Halford & Brough in the Morning - Whitecaps Head Coach Jesper Sørensen

Episode Date: May 14, 2025

In hour three, Mike & Jason chat with Whitecaps bench boss Jesper Sørensen (1:45), whose club currently sits atop the MLS Western Conference standings, plus the boys tell us what they learned (27:00). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Music 802 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody. Halford and Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for debt, helped with over 3,000 five-star reviews. Visit them online at sands-trustee.com. We are in hour three of the program. Whitecaps manager Jesper Sorensen is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour three. Hour three of this program is brought to you by Campbell & Pound, real estate appraisers.

Trustee Expertise of Campbell & Pound, visit them on the internet at Campbell-pound.com today. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. And just a reminder that guests on Sportsnet 650 call in on the hotline powered by Power West Industries. Don't get caught in the dark when it matters most.

Visit them at PowerWest.ca today. They keep the lights on. Our next guest has become the first coach in MLS history to record 27 points in his first 12 games in charge. He does join us as Jason mentioned, courtesy of the Power West Industries hotline. It is Whitecaps manager, Jesper Sorensen here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Jesper. How six 50. Good morning. Yes. For how are you?

Good morning. I'm good. And you, uh, we are good as well. Thank you for taking the time to do this today. We appreciate it. Uh, I wanted to start with the most recent match, the Sunday afternoon affair against LAFC, a team that has given the white caps problems in the past and did it again

early to start on Sunday, your squad fell behind 2-0 before rallying for a 2-2 draw. It hasn't been often that you guys have trailed this season, so what did you learn about your team and them battling back from 2-0 down to get a point against LAFC? Yeah, that's true. We've been fortunate enough to very often score the first goal and that's a big help in a game because then you're not that stressed. We have tried it though both times we went to Mexico. In Mexico we've been behind so I think that the team just learned from the beginning of the season that we don't need to panic or anything, that we have plenty of time and just continue to play on and try and get that

little break that will give you the momentum of the game and then maybe push if you need some extra. I think that the team has shown its resilience over the course of this season already and also benefited from getting out of... We have dug ourselves in some holes sometimes and we've been able to get ourselves out of them. So I think that's beneficial for a team built confidence. Yeah, resiliency is an interesting thing because I must, I must imagine it's difficult to physically manage or coach resiliency.

A lot of it is the sort of spirit within the players, but there are things that you can do maybe in training or in video sessions to show players moments in matches where you're gonna need to fight back or claw back. How do you deal with that as a manager, being able to maybe instill that sense of, don't panic, we have tools and we have styles of play at our disposal that are going to allow us to be resilient?

Yeah, I think one of the things that we have been, I've been very fortunate as a new coach that we've been in situations and come out of it in a good way. So it's easy for me just to say just don't fear anything. We were behind in Monterey at the break and we turned it around second half. We have been behind also in the league and we've been able to come out on top anyways and in some games in Pumas we were behind late and we came out anyways and managed to get a result. So I think for me, it's more being calm

than getting to do too much when we are behind and wanna change up everything. I think that we just need to maybe change a few things also this time around. The good thing we could also say is that if you're behind with two goals, it's good that there's 70-something minutes left and not just five. So we have time to make up for it.

And instead of panicking, then we only played 20 minutes. It was a penalty that was stupid. It was a throw-in we couldn't handle. And that's what happens in a football game. And then you just play on, see if you can score a goal and everybody knows if you score one, then there'll be, you know, then you'll have some momentum going forward, maybe scoring another one. But so for me, for me in this situation, it was actually not just start doing a lot of

things, but just keep on playing and let's see if we can get one back and then in the break, just have a little talk about how we can maybe make a change or two and we can push even harder in the second half. What are you learning about MLS style of soccer and North American style of soccer and how is it different from European? American style of soccer and how is it different from European?

I think it's very fun as a new coach to learn all the time about soccer played different places on this planet because it is very different. Yeah, in Europe, I think it's very cultural driven football in Europe. So if you're in Spain, it's very cultural driven football in Europe. So if you're in Spain, it's played in one way. If you're in Germany, it's played another way.

