Halford & Brough in the Morning - We've Got Ourselves A Series!

Episode Date: October 17, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason chat all things Blue Jays with Sportsnet's Joe Siddall (5:20), as the Jays tied up the ALCS versus the Mariners last night ahead of today's pivotal game five, plus they preview today's BC Lions home matchup versus the Elks, as radio commentator Bob "The Moj" Marjanovich (24:44) joins the show.  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

It was a two-out situation. I just had checked the board. I think I was at 69 or 70 pitches. My arm felt great. You know, two-outs and Randy was coming up. And in my head, I was going through, you know, kind of in my sequence of how I wanted to pitch Randy, you know, thinking through the situation. And all of the sight I see Schneider's coming out. It kind of caught me off guard.

And, you know, that's just where one of those moments where I know I've won the ball. I knew the situation of the game. I wanted the ball. and I basically told him that in a little bit different language. Ernie Clement running away from the mound laughing was the best part of that whole interaction, by the way. This old man, it's crazy. How much did Springer love it?

He was... I thought it was the best. Yeah. Springer's seen a few things. Maybe not that, but he has seen a few things. And you heard Schneider, right? He said, it's not put on. That was your emotional.

Do you think Schneider just like, I want to see if this guy kills me? Yeah. He's a barrel a little bit. He turns around to, like, all his play. fellow managers. He's like, watch this. I'm going out to the mound. He's got a knife. It's a knife. You aren't listening to the Halford and Brough show on Sports Night 650. Halford and Brub of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Scory, Debt Freedom Hat Trick, no more interest, much lower payments and financial peace of mind.

Visit them online at Sands dash trustee.com. His eyes turn into the same collar when he gets really mad. Start glowing. It's green. What does this mean? We are in Hour 2 of the program. Hour 2 is by Jason hominck at Jason. Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around and find the perfect mortgage for you.

Visit them online at jason.morgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintech studio, Kintech footwear and orthotics, working together with you and step. So if you're one of those baseball fans out there that's like, I don't like the Blue Jays, I don't like the Mariners, what do I do?

Our next guest may have the answer. Joining us now, it's AJ from AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. What up, AJ? Alfred, that was such a great segue. Thank you. So we're texting yesterday. I mean, I know you do this professionally. So, so it's, hey, laddie, I'm just letting you know.

It doesn't matter. Nobody is beating the Dodgers. There it is. I actually thought I was watching the Dodgers game the other day. And I was like, oh, feel bad for the Brewers. Never have to face them ever. O'Connie goes today. He's their fourth guy.

It's not fair. It's not fair for anybody. But it's awesome. So we're texting yesterday, and I'm like, AJ's got the perfect salt for those when you can't decide who you want to hate on more, the Blue Jays and the Mariners. Why not say both? Because neither of them are coming anywhere close to beating the Dodgers.

Okay, this is important. The important PSA. We have a lot of listeners and they text it and they're like, Halford, what if I want to drink beer and eat pizza, but I want to do it early in the morning? A.J.'s now has an answer, which is- believe it or not, we actually do get that question quite often. I'm going to set a table for you because this Sunday, this Sunday,

we got NFL at 10, but we got the connect's at 9.30 this morning. Actually, there's 6.30 in the morning NFL because there's London games. Yeah, so set the table for everyone, I guess in a literal sense here. So for now, until end of football, we're open at 10 a.m.

I got a beautiful breakfast pizza for everybody to come and enjoy. And yeah, we're open at 10 a.m. And honestly, if you get there, 9.45, just knock on the door, we'll let you in. Don't even worry about it. Wait, you have a breakfast pizza? Yeah.

What's on it? Pepperoni. Okay, so let's... I was just picturing like eggs, bacon, hash browns. Hey, we got a little... It's a cream-based. Yep. It's a little crispy bacon, little sausage, caramelized onions, and it's the white-based

sauce. It's beautiful. From the healthiest radio show on the planet. Yeah, but you have to consume that with an IPA or a season. That's a good Sunday breakfast rate there. Would you consider putting eggs, bacon, and hash browns on a pizza? At the very least for me? Maybe throwing like an egg or two?

For you anything. Nice. If you ask me, I will do it. Thank you. You can eat it out back in the lane. You'll eat it like a dog. What the hell wrong with that guy? AJ, thanks for doing this today, by the reminder, everyone.

Get there this weekend. There's tons of sports and they're open early on Sunday. Yeah, take care, everybody. Enjoy the weekend. It's going to be really fun. You too, buddy. Thanks. That's AJ from AJ's Pizza.

