Halford & Brough in the Morning - The NHL Media Tour Was A Memorable One

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason chat with Sportsnet NHL writer Luke Fox (1:18) about his time spent at the NHL Media Tour in Las Vegas and the impression he got from Quinn Hughes' comments, plus they preview tonight's BC Lions game versus Ottawa with Leos radio commentator Bob "The Moj" Marjanovich (25:11). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

You know, the way of it. 702 on a Friday. It's a fiesta Friday here on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650. Feel the party. Halford and Brough in the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. B.C.'s first and trusted joints for dead help with over 3,000 5-star reviews. Visit them online at sands dash trustee.com. We're coming to you live from the Kintech studio, Kintech Footwear, and Orthotics, working together with you in step.

We are now in hour two of the program. Luke Fox from SportsNand is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off Hour 2. hour to spread to 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 them online at Jason. Dom Mortgage. To the Power West Industries

hotline, we go. Luke Fox, SportsNet NHL writer, joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Morning, Luke. How are you? I'm doing well. Good morning, guys. You survived Vegas, did you? Barely. I had to take a red eye

home, and that's never good. Yes, I survived. I think I only lost about 50 bucks, so that's pretty good. There are some pretty juicy stories down there. From Quinn Hughes to Sidney Crosby. Who was getting the most buzz down there? I'd say the Hughes brothers, followed closely by Crosby. But yeah, you hit the nail on the head there with those two.

And then throw in the Carrillo Caprizov news that broke while we were there, and all of a sudden it felt like some big names, really be on the move in the next year, year and a half. That's what it really felt like. That was the first time that I thought Sidney Crosby might not retire a penguin. I really think that's a possibility now. And, you know, I think the question for him is, does going to the Olympics, did last year's taste of the four nations, does that quench the thirst that he has for winning? or is he missing the playoff so much

that he'd be willing to change sweaters because I think he's finally coming to the realization that the penguins are in full-blown rebuild mode now. Mike Sullivan's gone. They haven't made the playoffs in three years. They haven't won a playoff round in seven years. And he didn't talk about this. But one thing I'm wondering about him is

if he saw his good friend Brad Marchand in a different sweater, in the time of his life, lifting the cup, and if that got his mind thinking, you know what, maybe I could try a different team. And he has full no move clause. He controls his fate, so that decision will be up for him.

I don't think the penguins were going to come to him and say, you've got to go, but, you know, he's 38, time's running out. Can I just say that when the penguins hired Kyle Dubus and they had just been bought, I guess, by Fenway Sports Group and they put out this messaging like we've got Cid, so we're still going to try to win but we're also going to try to rebuild

and then they acquire Eric Carlson but they don't keep Jake Gensel that like this was like what what the hell were they doing it just it just seems like they are, I mean, maybe they have a direction now, a clear direction now, which has been forced upon them. I just feel like they made some really, really weird moves and tried to have their cake and eat it too. I agree, and I think it goes back to when they had to decide whether to extend Malcolm and extend Latang.

And they decided to keep both those guys. Even then, to me, the writing was on the wall that this team was on a downward trend. you know you got a like the NHL with the salary cap it's kind of cyclical and you have to read when your team has peaked already and I thought that was the time and I get it like these are franchise legends it's hard to kick them out the door like I mean even the blackouts when they started faltered and it gave a crazy extension of Brent Cbrook of all people and it's because it's hard to say these guys brought us Stanley Cups and now we're going to to cut them loose. You feel like you're tied to them. But it sets you back if you don't make those hard decisions. And now it seems like this inevitable. Like this is Malcolm's last year. Crosby, I think for the first time, is considering leaving. And yeah, it's time for turn over. But it probably should have happened a couple years ago, like you said. Yeah, I wonder how much of it is him missing the playoffs and missing winning versus just not being

able to handle the losing because it's easy to say I want to retire a Pittsburgh Penguin but it's hard to go into every game knowing that you're probably the underdog in most of them. Yeah and not only the underdog but you're watching your peers around the league you know like I said Marshawn Nathan McKinnon play with play on really good teams and you know a team like the Montreal Canadian that was your favorite team as a boy is on the upward trend and how much better would they be if they had a one-two punch of

Zuzzi and Crosi up the middle. So you know you have other options too. It's not just the losing. It's like you don't have to lose. You're not stuck. You're Sidney Crosby. You can change your fate if you want. Okay, so I'm going to warn you that this is a very sensitive topic in Vancouver, but Quinn? What was your takeaway from all the talk, whether it was from Jack or Quinn or anyone else down in Vegas, about what is going to happen here? I think the Vancouver Canucks better have a fantastic season. It better make the playoffs. It better not have a circus around them to have a chance of him deciding.

to re-sign, which he's eligible to do on July 1. I felt like that guy started to think about life beyond Vancouver. And I know that's horrible to say from a guy who lives in Toronto paying it on Vancouver Radio. But that is the impression I got. I don't know if he's fully committed. And I understand why.