Denmark, where I'm from, it's played in a certain way there. I think there's a huge variety in MLS, maybe also because, you know, it's a very big country. We travel very far for our games and, you know, different cultural styles appear. I think that the game is overall very open. Teams go a lot for the win. I also think that the star players have a lot of freedom, also more freedom that I'm used to. Um, and I left a little bit with too much freedom to be honest in the, in the game. Um, so that's also a thing. It g a makes the game a little bit more individualistic. Uh, and, um, yeah, we're trying to do it a little different, but, um, but I think it's great. I learn every day and I think it's, yeah, it's the

beautiful thing with this. There's no recipes. You have to find your own and try and figure things out. So, do you, is there part of you that has to go with the flow and the way that North American soccer is played? Because I guess if you try and change things too much that can be problematic, but you also have to put your stamp on your team. So how do you kind of bridge that gap when you say like, I think some of the top players are given too much freedom, how do you approach that problem? Uh, the first thing is that we want, we, we will, um, have to figure out how we want to play. That's a, that's a very important thing.

And I don't think actually that it, that it's a thing for us. Maybe we're also a little bit different of being a Canadian team, to be honest, a little bit different. So I think our star players, you know, Ryan, Brian's, uh, whoever has players, you know, Ryan, Brian, whoever has been, you know, praised to be very good players. They are definitely working hard for everybody

and for the team and very unselfish. I think that's a very good, I think that's, that has been very helpful for me as a coach who really believes in a strong team, unity and spirit. So I think that really helps with that. So we play where when you see us play, you really see Brian White be very disciplined. Ali Ahmed, even though he's a very good individual player, he also is very disciplined and has to be and also worked very hard, you know, both ways to help his team out. So I think maybe that's part of our success that we really are a unit where the star players chip in.

And to be honest, a lot of our players have got a lot of praise and done well within this system. So I think that it's worked out well so far. Well, I mean, it's worked out extremely well. Is there any part of you that, I mean, you know, like I don't know where you were in your coaching career three years ago, for example, but now you've come to Vancouver, which, you know, I don't know how much, and then all of a sudden, you're hosting Messi in front of 54,000 people in Vancouver and you're winning and then you go down to Miami and you win again. I mean, it must be well above the expectations that you set for yourself, even if you set really high expectations.

Yeah, it's well above. It is. And it's, you know, I just, I have high expectations for the work I put in and of course I have. Otherwise, I think we all have, as humans we think we're very good at what we're doing, of course we do. And that's how it is. I think we can make a difference and make things maybe even better than some other guys. But no, I did not have expectations about this. Having know having a start like this competing and we played 20 games now and and being in the final and achieve what we achieved with this team so far is and we is way above when I came in I have the feeling that when I saw the team from some of the games last year, I saw that we could improve and do something different and find a style of play that maybe, you know,

were where we changed some things and changed also quite a bit. But still, I had the feeling that it would take longer and also maybe take, you know, a couple of new players and a bit of changes in the squad and so on. Now we haven't had much and we are firing at very high cylinders already. And I thought that's way above my expectations. We're speaking to Whitecaps manager Jesper Sorensen here on the Haliford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Whitecaps are back in action this weekend against Austin in a Western Conference clash. Jesper, I get a lot of questions, people asking me like, where did this come from? And the easy answer is, well, Denmark. That's where it came from.

But I did want to ask you because I heard you on the Footie Prime podcast, and Jason was kind of alluding to this earlier in the show about football being football, but not really because culturally in every different country. It's played different It's approached different the fabric of is different. So in Denmark, what are the the staples of the tenants of maybe Danish football or some of the things that You experienced having coached there for so long and you know grown up in the system That maybe has influenced and shaped the way that you approach the game now and some of the things that you've brought to the Whitecaps. Yeah, I, um, as you probably know, Denmark is a very small country and we only have five

and a half million, um, people living there. And I was on 21 national coach for Denmark at one point. And in the Federation, we had the saying that we had to be able to do things better with less, because we're not that many people and you have a national team and you play Germany, they have over 80 million people and they of course should be having more talent than you have, then you have to be able to manage differently. And I think that's a good, that was a good, you know, learning, way of learning how to see how you can manage even though that you don't have the best players all the time and still have to be competitive. And I think that's in in in Denmark, we are very much playing football the way we were brought up in the society.

We are brought up, you know, I think people will say that we're socialists. We are brought up that way with a big influential government also paying a lot of taxes. And I think we are very much used to a system where everybody has to chip in, also where the hierarchies are very flat in our country. And I think it's and where a lot of what we're doing is built upon, you know, trusting each other. We saw a very good example on the COVID where people really was behind the leaders.