Broadway. Reminder. If you want to win a hundred bucks to eat pizza and drink beer at 9.45 a.m. on Sunday, Dunbar Lumber text line is 650, 650, hashtag at AUA and put a pizza emoji into your text. Make it a good AUA because it's a contest, not a giveaway. Best ask us at anything and gets the $100 gift card to AJ's pizza on its Broadway. We're working on getting Joe Sittle from Sportsnet, Blue Jays analyst on the show. Give us a moment there. We are going to pivot back to the baseball. We're going to jump around a lot on the show today because last night, there was a a million things going on. We haven't even really touched on any of the other NHL stories, and there was

a lot of them last night, so we can get into that as well. But we're going to turn our attention back to the American League Championship Series. Game 5 between the Blue Jays and the Mariners Ghost tonight. The first four games have been an absolute rollercoaster. Joining us now, SportsNet MLB, Blue Jays

broadcaster, Joe Sittle, joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Morning, Joe. How are you? Good morning, guy. Doing great now. I was going to say. Did you think, did you think that after the Jays fell behind O2 at home after the first two games of this series, that after game four, we would be in this position?

You know, guys, I have to be honest and say any time you're down to, of course it looks bleak, right? But it just, I had a real hard time believing that this Blue Jays lineup that has really done it all season long and I think has made us all believers in what they are doing. They've beaten a lot of very good pitchers throughout the course of the season. That's what really took me over the edge

throughout the course of the season when they started beating good starting pitchers and getting the bullpens. And it's like the first two games in Toronto were the weirdest two days because it just felt to me like it was a Mariners team. Like it was classic October baseball. It was just a Mariners team

that was playing out of their minds like just on another planet. They're swinging it, they're pitching. They're just doing everything. so perfectly, and the Blue Jays bats just went silent. And you've got to credit the pitching on the Seattle side, sure. But the way the Blue Jays bats had done it all seasons, like this is just too weird.

This can't go on for an entire series. And luckily it's a little longer series being a seven gamer instead of a two at a three or best of five. So I mean, I just had this inkling that like to change here. So when they won the first game, going into yesterday, I was all in thinking, okay, they're back, here they are. They can hit anybody, and sure enough, they did it again. So, yeah, what a great place to be.

But I don't want to say ever down. Nobody wants to be down too low. And when you are, you know you're in big trouble, but, man, no panic. And they've done it again, like they've done a million times. So we should all be believers. It's crazy how many times in this Blue Jays postseason. I mean, it happened a few times, you know, in the Yankee series, too. I think, like, when you're like, oh, the other team might have the upper hand here.

And then all of a sudden it turns. Like, I think about the bullpen start in the Yankees series, right? We were all, you know, Jay's fans at the time were worried them because they lost game three. And they're like, oh, no, and it's a bullpen game. Well, the bullpen pitched incredibly well. And then it looked like the Jay's had the upper hand when they hosted the first two games. I mean, Seattle had just played a 15 inning game. Of course they were going to win game one.

And then you go to Seattle and you're like, oh, we're down 02. We've got Bieber on the hill and then Scherzer. Like, how is this going to go? And it's gone incredible. Like, are you almost at this point nervous if you get the upper hand in this series? No, no, no, no, no, no, not at all. Give me that upper hand. You know, the first two games, and you guys, I'm sure, saw it on TV.

I mean, it was, the Blue Jays put on a spectrum. here. They do it on opening day. They do it on Canada Day, and they've done it here in the playoffs for the Division Series, and obviously for the championship series, the ceremonies, the first pitches, the crowds wild, drones coming over, the television coverage. I mean, it is really spectacular. Players love it. I mean, I talk to players daily and coaches, and they just think what I just described right there. They just love being here, and they know they're playing for a country. This is really taken on another life. And, you know, as much as you love all that, there's a lot going on when you're a player, right?

And you're getting ready for a game and you see all that. So I don't want to say it can be distracting or it can just maybe you get caught up in it too. But maybe that was part of the first two gigs. I don't know. Nobody can explain October baseball. But it just seemed like going out to the left coast out your way. Like maybe it's just like a little relief almost to just go out there, have that day off, relax, play your game, do your thing, get caught up and all, like, I can tell you right now, being in that club post

every day, and only when the media is allowed, of course, but these guys are, they're as loose as it get. And I think you can do that when you believe in yourself. And this team believes in themselves. It took me a while to believe about this lineup that I'm talking about. It was May and then into June. I was like, okay, I need to see this a little bit more. I need to see them against good pitching. And it was July. Okay, I need to see this a little bit more. I want to make sure this isn't, okay, it's all. So finally I just had to say, hey, well, when you talk to these guys, that's how they feel. So I don't want to say they weren't panicking at all down too, oh, but they just, there seems to be a different way about the way they're going about

their business out there. So, hey, win one tonight and come home up three to you, and I'm sure they will relish what's going on at the Rogers Center for game six. how does the approach of the plate change for the Jays when it comes to facing Bryce Miller who of course was the game one starter the first at bat went well the rest didn't go quite as well well I don't think the approach

changes a whole lot I think what changes is that a lot of these guys who Miller took care of them they get to see them now a second time and if there is any lineup in baseball that I feel that's going to be a huge advantage for It's this Blue Jays lineup. You know, going into the third game, even, down 2-0, and people are asking me and talking about, you know,

they got to be more patient at the play. They got to do this. They got to do that. And I say, well, wait a minute here. This is a lineup that's been aggressive all season. That's who they are. I think sometimes what happens, we get caught up, and I mean fans and all of us get caught up in thinking that,

oh, this, what a great 12 pitch at bat there by Lucas. What a great, we see them working pitchers and grinding these starting pitchers and getting into bullpen. I think a lot of these are kind of cliche and narratives that you can cling on to. When in actuality, this team likes to swing the bats early in the count, and they do damage early in the count. And, you know, there are those long at-bats. They also have, I think, that might be up there in the league lead and having those, you know, double-digit, 10-12 pitch at bat. So we remember those, but you can't lose sight of the fact that this is an aggressive lineup. And George showed that up, Miller in the first pitch he saw the game there in game number one.