There was a lot of turmoil. But that doesn't mean that this guy is not going to, you know, be committed and play the best hockey, possibly. capable of. I don't think he's phoning in the season or anything like that. I think he's going to give 100%. But I got the sense that he's starting to think about what my options

might be if I decide to leave there and the Canucks better be a good team to help convince him to have a chance to stay. What gave you that sense? Was it things he said or things his brother said? There must have been something that happened that was like, oh, this guy is considering things. Because I think in the case

with Sidney Crosby, it was when his agent came out and said, you know, I think Sid should be playing in the playoffs every year. And everyone was like, oh, he wouldn't have said that without Sid's blessing. And then all of a sudden we get a little momentum with that story. What was it specifically that you heard? Yeah, it was less that the Jack sang or even the I want to play with my brother's thing. I think everyone kind of understands that.

but I think it was when Elliot Breedon asked him directly Vancouver fans just want to know do we have a chance for you to resign and he said a bunch of nice things about Vancouver he used the past tense a little bit which you know I had Marner flashbacks because

when Marner had one foot out the door in Toronto he spoke about his time in Toronto in the past tense So I think it was him using the past tense in some of his answers and he never said the word yes. He never said, absolutely. You know, of course, you know, there's a chance for me to lose time with the 10-ups.

We just got to play better. I love the guys there. I think it's almost what he didn't say. The fact that he's kind of, he's leaving the door open a little bit to me through his answers. We're speaking to Luke Fox from Sportsnet here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. another story that you wrote about, which is kind of related to Quinn Hughes,

given that they're both American defensemen and both missed out, at least in part, on the Four Nations tournament. Bruins' Demand, Charlie McAvoy. I know he had a chance to speak with him, Dan in Vegas. What did he have to say after a very tumultuous last season in Boston and, of course, with USA at the Four Nations? Yeah, I mean, I was at the Four Nations covering that circus, and it was such a massive story there.

And I had forgotten that he had just become a dad, like two weeks before that. So he's got a newborn at home. He gets injured. They think it's not that serious. Then they get there and his injured shoulder, his AC joint, developed a staff infection. And then he revealed that the infection was going towards his heart.

So it became life-threatening. And that's where the conflict between, you know, the Bruins doctors and the Team USA doctors, which are the Minnesota Wilders, you know, that they're upset that they didn't recognize that sooner. Luckily, he was in his own hometown because the tournament had shifted to Boston. He went in there and he was just so grateful for the doctors for stopping the infection because it was heading towards his heart.

And meanwhile, he's got a newborn and a wife at home freaking out, worried about his health. You know, he wanted to be there. He ended up coming back for Team USA and reading out the lineup card before that final game. you know and it's just i think the gratitude that he had really struck me and then also the fact that he really seems to have a chip on his shoulder he feels like everyone's counting the bruin's out and he's kind of like we're going to prove you wrong like we're we're going to stick it to you and now now that marchion's gone his voice probably right there with with pastas are the two loudest voices in the room and it's kind of a new wave of leadership for the first time in a long time in

Boston and I really liked the defiance that he had speaking about his team's chances because, you know, I'm one of the ones that I don't think they're going to make the playoffs, but I like the fact that he's like, okay, you know, you guys on the outside think we don't have

it. Last year was an anomaly and we're coming back and being relevant again. They finish dead last in the division. You know, like people don't maybe appreciate actually how far they fell. They had a goal differential of minus 50. They were a bad team last season. Hey, Luke, if Florida's the top team in the Atlantic,

and I know they didn't win the division last season, but back-to-back Stanley Cup champs, I think we'll give them top team in the Atlantic. Who's the second best team? I'd still say Toronto, maybe by a hair over Tampa, because I think their goal tending is really strong in Joseph O'L and Anthony Stolars. I think it's a really good tandem. I think their D-Core is very solid. You know, they need a little more offense from it,

but they got six proven NHL veterans, and I love their coaching. I think Craig Blueberry knows how to win type games. Of course, everyone's going to be talking about, you know, the loss of Mitch Marna, a hundred and two-point guy. Your leading score, can you make that up?

but I still think they have enough firepower in Austin Matthews who I'm told is back to 100% health and William Neelander John Tavares can still put the puck in the net and they should be a deeper team with guys like Dakota, Joshua and Nick Roy so I don't think they're a cup contender

quite yet but I do think they are probably the fact of that team in the division So I had a buddy reach out to me the other day about a speculative fantasy hockey trade that you have where a guy was trying to get Mark Schifley in exchange for Matthew Nyes. And I remember thinking, well, I mean, I get it. I mean, Sheifley did have 87 points last year, so that's a tough one to give up. But Nyes is obviously like a hot commodity in the wake of the Marner move to Vegas.