We shut the country down and, you know, we had a vaccine participation on around 90% in the population. So I think everybody trusted, you know, messaging. And that's what we are about. I think I'm not here to bring changes to different cultures. That's definitely not my thing. I'm here to learn to work within this. But I think the way we play is very much, you know, team based, flat

hierarchy when we play in the games and working for each other and everybody has to sacrifice something for the good of the team. Was that part of the pitch to the Whitecaps or was that part of the interview process because the Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS are kind of Denmarkish. You know what I mean? Like they're not Danish. I know, I know. I know, I know, but it's like, you know what I

mean, like they're not, they're not Germany. They're not, they're not England. Um. No, we're not New York. We are not LA. We're not Miami. Definitely. So we have to do it another way.

So I think what we could, what I've been looking for is if we could be a team like Columbus, you know, Columbus, Ohio might be something where you could say, okay, it's not a huge city with a, you know, where people want to come live from all over the world. I think Vancouver is a city where people come from all over the world to like, to live in. It's a beautiful, a great livable city. So, but yeah,

so we have to figure out how we want to play and we have to have everybody chipping in and maybe raise the floor a lot to be able to reach a high ceiling, but all the time have a, you know, have a high floor so we have a good foundation to play out from. And then everybody here, we want to make them better. If we can, help them get better and help them win in games. And I also saw that before, it's not something I brought in because what I saw before was a really hardworking team where everybody was on selfies and did everything they could for the team.

So it's not just something I brought in. I think it's a deep in this clubs culture that that's also something that the people of Vancouver want. I know you've got a few matches before the final against Cruz Azul down in Mexico City, but now correct me if I'm wrong, you've already played a game down in Mexico City against Puma. So you know what it's like to play at elevation. I'm sure it won't be cold down in Mexico City for this.

So what are some of the special preparations you're going to have to take ahead of this match? Because it's not, Canada can tell you that it's not easy to go down to Mexico City and win. Yeah, it's completely different from what we used to, I have to say, and people think, yeah, it's not that different. Yes, it is.

First of all, it's a different. It's different. Yeah, it is very much different. It's elevation. So you have, you're limited in your breathing, you need extra breaks, you need the oxygen level in the air is not as high, so you need to actually supply with extra oxygen in the break sometimes. And then the ball, it flies like you haven't been playing football before or soccer before because it just flies. It's not that same.

Yeah. It's like golfing down there. It goes forever. Yeah. It's like the air is so thin. There's not that resistance in the air. And we saw that when Yohei, if you just kicked a little bit too much, last time he just kicked it to the other goalie. So it's, it's really something. So the problem is when you get down there and you just fly in, you can't be there too long because it's, you have difficulty sleeping sometimes because of the elevation, the air.

But you have to get down and train because you have to get used to the ball, how it flies in the air and how to control it on the pitch. This was the biggest challenge we've had so far was the first game in Pumas where we played Mexico City. That was completely different from playing when we played in Torreón when we played Monterey so that was that's a diff that's really a difference and it's a difficult challenge so it was a big big swing when they scored that goal in in

the other semi-final but because otherwise we would have hosted it ourselves but we'll go to Mexico City. We like our chances and we'll play our hearts out. That's how it's going to be. Stylistically, it's so interesting because MLS and Liga MX are often geographically close together and aligned in all these competitions. But you talked about MLS being more wide open and free flowing. And I watched some of the matches that you've played in this and I've watched some Liga MX matches.

I've never seen so many teams so comfortable playing in a series of starts and stops and fits and starts. A lot of fouls. It's a million whistles. There's such little open play where it's actually open play because it's always that there's a tactical foul here or the ball's being played into touch. It just feels like it's a concerted effort

to bring the game to a bit of a grind where a lot of these Liga MX teams are very comfortable doing it. I imagine that must be a big challenge as well. It is. And it was a big challenge for us at home game against Pumas. And that's also a thing. Yeah, they

try to push the limits for the referee. They try to do everything they can to use tricks that can affect the game in their favor. They dive every time they go into the penalty area they dive yeah if there is a questionable call there will be the entire team in front of the ref some things that we are not used to in in in in the MLS because it's not allowed for the players they will be making sure that if they are hit, that the ball is not in play, they will have players going down with cramps and all that stuff all the time without being it being really serious.

So that's, that's what we, we have to be used to. And then they'll do small things when the ball is, you know, far away and the ref is not paying attention to that area. They'll do, you know, small, small things. But the one thing is that they also sometimes too over emotional. So that's something you can take advantage of and they, they, they, it's a passionate way of playing and very emotional,

but also I think uncontrolled emotions sometimes. And that's maybe something we can we can profit from. I often wonder when watching a lot of the league, MX teams with the amount of effort that's put into the sideshow of actually playing. Like they're all technically proficient and very good players. Like maybe if the energy was focused on just playing, the results would get there. But it's inherent in the way that they play. OK, I know we're up against it for time, but, uh,

the final in Mexico against Cruz's will question for you. Will Ryan Gould be ready to go by the time June 1st rolls around? Nope. Okay. I don't think so. I just, just to clarify that it's not that I foresee him being injured, but the amount of time he has been out will simply need some time to get back into match shape. So let's see. I'll not rule anything out, but I think it's not a, the profitability is very, very low. It's your first game back. It's in Mexico city. Good luck.