Now, I thought what Miller did, he was excellent. And I think the whole Seattle staff for a team that generally likes to spend the baseball with the breakers, they've been hammered lots of fastballs at the Blue Jays lineup. So it'll be interesting to see what Miller does second time around. But the fact that the Blue Jays have seen them, and now that they're kind of catching on, obviously, to what this Seattle pitching staff is doing. And they did it to jump on Castillo early last night.

they got to Kirby the night before. So Miller's going to have to change something up or these guys will be right back out. That's the chess match, though, when you start seeing pitchers a second time in a series. But I think they'll be more than ready for the challenge. So Vladdy, in his first postseason appearance in 2020, 0 for 7.

The next one in 22, 1 for 8. The next one in 23, 0 for 7. He's doing a little bit better this time around. Sorry, I might have got that right. Okay, no, it was like one for seven, one for eight, one for seven. 15 for 33 or something like that, right now he's hitting 455 with five home runs. He's leading the majors in the postseason in home runs. This is a guy that had trouble hitting home runs.

What more can you say about Vladie and how much he's delivered in this postseason? Thank you, Vladie. Thank you. Thank you for being you at this time of year. You know, I don't put a whole lot of stock in, I think we've heard some pretty big name players in the past that, you know, didn't have postseason successes. And I'm just like, wow, I have a hard time believing these great hitters, like, can't perform in the clutch or can't perform in October. I think it's a matter of time before great players show all times a year now. You think of these playoffs this year, and every year when you get to the postseason, you're focusing, yes, on each individual hitter.

the lineup, but let's be honest, you're circling certain names. Like the Blue Jays are spending a little bit more time on Cal Raleigh when they're growing over their pregame plans, right? That's what you do. You circle certain names, and I'm sure they're circling Gladys. So that's why I think, too, at times, and the judges of the world and bonds back in the day, that that's why it can be so challenging, but it just, it feels like he is representing like what this team is this year in 2025. We're just seeing so many players up and down this lineup. I don't want to say having career years, but man, it kind of exceeding expectations, right? So I don't, and not saying Vladia is exceeding expectations.

This is, I think, the Vladia that we, we thought was going to be here for a long time, but it takes time. Let's just say that some of the failures in the postseason, the last three times they've been there, not winning a game in any of the wild cards, maybe those experiences have helped. land them where they are today so that you get a Vladi performing the way he is. Maybe he is more comfortable in his swing. He certainly

tore up the Yankees and then had a tough couple of games at home against Seattle, but boy, has he ever rebounded. So I said after the regular season when he was really struggling there, sometimes hitters need to keep playing to swing themselves back into

it. And I don't think that was the case with Vladdy because he wasn't swinging his way out of that slum. I think the five days off were the greatest thing this Blue Jays team could have ever done by winning that division because it gave him five days, and I don't know what happened, but they got in the cage. I'm sure there were a lot of discussions. They figured some things out, and he's a new man, and good on him and good on the hitting coaches. And Blue J's told that that guy is, because he is, let's not kid ourselves,

this lineup revolves around Springer and Blattie with Bow out, and the complimentary pieces are wonderful. but man, when you've got your big guys going, that's a pretty good start. We are speaking to SportsNet, Blue Jays analyst, Joe Siddell here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Reminder, Pivotal Game 5 of this series goes today. 3 o'clock our time.

You can hear it and watch it, obviously, on Sportsnet. Joe, I do want to touch on what Max Scher did last night. We've thrown all the superlatives at him about the Mad Max persona and how he was able to do this and a windback the clock for a guy that's on the wrong side of 40. Diving a little deeper into it,

What particularly made Scherzer's performance that impressive? What allowed him to do what he did yesterday against the Mariners? One word for me, it's health. Because we saw Max, I mean, it's been a heck of a year for him, right? It started right up early in the spring there, and that finger acted up, and he said, neck issues and back issues, all these things that you would associate with someone 40 turning 41 in a season. And it was frustrating, I'm sure, as a fan.

because we all think, ah, what do you do in signing a 40-year-old and $15 million, and there's no way he's going to be able to do this. And I thought at the start of this season, I love the signing because I thought, you know, if he's your fifth starter, if he can give you a 15 to 20 starts, you know, maybe a low 4-ERA, it just helps the rotation. That's the way these guys have been built. The rotations really carried this team a lot over the last number of years. And he had a nice little stretcher.