How high are the expectations in Toronto right now for Matthew Nyes? Yeah, they're certainly on the rise. And, you know, I think it says something that the Leafs decide to send Matt Nise to the player media tour this week. Originally it was going to be awesome, but he was a little bit sick. But that kind of just shows you that they feel like he's ready to take the next step,

I think, in terms of a high profile guy, you know, he came close to 30 goals. I think they're expecting him to hit at least that this season. Craig Grubay had a chance to talk to him this week. And he was saying, you know, he likes his

forwards in pairs. And the pair was always Matthews and Martin. Matthews and on it. Well, now he sees the pair as Matthews and knives. He sees Matthew Nyes. He's not moving off Austin's wing. That's his guy. You know, and he's still young. He's the biggest guy on the team. Like, you see him, and he's a monster, even though he's one of the youngest guys on the team. And I think there is a chance for him to take a step in terms of his leadership. And I think in terms of his production, I think last year was him figuring it out,

and I think there's another level for him to go. Luke, this was great, buddy. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it. Get some sleep. I know those red eyes can be tough. We'll do this again as we get closer to the start of the regular season.

Okay, awesome, boys. Thanks having you on. Yeah, thanks for coming out. We appreciate it. Luke Fox from SportsNet, NHL writer. Fresh off the NHL's media tour in Vegas here on the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650.

Quick reminder, it is ask us to anything Friday here on the Halford & Bruff Show on SportsNet 650. Get yours in. Dumbar Lumber text line is 650, 650. Hashtag at AUA. Put a pizza emoji into your text and put your name on the Ask Us Anything. You've got one. I can tell. Well, I just wanted to read one text. It's not to ask us anything. Logan from Langley texts in. I don't like this Luke Fox guy. He says scary things. Throw tomatoes at him. Call him one of the problems with today's society. Negative media. Tambo in East Van. Ask us anything. I'm sure we've all seen the ads for the Montreal Canadiens.

called Rebuild. So if there was a similar documentary for the Canucks, what one word would you use for the title? Stay. Has to be one word. Stay. Yeah. Like that's Operation Guilt Trip with Quinn Hughes.

Just stay. Yeah. Please don't go. Like that song. Stay. Ask us anything. from Akeel the artist, would you rather

the Canucks had a strong forward group or a strong defense corps? You can only pick one. Last year, the defense couldn't get the forwards of the puck. So I'd rather have good defensemen get the puck to subpar forwards rather than subpar defensemen getting hemmed

in their own zone. This reminds me of our discussion that we had last year at some point, maybe looking ahead to this season actually. comparing the upcoming version of the Canucks to what like the Nashville Predators used to be. Sure.

They had a bunch of really good defensemen with subpar forwards. And they would make the playoffs and they would be a tough out, but it would often come down to just their general lack of ability to score goals. But they got into the postseason. But they got into the postseason.

Routinely a 95.45.50 win team in that neighborhood. And everyone respected the way that they played. They played really hard. And Quinn Hughes, I mean, his scouting report of the Canucks that he gave to an interview with Ian McIntyre was, you know, we're going to play hard. And he even conceded, like, I think, you know, everyone will look at this team and say, maybe we're not the talented, most talented group, but we're going to work hard and we're going to be, you know, hard to play against. We got a potentially great goal-tending 10. I say potentially for every goaltending tandem because you never

know. You never know with Dempco's health. You never know with goaltending. But on paper, the Canucks have arguably the most talented defensive group in franchise history. And I say that

because there's talent coming from the youth as well. I'm not just talking about Hughes and Heronic. I'm talking about the potential for DPD and Tom Willander to play a role as well and if you want to read about those guys

Ian McIntyre has another piece up on Sportsnet.coma where I believe he's talking to Michael Samuelson. Yeah. Who's with the organization in a player development role in you know they're kind of wildcards

right? Like because DPD had some really good moments last season but you could also tell he was pretty raw, you know, and when players like DPD come up, everyone focuses on the positives, right? And they kind of like, well, he made a mistake there, but, you know, whatever. Yeah, is the Ben Hutton effect. It's, it changes in the second year. And as the role increases, you're like, oh, you know, I notice he doesn't do this well or something like that. Sure. And then Tom Willender, complete wildcard. He's never played in the NHL before.

We know he's talented, but we don't know what kind of role he can play or if he's even going to make the team out of camp. It's definitely a conversation that we should have more because if you want to put in the context of the greatest blue line in franchise history, like that's significant. That means something. You could stack it up to 2011 right now and you could say high end talent wise, ceiling wise, it surpasses

2011. But 2011, those guys were proven entities. And they were deeper one through six. I think you could say that. Yeah, I mean, you had a pairing of B.XA and Hamhus, sorry, Erhoff and Edler, and then Salo when he was healthy. well sometimes on the bottom pair

which is crazy right so that's that's an incredible and then Keith Ballard struggling away out there yeah but then you had you want to talk about the youth there you had young Kristanaev emerging slowly yes now I'll say this when we talk about the national predators and how good that blue line was