Go get them, Ryan. Yeah. Hey, Jesper, we both want to thank you for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it. Congrats on the great start to your MLS career. We hope it continues this weekend against Austin. Yeah, thank you very much. Yeah, we'll try and work in the heat.

So prepare us for Mexico. Yeah, exactly, it's a good warmup. Yeah, thanks, Jesper, appreciate this. Yeah, thank you. Jesper Sorensen, Whitecapsup. Yeah. Thanks, Jesper. Appreciate this. Yeah. Thank you. Jesper Sorensen, Whitecaps manager here on the Halifred and Braff show on Sportsnet 650. Did you get that pun? Warm up.

It's a warm up. Womp, womp. To play in the heat. You are not allowed to womp, womp any dad joke. Yeah, you're the king of the dad jokes. If it's worse than my dad jokes, then I ain't got it. Yeah, but that's the whole idea. That's the whole idea.

Every dad joke is supposed to be worse than the previous one. You are not allowed to womp, wom walk. Okay, mr. Denmark ish That was pretty good. Now. If only there was a word for Denmark ish Had a really delicious Denmark ish for breakfast this morning Was it good? Oh, yeah, it was delicious. That's good Denmark. I really like I really like talking with the Esper He's so smart and you know, I wanted to ask you if you could coach the Canucks as well. You know what I like about, and I think this is true of soccer managers in general, sometimes hockey coaches or even basketball coaches or North American coaches would be like, the

game is the game. Yep. That's a great point. And he's kind of like, nah, it's different. You know? And he's not like, you know, I'm sure you'd ask some coaches, well, god, you're going down to Mexico City, like, it's different. And they'd be like, we're just going to bring our game.

And I said, we're going to do our thing there. And he's like, yeah, it's way different down there. You know, um, and I, I'd actually never thought of that from a soccer perspective. When you kick the ball, it goes further. You know, there, there have been some, uh, golf tournaments down in Mexico at elevation. It is hilarious.

And they used to do, you know, I don't know if they play this anymore, but they used to play a PGA tour stop was in Colorado. And guys that would drive the ball 320 yards were driving like 400 yards. Right? You're like, I got 190 to the hole looking like a pitching wedge, right?

It's very, very different. I'd never thought about that from a soccer perspective. It was like playing on the moon. Yeah. No, well, I mean, with the North American perspective that you brought up where they. It was like playing on the moon. Yeah. No, well, I mean, with the North American perspective that you brought up where they're like, the game is the game.

I mean, part of it is that, um, there aren't global and I do mean global, um, cultural differences that can all kind of be described and like sewn into the fabric of the sport. Like with all due respect to hockey, they play it in a few European countries and North America. The stars do differ a little. Sure. But those that that's that's the only places that it's played American football gridiron.

That's there's you know, it's Canada and the US play it almost exclusively. Yeah. Right. Baseball's a little bit more global for sure. Right. And you see it like the world baseball classic and you do see certain styles and trends. But there's I mean, soccer is the one like it's everywhere, everywhere plays it. So you do get a really great sense of, oh, no, it's way different here. Yeah, because it is way different because it reflects climate, you know,, the geographical nature

and makeup, the demographics of your people and who plays the sport, right? All that stuff comes into it and it does become sort of this thing where it's fundamentally different. Do you think it's different? You know how you were talking about sometimes the teams from Mexico get, they lose their emotions a little bit?

Do you think it's just the heat? It's too damn hot. Always playing in this heat. It's too hot. We're up too high think it's just the heat? It's too damn hot. Always playing in this heat. It's too hot. We're up too high and it's too hot. And they just get frustrated. Oh, I mean, I know we're way up against it for time. But I watch all the games with my kid and he's like,

why do all these teams play like this? Why do they all seem to want to drag the game down into the I'll just call it the gutter for lack of a better. And I'm like, it's a great question because if you watch them play, tactically and skill-wise and athletically, they can do all the things that they need to do

to be competitive, but there's something about the way that they have an emotional investment into the match that everything is, like every foul, every challenge is with this heightened sense of emotion that Jesper pointed out. It's like a Mexican soap opera out there. It's very intense.

