiders need to get back to having an identity. And Pete Carroll, you can talk about X's and O's and a lot of people, oh, the game has passed them by, but that guy knows how to give a team an identity. What do you think about the move Moj?

How old's Pete Carroll now? 73 years old. Okay. He's 73 years young. Um, I just love the enthusiasm that Pete Carroll has and obviously been lucky enough to go down to Seahawk games in the past, even during their training camp.

And Pete Carroll's just, he's just so full of energy right I mean and I think that's what the Raiders need they need some new blood they need some energy they need to have someone with a vision and someone with some structure and give Pete Carroll some time this is a team that's changing coaches. Like I change golf shirts. I mean, I don't know how many they've had since the turn of the century. I think it's like, I don't know, 12 or 13, whatever the number is, it's in the double digits. So most of the national football league, but I don't mind that higher at all. If the Raiders do hire Pete Carroll, I think it's great for the Raiders and I think

it's great hire Pete Carroll. I think it's great for the Raiders and I think it's great for Pete Carroll. Let's get to the action this weekend. Championship Sunday. It'll kick off two games, obviously AFC and NFC Championship. It's the Bills and the Chiefs and the AFC. It's the Eagles and the surprising Washington Commanders in the NFC. Which one you want to break down first, Moj? You know, I'll take a look at Buffalo and KC. I look at this game and this Kansas City offense is lacking the dynamic playmaking that it's had in the past. They can't necessarily run the ball, Pacheco hunt non-factors as of late, but the Chiefs just don't beat themselves, right?

I mean, they just go out there and kind of hang around and then make plays when they have to. I don't think Kansas City's D is as good as it's been in the past. I think Buffalo's offensive line is very good. When I look at this game on paper, I'm leaning towards the Buffalo Bills, but it's in Kansas City. But if it's a tight game, Kansas City knows how to win those tight games. They have the intangibles on their side. I just look at this one right now and I could actually flip a coin on it. I really believe that this is going to be, you know, it might be one of those games that the team has the ball last probably wins it, you know, with a field goal or something like

that. But I just look at this game and on paper, everything points towards the Buffalo Bills. But man, oh oh man Kansas City just they have the intangibles right. You know it's funny that's almost word for word the identical analysis that Nick shook we had him on yesterday from nfl.com he said everything in this game the ability for both teams to protect the football both teams really limit the turnovers both teams know how to put together long drives relatively balanced offenses He said he could see it being one of those things where it comes down to the last possession of the game,

maybe another 13 second game, like a few years ago, where it was an all time classic between the Bills and the Chiefs. Yeah, and I totally agree with that. I just look at this game and I'm like, I think this is gonna boil down, like I said, it's gonna boil down to maybe the team that has the ball last.

Washington, Philly, this one, you know, again, on paper, you look at this one. And for me, it's all about Philadelphia. You know how I love to talk about, you know, the line of scrimmage. I mean, Philadelphia ran for 439 yards in two games versus Washington. They bludgeon people with the run. Yeah, they do. Their offensive line is great. Washington's run defense is not that good. I was watching Mike Florio and Chris Sims on NBC and they're saying if they hold Saquon Barkley

to 120 yards, that'll be a win for the Washington commanders, right? I just look at the run game and to me it's about, you know, I always talk about the trenches and stuff. I just like Philadelphia in this game. The one thing that I think might come into play is what Dan Quinn does in terms of his past events. He had, he's had Jared Goff's number in the past. We talked about that, you know, when he was in Dallas and how I think Goff was like through five interceptions in two games, no touchdowns, and then we saw what happened in that game last week. Um, maybe just maybe he comes up with some sort of scheme to confuse Jalen Hertz and the other than two boat hurts.

You got to watch out for that knee. But I just don't, you know, I don't see Philadelphia, um, not doing well on offense and then the other side of the ball, man, Jayden Daniels, what a great story. But you know, here's the thing, fellas. I'm going to throw a question to you. Tell me what they have in common. Sean King, Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez, Brock Burde.

Uh, all rookie quarterbacks that made it to a championship title game. Look at you. Yeah. Rookie quarterbacks and conference championships. Yeah championship title game? Look at you. Yeah. Rookie quarterbacks and conference championships. Yeah, guess what? They all lost. Yeah.

So history is against- Sean King threw me, I forgot about him. The rest I knew. But yeah, Sean King was a good pull. Were any of them performing at the level that Daniels is? Well, you could say Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger would be the closest. Yeah, probably the closest.

But here's the thing about Philadelphia's defense. They're so good. They don't need the blitz. They don't need to come up with these exorbitant schemes. And that's the thing that I look at in this game. And maybe it works against Jaden Daniels. And I say that because he's such a great athlete. What's the standard operating procedure against a rookie

quarterback, Oh, blitz them, confuse them. Well, guess what? Jane Daniels has the athleticism to escape the pocket and make whatever necessary read that he has to do. But how about you just put them in the pocket and force them to be a passer. Right. And some quarters lose some quarterbacks lose some effectiveness that way. I mean, Philadelphia is the number one defense in football.