I'm not sure everyone understands how good and how much they invested into that blue line so I went back and looked it right around the middle time of year three of six, I think, of Ham Hughes's career in Nashville, when he was still relatively young, 24 years old. This was their top four. Souter, Weber, Ham Hughes, and Kimo-Timan. That is a loaded top four. Yeah, Teaminen was super underrated, too, is a good point. Their fifth defenseman at the time was Merrick Zidlicki, also a very good, very, very good defenseman.

mostly offensively inclined, but still, if he's your five, you're laughing. So you understand the build has to be that your blue line isn't just good. It's elite. And this current Canucks crop, if it stays healthy, and that's the big one here because it wasn't healthy last year, they do have the potential to be one of the best blue lines in the NHL this year. That's not even a question. Well, okay, yeah, but what are you expecting from Willander and DPD?

because I think I use the word talented for a reason. I would still take that 2011 blue line over this current version of the blue line because all those guys were established. But the young players are always a wild card. Someone texted in Salo BXA Ham Hughes-Elder, Erhoff Ballard. Way more talented, same with the version that had Mitchell and Oland. No, but they're not way more talent because they didn't have the best defenseman

in franchise history. Exactly. You got to consider with a scene. There was no legit number one dude that was winning Norris trophies. There was no singular game breaker on that blue line, on any of them. There was, with all of the great defensemen

that the Canucks have had, by Canucks standards, the ceiling was always Jovanovsky, Edler, Oland, whatever. And their ceilings were, attainable for a lot of NHL defensemen who are good, not great. Hughes surpasses all of that.

Hughes is the only guy in the history of the Vancouver Canucks organization on the blue line has the game-breaking ability that he has, that has the Norris caliber game that he has. That's the voting says it. The Connicks didn't even have a Norris finalist before Hughes, never mind a winner. They never even had someone that was in the conversation to win a Norris. So that puts it in a different category. Now, don't get me wrong. The 2011 blue line, the way it was built, the depth of it, the versatility, and by the time that they reached their peak, the veteran know-how and savvy and experience, it's right up there for one of the great blue lines.

It was awesome to watch. And the way that they all complimented each other deserves some love to. No, I would take that blue line over what the Canucks have right now. But I'm just talking about talent. But yeah, you can't. And no one can tell me that that team had more, that. unit have more talent than what the one has right now because this one right now has a singular talent that you've never seen in Vancouver before. We are up against it for time. We got to go to break.

When we come back, another singular talent that Vancouver may never see again. Bob the Moj Marjanovic is going to join the program, play-by-play voice of the BC Lions. Lions are in action tonight against Ottawa, a rematch of last weekend's very disappointing loss in Ottawa. We'll talk to Moj about that coming up next. Before we go to break, though, I need to tell you, about the BC Lions. It's another season of hard hits, heated rivalries, and non-stop entertainment.

For tickets, visit BCLions.com and get ready to roar as one. You're listening to the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet, 650. It's the moj. I did not eat four burgers.

Yes, it's the moch. I don't want to go to Winnipeg. Nobody wants to go to Winnipeg. Yes, I love to. It's the moch. I went online and kind of did a little surfing. Jamalaya. It's the moch.

Halper's fine, but, you know, Bruffes is grumpy all the time. Moach, moach, mooch, mooch, mooch, mooch, mooch, mooch, mooch, mooch, mooch, mooch. It's the moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch. It's the mooch. on a Friday. Happy Friday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Alfred and Brum of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates.

Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% with no more interest. Visit them online at sands dash trustee.com. We are in hour two of the program. We're at the Mendozae point of the show. Bob the Mojjvaj Marjanovich is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to by Jason Homunuck at jason. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you,

visit them online at jason.orgage. To the Power West Industries hotline, we go. Our next guest is a presentation of the Clayton Public House. Bob the Moge Marjanovich, a play-by-play voice of the BC Lions here now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

Good morning, Moge. How are you? Good morning, gentlemen. Some sad news to start, but I did want to bring this up because this is recent news as well. Some sad news out of Hamilton and across the Canadian Football League, General manager, Ted Gauvea, has passed away this morning.

Just wanted to get your reaction, your thoughts on the Hamilton Tiger Cats general manager. Yeah, I got to know Ted during its time at UBC. It was the head coach, I believe, from like 06 through 09, if I'm not mistaken. So obviously had interactions with Ted at that time, crossed paths with them on several occasions, of course, during his time of the Canadian Football League. And, man, it's been a tough month. earlier this month we lost Craig Smith, who started his career coaching minor football at West Side, went to UBC,

and then he became a personnel guy in the Canadian Football League for many years. He was diagnosed with leukemia seven years ago, and he passed away within the month. So two big hits and two quality people. So just really, really unfortunate and really sad. Let's turn our attention now to the Canadian Football League action on the field. So the Lions are going to get a chance to exactly. some revenge from last week's disappointment in Ottawa.

New, fascinating ways for the Lions to lose football games. They found another one last weekend. So they get a chance to write the wrongs here. In your notes, Moge, Moge is very diligent with his notes. Finishing is key. Tell us more about this. Well, I mean, this is a team that gave up 84 yards in the first half, five punts and a field goal in the last possession for Ottawa.