But as Jesper pointed out. Oh no, he's crying. But as Jesper pointed out, you can tilt that against them because when you're playing in a fever pitch, it's really easy to boil over. So okay, we're way up against them every time. We gotta go. They're called telenovelas by the way.

Thank you. What we learned is on the other side. I just learned that you're listening to the Halford and Bref Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Mick Nazar. Have your say and join me on the People's Show with big takes and even bigger bets weekdays three to four on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. or wherever you get your podcasts. learn time. It's what we learn time. It's what we learn time. On the show. 835 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough 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 sans-trustee.com. We are in hour three of the program. It is what we learn time. Hour three is brought to you by Campbell and Pound, real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell and Pound. Visit them on the internet at Campbell-pound.com today. Okay, I'm going to sneak in with the first what we learned because I literally just learned this. Oh my.

Elliot Freeman just tweeted about Rick Tuckett to Philly and he basically quote tweeted yesterday's tweet from John Bussegros. Okay. Which had a picture of Rick Tuckett and hashtag let's go flyers. How cryptic. Uh, Elliot, uh, says of that tweet, I'm not sure of the timing, but it is coming. So talks going to flyers like we all predicted.

Yep. Those dastardly Philadelphia flyers. And, and Frege was on this right from the beginning. Um, he said it's either going to be Vancouver or Philly, and I do think that Tauke considered Vancouver, he said it's either going to be Vancouver or Philly. I do think that talk considered Vancouver, seriously considered it, ultimately made the decision to go elsewhere and- It doesn't make you feel.

Jim Rutherford should fire back and accuse the Philadelphia Flyers of tampering. If someone knows about tampering, I mean, look, when they fired Tortorella with a handful of games to go in the regular season, as Jason has pointed out on many, many occasions, the Vancouver Canucks seemed especially, what's the right word? Irate? Pissed.

Pissed? Pissed. Now you know why. Jim Rutherford's doing a much more podcast. He's doing interviews with Daily Face Off. Oh, Stephen Brun, a daily face off now. My word. Anyway, Andy's been chatting in my ear about all this.

That we this just happened. There's a Rutherford interview that's out there. All the quotes will be out there. We at Sportsnet 650 will have you covered with all of our Canucks branded shows. Lunch, brunch, high tea, happy hour. Second breakfast. Dinner.

Canucks at night. Midnight snack. Dinner. Yeah, I think that's about seven. So we got you covered. We'll do our What We Learns moving forward now. So you're good on your What We Learned, right? Yeah, that's a talk at, according to Elliott Freeman,

not sure of the timing and when the announcement, but talk's gonna be the next head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. Moocowem. So you know I'm a big movie guy, read the trades every morning, like to know what's going on, deadline, variety, you know, I keep up to speed with what's going on.

It's weird, because you never see movies. Right, I just am curious about their production. Then I lose interest rather quickly. He likes the fanfare around the movie, right? Not the actual two hours. That's a long time to sit in the same spot. You know what started production yesterday? Madden, the biopic of John Madden. Oh, the video game. Well, that's plays a big role in the movie. Apparently John Mulaney plays one of the

executives from electronic arts that first started the iconic Madden video game franchise. It's an Amazon MGM Studios production. Do we know? So there's two main characters here. There's Al Davis and John Madden. Any guesses on who's playing? Let's start with John Madden. John Madden would be played by,

I don't wanna come up with anything up John Goodman's John Goodman John He's really skinny now skinnier it's nice quite skinny, okay, but he I thought he'd be the most logical choice He's not even John Roseanne then Roseanne also second choice decent choice The answer Nicolas Cage, and I've seen the photos from the first Production tease it's not bad Nick Cage has put on a few pounds. He's got the bit of the jowls going they've worked the hair

So he's got the sort of sandy John. I see it now Yeah, not bad. No young John man. Not bad, okay? Can you guess who's playing iconic Raiders team owner the late Al Davis? Jim Carrey nope also not a terrible choice. Oh, I meant his son The bull cut from dumbumb and Dumber. Jeff Bridges? No. Christian Bale. It's Christian Bale. I gotta say he's got like a Gary Oldman thing going on these days where he could just transform into anybody. But he's always had that. You don't even know it's him. So he's so true he could transform

into anything. Okay so some of the more famous physical transformations that he's had he dick Cheney was probably the most jarring one recently she missed he was down to like machinists but machines he just started he was still like you look like Christian Bale face skinny dick Cheney between the the 40 pounds of weight yeah and and then the makeup that was pretty crazy, but he also did the machinist you saw Batman too. Yes Thank you, Andy. He was Batman Have you seen American Hustle? Yeah, that's a pretty great physical transformation. Yeah, I love the movie though The movie knows I was too. Hey, I fell asleep twice. Yeah. The movie was good visually and stylish