Once he got, once he came back from his injury and got, and got. acclimated and it looked like he was strong and healthy again he had a nice little run there he could start a late july in his game in detroit against his former team and you got a nice little run but then he faded again and i just i think things were lingering so to not be on the roster for the division series like we don't see a whole lot we hear that he's throwing this simulated game and this bullpen session then he threw another five-inic simulated game so all i do is gather this information and say whatever they're doing with him the fact that he is starting game four of the ALCS in Seattle

because they could have done other things. They could have gone with Bassett. They could have done the bullpen thing again. There were other options, but the fact that he was on the roster clearly used that time to get strong, to get healthy, and to get back. And clearly there was some healing up

that needed to be done and then strengthening. And all of that, what happens when you do all that? And you get a Max Scher, I don't care how old Max is. If he's strong and he's healthy, and we've heard him. He felt really good, night. That's why there was that theater on the mound with John Schneider. But clearly he built

up, the Blue Jays, his pitching coaches and staff, felt that he was strong enough. When I talk to Max in the clubhouse or off the side, when I get those chances, guys, let me tell you, he's as intense as you see him at the podium. It's crazy. Like, he's kind of in your face. He's so intense because he's so passionate about what we're talking about. And the term he uses a lot I find is finishing his pitches the finish on his pitches and you can't finish your pitches if you don't have your health and when you don't have your health now you're out there and you're you're really you're just you're not fully armed it's just you're battling and you're already at a disadvantage because of his age so i think the strength and the buildup and you saw the finish on his pitches and what that means

is really finishing that breaking ball so it goes down on the way to rosarena really finishing that curveball. It's finishing out front. And those are the things that can hold you back when you're not healthy. And the other thing Max talks about a lot in many of my conversations with him, it allows you to get the ball where you want. But that's what's really tough to do when you are injured in any area. But it's also that you stay away from the damage areas with your misses.

And we saw him do that a couple of times last night. I think he walked Raleigh early there. And he finished, but he finished like down and in off the plate. he didn't finish and miss in the middle of the plate. Remember what Bieber did the night before. You don't want to miss like he did to Julio Rodriguez when you're trying to go away and have it come back over the plate. So those are things you can control, once again, when you're healthy.

So a healthy Max Scherz is a lot of fun to watch. I don't care how old he is. Joe, this was awesome, man. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the game tonight. I don't need to think to tell you to enjoy the game. You will enjoy the game.

We will see what happens. happens over game five and the rest of the series. But thanks again for doing this. We appreciate it. My pleasure, guys. As I say, usually at the end of all of these is buckle up, fashion your seatbelt. It's been a lot of fun. It has. Thanks, Joe. We appreciate this. Take care. Blue Jays broadcaster on Sportsnet, Joe Siddell here on the Halford & Breff Show on Sportsnet

650. Okay, a couple things we got to do before we go to break here. One, I need to do tonight's One to Watch. I'm on a bit of a heater here. Oh, okay. Just want to say. Yeah. Two nights ago, I said, let's make Vladia R one to watch after. He went O for over the first two games of the ALCS in Toronto. He responded.

Yesterday I said, let's turn our attention to Elias Pedersen. Me, he scored in his own net, so that wasn't great. But he bounced back after that, so too did his hockey team. I'm going to pick on the heels of what Joe just had to say about starting pitching. Let's make Kevin Gossman or one to watch tonight. Okay. All right. Gossman's going to be on the bum tonight for the second time in this series.

His first game, he went five and two-thirds and in a three-one loss. To say, it actually pitched relatively well, yeah. Yeah, he was Jimmy Snuggieroed fine. Yep, he was very fine. He was a third line effective winger for the St. Louis. Heavy Snipes, they call him? Heavy Snipes. Nice.

Gossman has gone five and two thirds in both of his postseason starts so far. So you're one to watch tonight, I think would be how much deeper into the game could he potentially go tonight, given what Scherzer did yesterday. Every time that Scherza came out for another inning yesterday, I was like, ah, the old guy's doing it. And he refuses to get him out of that game. Will Kevin Gossman have that battler's mindset like Max Scherzer did last night and push his way through and potentially put the Jays one win away from going to the World Series? You're one to watch tonight, Kevin Gossman as he goes to the bump for the Jays game five in Seattle, three o'clock our time.

One to watch is brought to you by Limitless A.V. Vancouver's most trusted audiovisual integration experts specializing in seamless video conferencing solutions and hybrid workspaces. Book your personalized tour of their experience. Center today, visit them online at limitless a.v.ca. We're not done with the business at hand. I need to tell everybody that it's also Canucks game day today. There's lots going on right now, okay? You get the Lions tonight, you get the Jays this afternoon, and you got the Canucks tonight.

It's a busy day. So it is game day. Every Vancouver Canucks Game Day in Sportsnet 650 is brought to you by Panago. Do game day the Panago way by two medium pizzas and score free cheesy bread. use code Canucks deal C-A-N-U-C-K-S-D-E-A-L all one word altogether at Panago.com Panago for it, restrictions do apply.