And in the second half, they come out and they score 31 points, right? So it's not like this team can't do it defensively. They've just got to be more consistent. And the big thing is they've got to finish teams. They've had leads of 16 points, 11 points, 10 points. And this is not only on the defense, as great as the offense has been. And, you know, they're averaging, what, 34 points over the last six games in which the lines have gone two and four. They've got to finish too.

I mean, you look at the game against Hamilton. They have an opportunity to, you know, get a couple of first downs. run out the clock or maybe even get a field goal or something to put that game away. It was a two and out. In the Ottawa game, same the situation. They got the ball and it was the two and out. So

even the offense has to learn how to finish. You know, people keep pointing fingers at the defense and rightfully still giving their performance and as good as the offense has been, they're right there. This team has to learn how to finish games. And, you know, you talk to Buck Pierce and you talk to players, it's a mindset.

And right now, the Lions are still trying to develop that mindset. The lines have made some additions on the defensive side of the ball, including bringing back T.J. Lee. How big a difference can they make? I think T.J., by the way, he won't play tonight. I think what T.J. will bring. You'll just bring some veteran leadership,

some mentorship to some of the younger players. I mean, we talked about this last week. You look at that secondary, Stone rookie, Carter rookie, Boyu's second year. Ronald Kent Jr.'s second year. So a lot of experience in the secondary and having T.J., there will be almost like having a

player coach. I think obviously T.J.'s best days are behind him. He's on the downside of the mountain, so to speak. He wasn't signed by any other CFL team. But I think what he can bring in terms of mentorship and leadership, and I think it'll be beneficial for some of the younger

players on the team. We're speaking to Bob the Modemajmarjohnovich here on the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650. Do you want to look at the Hawks and Steelers game this weekend? We're already eagerly anticipating it, although D.K. Metcalf isn't. He says there's no extra juice for him going into the game. I don't know if he's just paying lip service or whatever.

He's a liar. Yeah, D.K. Metcalf noted liar. However, there's still lots of other. Metcalf doesn't want to make himself a storyline fine because there's lots of other storylines going into this game on the weekend. Yeah, I mean, to me, we have a. conversation with Max Starks, the Pittsburgh Steelers color analyst on their radio network, which will air during our Seahawk pregame show beginning at 8 o'clock on Sunday.

We also have Brian Baldinger from the NFL network and our Seahawk insider, Corbyn Smith, from Lock on Seahawks podcast, a little plug there. Very nice. No, it's interesting talking to Max Starks about the Steeler team. You know, they're not that team to go out there and make the big splash, you know, the day one free agency type. They're, you know, they're more of a day two, day three type. they're not the team that goes out there and gets these pieces.

Well, they go out, they get Aaron Rogers, they go out, they get D.K. Meckoff. And it's interesting because, to me, and we talked about this with Max, it's almost a testament to the leadership group that they have in Pittsburgh, that they can bring these two strong personalities in and hopefully bring them in full. But not only is, you know, a change in terms of, you know, what the Steelers usually do, but if you look at that offense, it's a change in what Aaron Rogers done. he rarely ran dropback when he was in Green Bay. I think the highest percentage he had was 20%.

He hasn't hit 30% in terms of play action since 2020. They ran play action 33% of the time in week one, which is the fourth highest in the league. They're changing the launch points with them with boots and rolls. They have to because Pittsburgh's O line is not that good. They gave up four sacks. And their D-line is not that good. They gave up 156 yards rushing last week.

to fields and halls. So I look at this game and I think about the Seahawks, to me, I think if they win the line of scrimmage, they're going to be in pretty good shape, and right now all indicators point that they are. There's got to be a level of frustration and disappointment for not getting that win against San Francisco last Sunday.

Like, we've talked about it a lot on our show. I'm getting more frustrated as the news comes out about the Niners. Now this guy's heard, this guy's heard. And they had to cut their kicker because he was so bad after that game. Despite all this, the Seahawks still couldn't get the job done. You know, you look at this, this is a tough test. They're going to be three-point dogs in Pittsburgh this weekend. And they're on the road.

It's a tough place to play. There's the 10 am. start and all that. But having blown that win, a game they really should have won, you've got to think that's going to fuel them a little bit going into Pittsburgh. Well, I mean, it has to. You hope it does. At the same time, you know, what do they say, 24-hour rule and flush it, right? So I think they're kind of on to Pittsburgh.

And not really thinking about San Francisco as much. Clearly, I mean, you don't want to go 0-1-2. But this is a Seattle team that, for whatever reason, knows how to win on the road and can't finish at home. So, like I said, to me, when I look at this game, the big key for me is the line of scrimmage, as it usually is as Bruffel know. And I think Seattle has a decisive advantage in this one.