Yeah, it was like it was cool, but it's fun to watch. Yeah. Yeah, but it was great But it was boring. Yeah. Anyway, so Christian Bale is Al Davis So I bought the photos on that are also really good now I'm skeptical about how the movie is actually gonna play out but day one of production I'm giving it the Alfred Alfred approval Nick Cage and Christian Bale. I mean, that's pretty solid. It's a good combo. I think it'll be good. And John Mulaney. So it's good. John Mulaney.

John Mulaney. What role is he playing? I just said this. He's playing the Electronic Arts founder, the EA guy who started the Madden video game franchise. Okay, sorry, I wasn't listening. Yeah, it's okay. You don't often.

The guy's name is Tripp Hawkins. There's a movie about the Raiders? John Madden's the football coach? Moocow me. They should have made John Goodman the guy. It's John Madden the hockey player. Yeah, that would be a good movie. Recreate that limo scene.

You just love that limo scene, don't you? It made our careers. One less good suggestion. Denzel Washington is John Madden. Just go really off the board. Didn't see it coming. Didn't see it coming. I mean, he's a good actor, you can pull it off. Yeah. Laddie's got the final what we learned from our side of the board. Didn't see it coming. I mean he's a good actor, you can pull it off.

Yeah. Laddie's got the final what we learned from our side of the table. Yeah, what we learned. First foremost, let's take a bit of a poll here. Okay. Number of tickets in a lifetime. Like what are you getting from the

concert tickets? Driving tickets. Driving tickets. Speeding tickets. Speeding tickets or parking tickets? Any sort of car related ticket. How many are you getting those? Yeah parking tickets. Let's go parking and Anything in transit so speeding

illegal Like drinking in public that's not no no, there's all our related all driving infractions riding infractions Okay, I'd say in my lifetime 10 I'd say in my lifetime, 10. Let's say like maybe 15 for me. Yeah, 10 was the number I landed on too. According to reports, in the last year and a half, Ilya Kovalchuk, former thrasher, NHL superstar, has been caught speeding 115 times.

What? Has been caught either driving on the shoulder or not complying with the requirements of signs and markings 46 times. and he's been ticketed for illegal parking 24 times. 115, 46, 185 driving infractions. In the last year and a half. Where, where does he live?

This is in Russia. Okay. Oh my God. And I can't explain it other than the fact that he just gives zero. Yeah. Issues about whatever word you want to use. Putin's probably just like, you could do what you want. And I can't explain it other than the fact that he just gives zero. Yeah issues about Word you want to use just like you could do what you want. So it's

For it five hundred and fifty days. He had a hundred and fifty five tickets. So one out of every five days He's like I'm speeding He's getting caught speeding today. I'm right. How many times is he been speeding in Naga? I think a lot of these are like camera related like right auto ticket Why don't you know what still that pulls them over every time you know what I got in the mail the other day? I I was all excited because there's like there's a package for me I'm like and it's at the post office so I walked down to the post office like oh wonder who you know It's not the things that come to our house are never for me, they're always from Aritzia. Not for me. Anyway, so I go down to, I go to the post office and I'm like, I'm excited, and they hand me a letter.

I'm like, oh, this isn't good. It was like a traffic ticket from Italy. What? Because I was there last year and some camera got me. Respect. And I'm such an old conservative man now and I paid it right away. What if I want to go back to Italy? That's what I was thinking. I was like I don't want to deal with this if I go back to Italy at some point in my life. It's like oh you're not coming

into this country. I don't know how they operate there. That's funny. Yeah it was really disappointing because you know when you're like I was like oh this is cool this is a package for me it's got to be good it's like no you're gonna pay a hundred I Was like oh, this is cool. This is a package for me. It's got to be good It's like no you're gonna pay under but I mean it is pretty cool city of Florence It is pretty cool that they tracked you down and gave you right yeah, like a rental car company Yeah, I had that happen to it. Did you pay it? No? No, not even close. Do we think he is paying these I doubt it Although if the stories made the news it's probably in an attempt to get him to pay it

Maybe didn't Aaron but didn't Aaron roll Patty run into that problem in Pentium recently Although if the story's made the news, it's probably in an attempt to get him to pay it. Maybe. Didn't Aaron Roll Patty run into that problem in Penticton recently? I think he did. He racked up like 9,000 parking tickets. You go to the media, you get your citations paid, right? Goes to show if the punishment for a crime is a fine, it's a crime for the poor.