We've got to get out of here when we come back on the other side of the break. Bob the Moge Marjanovitch is going to join us. He's working tonight. The BC Lions here at BC Place against the Edmontonnell so you're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Strance. Get your daily dose of Canucks Talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2

on sports net 650 or 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 want to 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 serving jimelaela yes it's the moch halper's fine but you know bruff is just grumpy all the time moch moch moch moch moch Mooch, moat, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, moch, it's the moch, moch, moch, moch, it's the moch. 7.34 on a Friday, happy Friday, everybody, Halford Brough, Sportsnet, 650. Halford and Brub of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates.

Only a license insolvency trustee can cut your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. To learn more, visit Sands dash trustee.com. We are an hour two of the program. We're at the midway point of the show. Bob the Muj Marjanovich is going to join us in just a second here. Hour two of this program is brought to you by Sands or sorry, brought to you by Jason hominock 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 him online at jason.orgage. To the phone lines we go, he is a presentation of the Clayton Public House. He is Bob the Moge Marjanovich here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. What up, Moge? Happy game day, fellas. Happy game day, brother.

As I understand it, you have a question for me to start this. Yes, for you. Okay. So, last night, Thunderbird football had a legacy dinner downtown, You know, emceived by the Shermanator, Scott Rintel. Chris. Ben Ball Clemens came and spoke. It was outstanding.

But, you know, I haven't seen some of these guys for a long time. And it's just, you know, it's just like the memories come flooding back. It's like you haven't missed a beat. You know, you start sharing stories of, you know, what happened in the locker room and, you know, stuff at school and, of course, football. And a question for you, Halford. I mean, for people that don't know, I mean, you're a pretty good keeper. your day national championship team at langara i don't know how many events you guys do

or get-togethers or alumni things but you guys same thing in soccer like you guys see each other and it's just like you haven't missed a beat yep i still play with about five of the guys that i went to college which is now 20 years ago and uh so we try and do like you know every few years and it's not the huge full team to get together some of the guys are like parts unknown like we have no idea what happened to them they're just lost in the ether somewhere no one has a contact for them. But the guys that we get in touch with, nothing has changed. Like, it's still the, like, you know, guys have gotten married, divorced, fat, whatever. But when you get back together, it's just like, yeah, time is not moved. And then nothing, nothing is missed. It's a

great time, actually. I love doing it. Yeah. And it's just, you know, I don't do it enough because, obviously, you got contact playing with those guys. I mean, I see these guys a couple times a year. But, man, it's such a special night. And, you know, it's kind of funny. You talk about guys get lost in either. There's one receipt. they couldn't find. Like, it's just, it's, it's just weird. It's just, it is what it is. But, yeah, pretty cool feeling.

So have you guys talked to everybody off down off the ledge after a Canucks win? Yeah, we, you know, we said, like, at the risk of overstating what, and the importance of what game four of an 82 game regular season could be, that was an important victory for the Canucks, not just because they won a game and got back to two and two. Like, I think that's kind of the secondary part of it. but felt like they needed to show something after, like, you know, you would say of the first 10 periods of the year, nine were bad. Maybe Foote gave them the Jason Brough speech and gave them the cliche.

Guys, I don't want you to learn how to lose. I want you to learn how to be losing because they were losing. And things did not look good after that first period. And Moj, maybe you want to chime in with that. And maybe some of the response from the fans is like to score four goals, in the second period. I don't know what the odds would have been on that happening, but I don't

think I would have taken that bet. No, and you know, I didn't watch the game, obviously being at the event last night, some of the highlights listening to the postgame show coming in, but you know, I think the key thing last night too was the fact that they came from behind, right? Down 2-0 against a very good

Dallas team, and as you mentioned, Rattle out four second period goals. But, you know, when I look at it, I just think, you know, people were going crazy after they lost that third game and you know they looked awful moj they they looked awful like i don't blame people for going crazy i really don't because it's not just three games in a vacuum it was dating back to last season too yeah well that's the thing you're you're you just nailed it dating back to last season this is a new team different dynamic different elements to it so i i will

give this team and you know everybody who talks about american thanksgiving but you got to give it a few games to see where it is before you can pass judgment. Okay, tell us about the Lions game tonight against the Elks. The Elks, I remember when the Lions played them a couple times early in the season, I was like, I don't know if these guys are going to win a game. What's happened in Edmonton? Well, first off, you change quarterbacks. You get Cody Fajardo to come in after you start off one and four with Trey Ford.