So it's going to be interesting to see how it all shakes down. Now, the big concern is the Seahawks secondary. Woolen had some issues against San Francisco. I haven't heard yet if he's going to be. starting or if Joe's going to be starting at that corner spot. So they might be shuffling up their secondary a little bit. And DK Metcalfe, you know, with all his little quirks and his personality, it's still a dangerous weapon. I mean, he had seven catches for 83 yards in week one. So to me, I like the line of scrimmage, although some of the

matchups in the secondary might concern me. Who's going to catch the ball besides JSN? Yeah, great question. You know, Jake Bobo's out with a concussion. They really didn't have anybody else in that game against San Francisco that was there. I mean, Cooper Cup, I mean, he's a capable receiver, but, you know, he had that drop across the middle on that slant. Yeah. So, you know, I think they'll get more on a Cooper Cup, hopefully. But, I mean, 124 out of 150 yards passing was accumulated by Jackson Smith and the Jigba. So they're going to have to get some help.

I mean, clearly I think Pittsburgh's strategy on defense will be to take away Jackson Smith and the jigba in terms of the passing game. And hey, if Cooper Cup beat this, it's fine and dandy. Moji, do you think we're going to have the same conversations with the Canucks? Like, who's going to score goals for this team? Man, you know, here's the thing. People are looking at this team and I don't know, you tell me what's really changed. I mean, other than being healthy, that's probably the biggest thing. and you're hoping that PD has a bounce-back season.

But you bring in Evander Kane, right? Okay, we'll see what Evander does. Hopefully, like, you know, he has a good season going into free agency, puts up some decent numbers. But is there enough there to get you really excited about this team heading into this season? For a lot of listeners, there are. There's a lot of people texting in with optimism.

I think they're going to have trouble scoring goals. Well, they're going to be optimistic now. everybody's optimistic heading into the season. Let's see where that optimism is, three weeks into the season. Because in any sport, when you go on a training camp, it's all, you know, everybody's looking at it through rose-colored glasses.

But then you kind of realize, hmm, okay, we have a hole here. Okay, we need to do a better job at this. Hmm, okay, this isn't good enough. So like I said, let's see where that optimism is a month into the season. It's asking a lot of Kane. on the ice, just specifically on the ice. It's asking a lot of cane, but I do wonder

if the hope is that his style of play and making them more difficult to play again, play against will be infectious to a certain degree. Like it'll, you've got him, you've got Sherwood, you've got Garland, you've got a core of guys that are difficult to play against and frustrating to play against.

We've talked about this, and I've talked about this a lot, it would be great, and there is some optimism here, I think, that instead of being the team that always gets asked what they're going to do in retribution for getting rough up or getting hit hard, that they're the team that's on the front foot and doing it and asking those questions of the opponent, that's

a philosophical thing, that's an approach, that's an attitude. But having a guy like Kane does make that more attainable, I think. So what you're saying is better to be the hammer than the nail. Pretty much, because I mean, how many times have we come in... No, no, no, I agree with you. How many times have we come in after... How many times have we come in after a Canucks game where there's been a controversial hit

or Hughes has gotten roughed up or, you know, Tanners, you know, smokes, Brock Besser gives him a concussion. You're tired of being the victim. You want to be the criminal. But there's two ways to go about it, right? You can either exact revenge and retribution, and you have to wait for that, or you eliminate that conversation entirely and be like, we're going to be the one that needs to be revenged upon. And then we get mad at the

suspensions. Yeah, like, yeah. So yeah, hammer rather than the nail mode. You hit the nail on the head. So let me throw this to you then. Who are the players? I mean, you mentioned Sherwood, you mentioned Kane. I mean, but it has to be like a pack mentality, right? You're right. Maybe it's infectious.

Maybe the other players on the team feed off of those guys. But again, I look at the Kine probably is the guy that I look at and go, he can be a nasty piece of business. Kane's the guy because he's got the swagger to do it on the ice, right? Is there anybody else on that roster that you look at and you go, you know what, this guy, you can be a nasty piece of business. Maybe Sherwood? I mean, I don't see Sherwood is that.

I see Sherwood Moore is that agitator Rather than a quote a nasty piece of business But hey, we'll see But the thing is... Well, you say who else? Who else are you looking at? I was like, we're maybe just happy to have one. Yeah, it went from zero to one.

You know, that's kind of where we're out with that. Okay, before we let you go, we got to ask us anything. We're going to go back to our core values here. Food asks us anything. I think this one's from Amro, the actor. I don't have it in front of me, but I remember the question. It's a real simple one. What is the superior football watching food

so everyone can prep for Sunday. Is it sandwiches or is it pizza? Sandwiches or pizza? That's the two options. Two choices. Those are weird options. Both of them are weak. Really?

All right. Yeah. I never have sandwiches? Yeah. Seriously. Like, no. Hey, I'm just relaying with one of our dedicated listeners. And noted Bears fan Amro, the actor, had to say.

And no pizza, all right? Where are you going? So what you do is you've got several. options there. First off, Jambalaya. Like, I go over to my buddy's place and, you know, a couple of us will watch game and, you got to like, they make the request. Okay.