I got one when I was driving down in Orange County and they have those highway tolls. That if you, you know, they have those highway tolls. They have the markers where if you're driving and you don't have the sticker, it just charges you. The states, if you don't pay your tickets, they'll put a warrant out for your arrest. Yeah, well, I'm gonna ride that way.

I gotta see how it goes, because I didn't pay for it. But they will, though. Yeah, I know. You'll get that. And that's an interesting, it's like, there's a warrant out for you in King County. Right, you drove it at HOV Lane for too long. Yeah, you know, I'm a rebel. I live on the edge. Okay, mook out of that. Warrant out for you in King County. Right. You drove in an HOV lane for too long.

Yeah, you know, I'm a rebel. I live on the edge. OK, move to have that. Fire up that dot matrix. Please report to Alcatraz. That can't be good. Print out some humanoid submissions for what we learned. They are reopening it.

No. Yeah. No. Well, that's what Trump said. I know that. I mean, he says a lot of things. The goats will get him. The best was the policeman slash tour guide at Alcatraz

when he was asked about it. He's like, this place is in no way, shape, or form prepared to be a prison. Did you ever do the tour? He's like, I can't stay. Yeah. It's awesome. Yeah, I think Trump thinks prisons are still like,

here's Machine Gun Kelly over here. Lock him up behind bars. There's an old cop with like a big ring of keys That's how it is, right? Just a second Sorry, I interrupted your read what we learned humanoid editions is bratty by AJ's pizza on East Broadway AJ's traditional original signature pies or must try like the Detroit inch thick crust crispy cheese topped with parmesan and basil Order online AJ's that pizza

I discuss it's so funny the the speeding ticket with like, you know, like the red I just saw a texter come in and like, you know the red light like when you drive through it Yeah, but you drive through it in the big flash Oh, yeah You're like damn it I walk the work of George every morning and there's like pitch black and once in a while like somebody will run a red right on George and Denman and it's just the brightest flash in the world Like everybody could see it. It's got to be like the most embarrassing thing

No, I was like brutal that happened to me once. Honestly, like I could barely text It's true. It's interrupting my text messaging. Yeah, not funny. Don't text. Don't text the drive I do that we draw the line at texting and driving jokes. Everything else is on the side We draw the line at texting and driving jokes. Everything else is on the side. Justin in East Van, what we learned, Major League Baseball has removed Pete Rose from baseball's permanently ineligible list how long before he enters the baseball hall of fame.

Yeah, I mean that was bound to happen as soon as Trump spoke out about it and had a meeting with Manfred and I guess they threw Shoeless Joe in there too. Yeah. So you're good too. Yeah. I Manfred and I guess they threw shoeless Joe in there too. Yeah. You're good too. Yeah.

I don't know. Is he actually shoeless? What about all the other stuff? That's my- Adog. Like he's never worn a shoe? Let's do this. Let's do this. Tell me about shoeless Joe Jackson.

He is the baseball player that historically is for whatever reason decided never wear shoes. Fred Flintstones it all over town barefoot everywhere You get so you know I lost his touch. Okay glass doesn't matter. He'll never buy a shoe. He's anti shoe You know we'll wear boots So I'm actually know who he is Slippers yeah, he'll wear make a real make a real yeah, yes, this can't do shoes Did you see it man out or Field of Dreams or anything like that? Yeah, Field of Dreams.

Yeah. He was in that, right? Wearing shoes, oddly enough. One of the ghosts, I believe. Anyway, he was part of the black socks scandal. Do you know why he was called Shoeless Joe? No. Because one time he wore a new pair of spikes in a game and got horrible blisters and then

took them off and played in socks. And he needed new shoes and he couldn't afford them. So he had to take, uh, he had to throw the world series. Really? Don't believe the second part. Go with the first part.

Throw the world series, but not. Matt, not on the Island with a, what we learned about an incredible quote from golfer Hunter man. Um're playing at Quail Hollow, the PGA this week. And he said, I guess I would say Quail Hollow is like a Kardashian. It's very modern, beautiful and well-capped, but it lacks a soul or character. God damn, Hunter Mann. Damn. Right for the jugular.

Yeah. Don't even mess around with that. It's a pretty good description though, right? Hunter Mahan. Interesting. I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter. I never know if it's Hunter Mahan or Hunter Mahan. Mahan. Yeah, I'm going to go with that.