Fajardo's gone six and five, but of those five losses, four of them were by a combined eight points. The only time I got drilled was during Labor Day, the Labor Day Classic with Calgary. I think they beat them 27-7. So they've been extremely competitive in all of their games. I mean, they lost two games by walkoff field goals. Cody Fajardo hasn't believed him. He plays mistake-free football at quarterback, right? So that's one of the big things that he brings to the table. And the defense, you know, it's funny, they're missing a whole bunch of personnel. Yet at the same time, there's probably the most aggressiveness and confidence they played with the entire year. I talked to Nathan Rourke yesterday at the Lions walked through. And he says,

difference with this team. He goes, you can see at the start of the year they're kind of thinking, right? You know, that old paralysis by analysis cliche, but he says now they're just going out there, they're reacting and playing and they're dangerous and it's going to be a tough Edmonton will be a tough out for the BC Lions. Well, the Lions will be a pretty tough one for Edmonton as well. I know you want to talk a little bit about the offense of the BC Lions, which for the most part people have been okay with. It's the defense that was problematic for much of the season, although the defense has been playing better lately. Yeah, well, when you

look at the offense, it's kind of scary to think that can this unit actually get better? And I say that because well, I think it's what, their 10th or 11th combination on the offensive line that they will use tonight, and I say that because Dejean Allen comes back after injury. He injured his triceps

after the third game. He's been out since. And this guy was the Lions prized off-season acquisition from Toronto in a trade. I remember talking to Ryan Rick Maiden about it, and this is the big one, right? I mean, this is an individual who won the outstanding offensive lineman in the Canadian Football League in

2023. In 2024, he lost out his team's nomination, the Argos, that is, to Ryan Hunter. All Hunter did was just go on to win the trophy himself, the award himself. So, you know, you get Dejan Allen back at Wright tackle. And then you have Jarrell Broxton returning after a couple

of games, and he's probably the league's best a lot of people are saying he should win the award as the league's most outstanding offensive lineman this year. So you bring those two players back in a fold on the offensive line. I don't know if they could be better because they're averaging 30 points a game the entire year, but

it wouldn't surprise me if they did. You know, we talked to Julio about this last week, I think it was, the diversity that they have in the passing game, because if you look like the yardage guys, obviously, like it's McKinnis and Hatcher, they're like almost one, two in the CFL in terms of receiving yards. But then if you look at

touchdown receptions, it's actually spread out pretty well because you got Barry Hill and Katoi who have chipped than not quite as much, but almost as much as the two aforementioned guys, it just feels like when you're talking about how dynamic this offense can be and how much it could get better, it seems like the ability to spread

around the ball to four different receivers really makes them difficult to deal with. You know, that's a great point, and it's something that I touched on with Juan Coutoy yesterday for a pre-game show interview, is that, like, everybody seems to get a piece of the cake, right? And, you know, you're right. Hatcher and McKinnis have the numbers

in terms of receptions, but if you look at the touchdown catches, Barry Hill 6, Hatcher has 7, Katoi has 6, McKinness has 5, and even Aiden Everhart's gotten into the conversation with a couple of touchdown catches. So yeah, you're right. I mean, that's one of the things that Nathan Wark does, and he does it well. He just distributes the football. It's not necessarily going to one certain guy all the time,

but finding guys that are open and finding guys that are just, you know, getting good matchups. In your notes, the diligent prep that Bob Marjanovich does for his hits every Friday, Just a two-worder here. Go Mariners. Oh, without a doubt. Right? I mean, yeah, they've lost a couple of games,

but I'll tell you what, I'm rooting for the local team, and I hope they get it done against that team from Toronto. It's one of the things that cracks me up. Oh, they're Canada's team. No, they're not. They're Toronto's team. It says Toronto in the Jersey, not Canada.

And you're not a traitor if, you know, you start rooting for the Mariners. And here's the other thing, too, that cracks me out. People are like, oh, why your Mariners' that? Well, let me figure this out. I don't know. Maybe I've been to 50 Mariners games in my life, maybe like two Blue Jay games.

Maybe it's because I've gone to Peoria and watched the Mariners in spring training. Maybe when I was growing up, I watched guys like Alvin Davis and Harold Reynolds and Rupert Jones and Julio Cruz and all those guys on TV before we were brainwashed watching all these Blue Jay games and Blue Jays and 30, Blue Jays and 60, Blue Jays and 20, you name it. So there you go. That's why certain people in this area are Mariners fans. wow congratulations on your on your on your on your fandom much I'm honestly so tired of this debate like we're into we're going into game five of this series I don't I know you only come on the show and I love you moge

but like the the inbox before and I you know Farhan has a 12 minute video on on social media about why he's a Mariners fan I'm like okay that's great like okay awesome you know I I think I think you know, the Mariners fans in this town are hardcore because you would have to be hardcore to be a Mariners fan in this town. So I think I understand where they're coming from.