You're going to make some jambalaya? Okay, so I make some jambalaya. The other thing, too, that I like to make on, you know, watching football Sundays, is tistadas, right? Oh, you know, like, oh, dude. Mulyiante. Oh, no. So you get a little, you get some refried beans, you put

it on the tistada, then you put, you know, um, chicken or chorizo or steak, off the barbecue, throwing a little pickle de gallo, a little cabbage, little salsa sauce, boom. You don't even need salsa if you got the pickle de gallo on there. So that would be another option. Pass is another option. Like, you know, everybody loves on an NFL Sunday.

So there's multiple options there, but sandwiches, come on, dude. Do you know, Moj, do you remember at the old station when you got a parking ticket or toad or something because you were bringing jumbaya to someone and Halfer's suggestion? gesture there should be like jumbalaya parking right there should jambalaya free zone I think somebody actually photoshop one of those parking sides and it said jumbalaya free zones yeah no it was it was Christmas it was like the big potluck that we had and I parked the car park my vehicle in the alley and I was you know bringing in

I put the hazards on and I'm bringing in I'm bringing in I'm I just brought the jumbalaya into like the foyer right I remember I didn't even take it upstairs and I come back out I'm going I was out of my car literally for like 30 seconds and I come back and I'm getting a ticket. I'm like what the and oh yeah I remember that somebody actually photoshop the sign it's a jambalaya free zone so yeah so there you go by the way I'm going to leave you with this though if you take one toastata and then put a bunch of stuff on top of it and then put another tolostata on top of that buddy you got yourself a sandwich oh that's impressive yeah that's really impressive you know the one thing though

that you have to be careful of the testata. Sometimes you put so much stuff on it, that the weight crumbles the tistada. I'm with you, brother. It's the plight of the tistada lover. Hey, this was great, man. Thanks for doing this today. Moge, you are the best.

Have a good call tonight. Enjoy the game. We'll talk again next Friday. Thank you, guys. Have a great weekend. You too. Thanks, buddy. That's Bob the Moge, Marjanovic here

on the Halford & Bruff Show on SportsNet 650. I went on a little bit of a wings tour last weekend because I went to a bunch of different establishments. Paul McCartney wings? No, chicken. Chicken. Yeah.

Um, it's almost impossible to justify ordering wings at a restaurant now because they're so expensive. They're so expensive. Yeah. And the portions are so minimal. It just there's, and the wings, quite frankly, some of them are coming in like real small. Remember the giant wings we used to get back in the day? We used to live in a society. I don't know what we are.

What do Earl's wings cost now? I wouldn't be surprised if we're going to hit the $30 threshold soon. No. Soon. Soon. Yeah. I still remember my love. We're going down as a society.

My time and camelps, man, 10 cent wig night of dirty jersey. You used to get that stuff. Happies in general have gotten out of control. It's true. It costs more than your meal to get an appetizing. When happy hour prices are like still 17 or 18 bucks, which I have seen. It's a nightmare. By the way, is it?

And when is your happy hour? 10 to 11 at night. And it's over. Oh, you just missed it. Should I do my sports book review now? I've been sitting on this one for a week. Okay. Okay. So for the record, Halford is generally known as giving positive reviews to almost every establishment that he goes because this is my psychological assessment. He doesn't want to admit to himself ever that he might have made a mistake going somewhere. So he'll talk himself into something. Like he'll go to a movie and he'll be like, okay, I made the decision to go to this movie. So I'm going to enjoy this movie or that will reflect badly on my decision making. tell us about your experience at the park casino park casino sports book i went on friday to watch

the chiefs and chargers game and invited a couple buddies i'd heard things that it's got expansive television set up comfy seating so like all right let's go check it out why not you don't do a lot of sports gambling i get there and uh the television setup is fine I will give it that. It's totally more than adequate, great place to watch in terms of a viewing. Okay, that's good. Yeah. So check mark on the TVs.

Right. So let's start with the betting carols that are there. Okay. They've got them all over the place. They're pro lines. So I thought this was going to be a more traditional sportsbook experience like in Vegas where you go up, you punch in your bet, and then you can take, if it cashes out, you can take it to the teller right away.

First off, none of the betting stations were able to take credit cards. or debit cards. Right. Cash only. Okay. So that's a bit of a fly in the omen right away because you're like, well, I don't carry cash. Oh, no problem. The casino conveniently has ATMs right around the corner.

Okay. You get redirected to an ATM, which had a $5.50 service charge. That's standard at a casino. You're going to bring cash to a casino. But they all had the options to take plastic. It just weren't working, which I felt was a huge issue for nine different stations. there. So you take out cash, you do your bets.

All it really is is you're just printing out your version of your neighborhood lottery ticket. Yeah, yeah. It was not in any way a Vegas type experience. Anyway, that's fine. The betting thing, I'm like,

you know what? I can get over this. It's fine. I'm just going to watch the games. The customer service, we ordered two rounds of drinks. Somehow they were screwed up both times, like two for two. What were you ordered?