Right? So when I look at this game, maybe that's what Philadelphia will might, might be their game plan is just to keep them in the pocket and make them a passer and see what it can do that way. But yeah, like across the board, that Philly defense is too good. And an offense we talked about it, the fact that they could just bludgeon you to death. So to me, uh, I think the bubble burst for the Washington commanders this weekend. I think it's going to be Buffalo Philly in the Superbowl.

I think Buffalo is going to get done. I'm with you on that one. Uh, Moj, I don't have a food ask us anything for you, but I do have an ask us anything for you, uh, rich Texan. Can you think of one game in any type of sport that you have ever played and you lost that game and to this day, it bugs you and you still think about the loss. Oh, that I played or was in.

Yeah. Yeah. There's probably one. It was the 1992 Canada West Championship at UBC. We played Calgary and we lost in overtime. I think Frank Smith, our coach, told us since they have that format, it's different now. Four teams make the playoffs. Back then it was only two versus one. Um, at that point, it was only like the second or third time that a home team had lost since they, so that's a span of like, I don't know, about 20 years, 25 years at that point.

But the thing that I remember with that game, we went, we got the ball in first and overtime, went down and missed a field goal. They got the ball, came back and kicked the field goal. But the other thing I remember with that game, um, when you go to the prioris and it's funny, cause I always talk about this with guys that play for the Lions, even some of the coaches like Tristan Dice back in the past. When you play in that conference and you go to the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, it is the worst home cooking in the league.

It's been like that for decades. And they just, the referees, the timekeeper, everything is like, you're down at touchdown right off the get go. I remember one time we went to Saskatchewan, we're like, hey, you know what? Watch the pick play at the goal line. They run the pick play at the goal line.

And it's a penalty. You can't, you know, whatever, right? So what happens for a series? They come down, they come down to the goal line. What do they do? Run the pick play. No penalty. I don't know if you remember a guy named Vince Danielson played in the CFL for many years. He was our quarterback one time. We ran back what we call back then a 30 series and it was a quarterback out of

the center. You take the ball one, two, three launch. You just fired it. And we ran like a five guard out, whatever. Like 22 seconds off the clock. How the hell was that 22 seconds off the clock? You always got into this day. You know, I'm talking to guys that play on the lines that, you know, played at Alberta, Calgary, whatever they talk about the home cooking in Saskatchewan. But the thing I've been remembering about that playoff game in 92 is that Calgary right before the half decided to go for a first or part of a go for a touchdown. They had like a second and goal at our boat or four yard line. And there was, you know, we stopped them at the one and instead of the clock running out,

our timekeeper stops it with one second, right? In Regina, the half would have been over, right? But oh no, our timekeeper, God bless them, stops it with one second on the clock and they decide to go for it and they score a touchdown. So that's the one game that I coached in that I just remember and it just irks me to this day. Halferd, do you have one? Oh yeah. The 2001 Canadian Collegiate Championships. We lost to Humber College in the final, one

nil. What was the story from it though? What was the big regret? That we were in the gold medal game for the. Did you guys just come up? No, we played, we played well. Well, I don't, it's more of a self brag because I won every, I won a bunch of awards because I played really well.

And. You let that one goal in. Yeah, I did early in the match too. And then, but it was. Just a lack of focus. It was also a chance for us to three Pete to win the third national title in a row. And that was a killer.

We finished second in game. What about Bruff? Uh, I'm going to take you back to 1988 Carersdale little league final. I played for Ivor Williams sports. Do you remember the, the, the Ivor Williams was a sports, sports merchandise, uh merchandise store in Carersdale. I thought Iver was like a fish and chips guy.

Well, that's Captain Iver. Okay. I played for them and we were playing the Royal Canadian Legion, a team that had not won a game the entire regular season, but went on a Cinderella run in the finals. We had them up five one in the last inning and we fell apart and we lost six to five.

And I did not want to go to the picnic after. It was his silent protest. And my dad said, you're going to the picnic. And I went to that picnic, but I did not have a good time at that picnic. And I still think about it. And I know there's a few listeners of the show that played on that team, both on both sides of

that and, uh, still bugs me to this day. And guess who fouled out to end that game. You. Yep. No, wow. Dramatic. Tough, tough. This has been very therapeutic. I'm glad we did this. This is good. I'm. Dramatic. Tough, tough. This has been very therapeutic.

I'm glad we did this. This is good. I'm such a loser. Now it's getting too therapeutic. Okay, Moj, we gotta go. Jason needs to think about some things. Moj, have a great weekend fellas, enjoy the game. Thanks buddy, YouTube.

That's Bob the Moj Marjanovic here on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Okay, I think we need a well-earned reset here on the Haliford and Brough show It's a Friday things can get kind of crazy and off the rails on a Friday. We're gonna tighten it up Tighten it up and bring it back in for the final hour Of course we're gonna do that by talking to Rick Dollywall And then we're gonna have what we learned and ask us anything's in the final half hour of the program

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