There are probably more casual Blue Jays fans in the city. Not that there aren't a bunch of hardcore Blue Jays fans, there are. But I think there are more casual Blue Jays fans in this city who maybe have just enjoyed going down to Seattle and having a day cheering on the Blue Jays, it's fun. you know and also like the casual fans you know listen moj this is a this is more a blue jays town than it is a mariner's town like if you go to the restaurants you go to the bars it is they are watching the blue jays game they're not watching the marries game would you agree with that

i will totally agree with that and i'll give it to you i just the thing that you know i think pisses off a lot of mariner fans is that you're expected to be a blue jay fan or you're no you're not No one's expecting you What? Oh yeah, I get that Yeah, okay, I get that They can use patriotism against you I hate that I hate that

And we're on board with that Because I cheer against the Canadian teams In the Stanley Cup final And I heard about it last year Especially with the geopolitical situation right I'm just like yeah I just don't want any other Canadian sports fans to be happy

Unless it's me The Maple Leaf on their uniform That's all I got to say Oh Greg One of the two teams has a Maple Leaf on their uniform Is it the one from Seattle? I'm sorry, I'm sorry I made you feel I kind of cut you off at the knees there, Moge, for your...

You know what? You got a little pepper in the soup this morning. No, but you have to understand, like, Halford and I started talking about this last weekend, and we were like, this is going to get exhausting, you know? Like, and we were kind of like, can we not enjoy this series? This is a great series.

It doesn't even matter if it's Seattle and Toronto. I know not all the games have been super close, but, like, talk about compelling. I mean, I did not see any of this happen. I did not see the Mariners winning game one the way they did. I did not see that Scherzer performance last night. And, like, I'm just trying to enjoy it. You know, for once in my life, I don't want to argue with people.

I just want to watch sports. Do you think it's going seven? I have no idea, man. I have no idea. Do you have any idea what's going to happen tonight based on what's happened in the first four games? I have no, no clue. No clue. No.

I've got an ask us anything for you. With the passing of Ace Fraley yesterday, Kiss founder, Scott hasn't asked us anything. What was the first band that you really got into as a kid? Oh, wow. You know, I'll be honest, I was never really into music as a kid. Maybe the Rolling Stones. Yeah, probably the Stones. and when did that happen can you remember like the album or the moment that happened

the miss you album yeah so that was probably what about i don't know 79 80 when it came out um but i wasn't one of these people that went to con and even still i'm not one of these music people i mean i like music obviously but i'm not one of these people that's going to go online and try to get tickets to whatever concert if they fall into my lap great right invites me fine but I'm just not one of these people that's really passionate about music, so it is what it is. It's because you're too busy. You're going to fundraisers last night.

You're calling a game tonight. You've got things on the go mode, do we understand. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. What, no food question today? Not a singular food question to be had. It's amazing. The people are letting us down. I'll ask you a food question. Yeah, yeah, go. A fan of chicken and waffles. Yes.

Yeah, you know what? I have, we went out, I took my kid out a couple weeks ago, and he got it, and I stole a bite is that breakfast that's a great question because i don't like i had a chicken i had a chicken waffles benny kind of like with uh and that was like they throw in an egg i feel like it goes to breakfast land but if it's just chicken and waffle i'm leaning more towards lunch like to me it's just the collision of two worlds i mean either i want breakfast or i want lunch yeah it is confusing and it's sweet and savory at the same time yeah i don't know like whenever he kind of mesh these

two food groups sometimes where you mesh different food groups. They're good individually and you put them together. I don't know. We'll eat chicken and waffles after the show now. Moj, thanks for doing this buddy. We appreciate it. Have a good call tonight. We'll do this again next Friday. See you, Paul. Okay, so let's have a great weekend. You too. Thanks. That's Bob.

The Moj Morge Marjanovich here on the Halford and Bruff Show on Sportsnet, 650. While that hit was going on, Laddie was grabbing his Blue Jays jersey and gesticulating wildly to the logo, which does include a maple leaf. Do you have a problem with a maple leaf? You don't like the Maple Leaf?

Elbows out. Anti-patriotic? Yeah, how did Don Taylor get in here? Yeah. Hey, there he is. Last I checked, too, the Seattle jerseys do say Seattle across the chest. They do. Prominently, I might add.

How? Do you know what? Does the Blue Jays jersey say Vancouver on anywhere? When they're in the minors, they do, when they play for the Canadians. Yeah, what does yours say Vancouver on anywhere? The Vancouver Canadian's jersey. Okay, you're not, you're changing the subject. Do you remember one of the, uh, when we used to do crossover with Donnie and Moj.

Yeah. One of the most tense moments was when I was like, yeah, I don't really care if they play the national anthem before. games. Yes. I was working in that show. He nearly fainted.

I know. He almost died. He was so mad. He's like, do I think about my country then? It was crazy. I'm like, alright, calm down.

He's shaking. He was. He was shaking. He was shaking. Shaking right now. I was like, I think about why I love my country all the time.