I ordered a tequila soda. That's not hard. It came back and it was a tequila and pineapple juice. Right. Okay. So I'm looking at it. They zested it up for you. It was 50% of the ingredients.

I looked at it. I looked at it and I'm like, I didn't order this. And I was like, you know what? It's fine. Why is there pulp in this? It's so pulpy.

I mean, but I said, you know what? I'll still drink it. It's fine. She was like, no, no, no,

we'll take it back. Okay. Next round comes. I said, we'll just get the same thing again. And another pineapple and tequila shows up. I'm just looking at it. And she's like, that's not what you ordered, is it?

I was like, it wasn't the first time either. So that goes back. So we're already not off to a great start. My buddy orders, don't laugh. Don't laugh. On the menu, there's a blooming onion. Okay. Opeck Steakhouse style, I'm assuming.

Try not to laugh. Try not to laugh because I laughed when he ordered it. Okay, takes the order. Goes back, like a half hour passes. And I'm like, they might be growing the onion. at this point. I don't know what's happening back there, but this is a long time. She comes back with a plate of onion rings. Right. And I put my hand up like I'm in class. I'm like, that's not the same thing.

And I'm like, in what universe? It's got onion. What universe do you bring out an item adjacent thing? And just give it to the guy. Like, just like, well, we don't have. No apology or anything. Just like, this is it. finally there was some relending like maybe we can take it off your bill I'm like you shouldn't put it on his bill he didn't order it so now we're sitting there and like several other things

happened over the course of this evening to make it one of like there was like there was like a near brawl right next to us you have to bring that up I don't want to go too far down the road on the details of it I'll just say that the altercation the amount of time that it lasted before someone decided to intervene was too long too long we're just watching it go down we're like clearly they have some level onion rings flying all over the place right no blooming onions

I didn't order a bloomin onion yeah I like in my heart of hearts I was like I cannot go by and like if someone it will ask me should you go there to watch my answer would be like a very

staunch no like don't do it it won't be based on this experience where I felt like I gave it a lot of chance like a lot of opportunity sure prove me wrong children and at every point they failed. So step that game up entirely. The other thing was, I had to leave it halftime. I'm like, I can't sit here.

I'm not going to order food for me. There's no can't. I've had so much pineapple juice. Right? Like I'm like, I got heartburn. My vitamin C is through the roof. But anyway, I'm like, let's just go. Where's a place you can go where you know it's probably going to be pretty good when it comes to the NFL? Go to Shark Club. We went to Shark Club and sure enough.

They delivered? It was just like, you know, know a solid base, a single to left field where it's just like good solid contact, you get on base, they know exactly what they're doing, right? And it's not that hard. It's not that hard to have a viewing experience. Well, with the legalization of sports betting, how did they not just have like a regular sports book experience somewhere? That's a great question. In town. It's not good. It is not good. I want to go up to the guy and be like, yeah, I want Baltimore minus

200 and you know that sort of thing you should go back and order the onion rings and see if they give you the blooming onion did i also mention the old covid mask that my friend found stuffed in the couch that we were sitting on i was like that's a nice little treasure that's a keeper yeah maybe that's part of the experience maybe they expect you to order the opposite thing and then they give you that instead it's like how it's like the part of the process i understand so there's a mask just in the cushions yeah well it's not necessarily like from three or four years ago some people still wear masks so i didn't say when it was from it was from it was just there. It was just there. Like, here's the thing. Is it, it's not supposed to be in the

couch cushions. I can almost guarantee you that. Well, maybe it was an emergency mask. I don't think so. Okay. Because it was very clearly used. Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's, that's gross. Here's what I'm saying, at the risk of potentially damaging whatever sponsorship I just did, I still feel like this is a public service address that needs to be. Because here's, maybe they'll hear it, right? Right. Because they'll hear. They need to know, they need to stop up their game. If I had one takeaway, the takeaway was they cared so little about that, about, about people going there to watch the game or experience. Like, no one cared.

The effort was like totally minimal across the board. Right. Like if you showed up fine, but that was it. What's the point then? That's a great question. Isn't that why it's there? That's what they should probably be answering because it was a very, very poor experience. Can I watch the game? Oh, you want to watch

the game, eh? Yeah. Oh, and by the way, David just texted in, Earl's wings are currently coming in at $19.75. You know what? Even that. That should be, under 20. That should be elite. And they have like two options, like Franks Red Hot or salt and pepper. Their wings are good, though.

You can't put more effort into different flavors, though? Give me a honey garlic. Give me something. I mean, do they at least give you a lot of wings for that price? No. No. No. All right.

Rick Dollywals coming up next. There is a good ask us anything about Rick Dollywell that I will ask later. And I want to think about it a little bit. But it relates to Halford saying that I am. I am Rick Dollywall's handler, which makes him sound like he's a zoo animal. Yes. A dangerous one. Well, yeah, or at least one that would make a mess.

There's two things. Rick Dollywell is going to join us. Next, we'll talk about Quinn Hughes and Ryan Johnson and a bunch of other connects topics on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650.