I don't need a song to play. I do, too. The Don Taylor The patriotism is amazing. The Don Taylor patriotism is one of the quickest one of these sports

radio. Oh, you don't like Canada? You don't see. coming and then all of a sudden is like bang you hate your country i'm like i just didn't watch game five of the stanley cup finals like oh he did he got mad at me one time because i didn't watch the staneland vegas stanley cup final yeah yeah the least canadian stanley cup final you could possibly have right think about it florida and vegas is the antithesis of canada and hockey and everything and i'm like yeah i'm not watching it and then right away it was like hand in your

passport yeah yeah yeah it's like you know what donnie i kind of a basketball guy watch the NBA finals instead. He's like, really, really enjoyed them. He's like, out, deported, gone, buy, out. What was the first band that you ever got into, Halford? Can you remember? Yeah, yeah. In grade seven, it was a little bit later than most. That's later than most. Yeah, but I really, the red hot chili peppers, because under the bridge was on the radio constantly, and I remember I had the tape. We love Chili Willie? We love Chili Willie. It played, I played the, I played the

dickens out of that one. You did you like their funk days back when they were? No. No? No. I liked them a little bit. I liked it. I liked it. Wait until he sold out, and then he got out. And he made all radio-friendly lyrics? Yeah, yeah, I like that. Yeah, this guy really likes California. Yeah, he's so sad, but also kind of melancholy, but also kind of happy. What was yours, A-Duck?

Smashing Pumpkins was the first rock man I really got into. And I still love them. Were you in, like, a depressed phase or something? I don't know, I just thought they were awesome. It was my first taste of, like, rock sort of crossing over into, like, heavier metal before I really knew what that was. Speaking of this. And I like how they sort of jumped all over the place. Like, they were, like, six different genres.

Isn't it? I dug that a lot, too. Speaking of this, have you seen the video of Bill Burr meeting Billy Corbyn? Yes, very funny. So you know the urban legend there, right? Same guy?

Like, separated at birth? They were separated at birth. Oh, okay. One of them doesn't know their father, right? Bill Burr doesn't, yeah. Yeah. And there's this longstanding internet, like, I can't call it a theory

because it's based in nothing, but internet rumor that Bill Burr's father is also Billy Corgan's father. Well, Bill Burr started the rumor. Did he? Pretty sure. Okay, well, anyway. So when they sit down beside each other

and they start talking, it gets way too real, way too quick where you can see their mannerisms and you're like, oh my God, it might be true. I don't think it is. And then Bill Burr went to do that Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia.

Isn't there a kicker in the NFL that looks exactly like Bill Burr? Yeah. Oh man, who is it? Is it the guy for the Steelers? I think so, yeah. Boswell. Right, Boswell, that's who it was.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. His father, He also doesn't know his father. I don't know that. I don't know that. I'm just throwing that out there for fun. Tom Petty was my first. Tom Petty was your first?

Tom Petty. Oh, man. Full moon fever. I come from a very musical family. Full moon fever. A lot of good stuff. You said that on the heels of the other conversation. I'm like, Tom Petty's your dad?

I didn't know that. Very sad. That's amazing. Yeah. Leif and I share the same album. Van Heelan, 1984. Your first album. Logged you was many times.

You say that, like I mentioned it too many times. You could tell me the story. You could. infer that. Where did I buy the first album? NB sound. See, it wasn't listening. No, I'm trying to remember. Just give me a second. Where did I buy it? Sand the record man. No. Damn it. Okay, it was it, it was vinyl, right? Yes. I thought you had the tape. No, no, no, it was, I had a, that's how old I am. You were a little kid that bought a record?

That's amazing. London drugs. I didn't walk down to London drugs. I guess you haven't told the story enough. No, they still have vinyl. No, you just don't listen to it. I did listen to the story. I knew that you had told that story about owning Van Halen's 1984 as a kid many times Preet from Ladner says his favorite band growing up as a kid was Callahan That's a good one

It's a good one No it wasn't That wasn't anyone's favorite band Oh Wait so you like Ouch Okay I mean it's not wrong

Wait but so you like Van Halen When they went into their sellout phase You didn't like them before You like the jump phase Because usually it's the other way around With Van Halen fans Well A dog I was eight years old So I just kind of

of liked the song jump because it was about taste of an eight-year-old jumping and I and I wasn't like these guys have really sold out yeah someone says bill bird did not start the rumor and he didn't try to stop it and since it's in the dumb bar lumber text message in basket it has to be true so we're going to go with that is fact moving forward okay we need to go to break we need to settle down here I will remind settle down everyone really quick though it's not just uh ask us anything Friday where we're giving away a $100 gift card to AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. Special announcement today on the other side of the break at 8 a.m. We're going to be giving away a pair of tickets to see UFC fight night tomorrow October 18th at Rogers Arena. You can

watch the event on SportsNet 360 at 4 p.m. prelims begin at 2. But if you want to be there in attendance to watch some fights, we're going to make it happen. Caller number 5 at 8 o'clock. Call 6.04-280-0-0-650. That number, again, 604-280-0-6-50. If you want a pair tickets to see UFC Fight Night on Saturday, that's tomorrow. Be caller number 5 at 8 a.m. You'll also get to talk to A-Dog as part of your grand prize. Final hour of the program, Rick Dollywall is coming up.

Then we're going to do Ask Us Anything's and What We Learns, and we're going to give away a $100 gift card to AJ's pizza on East Broadway. Final hour coming up, you're listening to the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet, 650.