Okay. Are we doing a preview of this tournament? This soulless. I think we're gonna talk on Friday. This soulless tournament that they're playing in. Well, I like how everyone's like, now that Rory got his career grand slam, now the pressure's on Spieth. Oh, is that it?

Yeah. Is that the next golf narrative? Okay, I wasn't sure. Yeah, and Spieth's like, I'm not even close. I don't wanna do this. It's too much pressure. What we learned from Derek and the Ridge after the Los Angeles Kings exhaustive search for a new general manager, Ken Holland will be introduced tomorrow.

A week after Luke Robitaille had his pressure to announce the search in nine days since Rob Blake and the Kings parted ways. Yeah. A lot of the times you feel like they already know who they want. I heard that Ken Holland might, um, I think there might be, he might have a Patrick Alveen with him. I think people have speculated, but cause Ken Holland's, he's not a super young guy anymore.

Maybe he doesn't want to do the kind of the GM grunt work that you have to do. So I wonder if he'll bring, um, I wonder if he'll bring someone in, in the Patrick Alveen type role that Jim Rutherford has. Yeah. Basketball Phil, hashtag WWL, what we learned. Seahawks versus DK and the Steelers in week two.

That would be the Steelers home opener. Yeah, it's just coming out this morning. They're doing real slow drips and drabs with the NFL schedule. I guess it's to draw it out because the NFL is such a huge monolith down in the States. They can do this. So the Seahawks are going to play DK Metcalf in Pittsburgh against the Steelers. They're going to play the Vikings.

So that's Sam Darnold against his old team, and that's going to be in Seattle. And then I forgot because they've got Cooper Cup now. They got the Rams home and away, right, because they're divisional rivals. So a lot of rivalry games for the Seahawks this year. Still have no idea who's going to be throwing the ball to DK Metcalf when the Steelers and Vikings play or Steelers and Seahawks play in week two. But you will get to see DK Metcalf against his former mates.

What's going on with Aaron Rodgers? I have no idea. It is just, just hanging out. There's been so much other stuff going on. I've kind of taken a, put the NFL on the back burner. Yeah. Well, like it's kind of well, they'll figure it out at some point, I'm sure. And I know the schedule release stuff.

We talked about the international games yesterday and everything, but that situation is still very much unresolved. Todd has bad takes. What we learned, the Canucks and the Leafs suffer from the same problem of continual failure, but for opposite reasons, the Leafs fail because their management can't stop listening to their fans. They want every shiny free agent.

They want every big name veteran in a trade. The Canucks on the other hand fail because they refuse to listen to the fans. Please rebuild, please draft and develop. In Toronto, the team is patient, but the fans are not. In Vancouver, the fans are patient, but the team is not. Yeah, I mean, I certainly agree with the Vancouver angle there. It is not a patient organization, and sometimes you just need to be. And sometimes you can make things worse by trying too hard in

the NHL. It's just the way it's set up. You got to marshal your resources. Oh, marshal your resources. Right. How do you steal that phrase? Well, that's like a play on botches, we need an army. You got to marshal your resources and you got to marshal them all at the same time. And I always go back to the JT Miller trade.

JT Miller played very well for Vancouver. To what end? Like the Kinectucks, they needed so much more than just JT Miller. They were never a Stanley Cup contender, by the way. I know they got to game seven against the Oilers in the second round.

They were never really a true Stanley Cup contender. They never played well enough to get that label. So you're kind of like, okay, well, to what end? Marshall, your resources. I like it. It's very Denmarkish. Woodrow the Eligible Bachelor, hashtag WWL what we learned. It's a titillizing phrase. Let me tell you. Amar Doman is better at talent booking than the Fyre Festival. Since 2022, the BC Lions have booked OneRepublic, LL Cool J, 50 Cent cent and now Snoop D.O.

Double G. Yes Snoopa Loop is coming to B.C. Place. That's going to be the case. You missed it yesterday. We teased the B.C. Lions concert series opener. So for their opener this year, it's going to be Snoop. That's going to be great. I was thinking about it because I'm pretty sure Snoop just plays the hits now. He doesn't break off into that ill-fitted reggae stint he had. Snoop Lion. Yeah, I don't think he does that.

I think he's like, let's just play the hits. If you went to a Snoop Sh- If you go to this Snoop Cons- Scoop concert, I think you're gonna know every single song. It'd be funny if he only played the reggae stuff. There would not be a song that you would not know. Could you imagine? He only did deep cuts.

Yeah, and by the way, we know it's Hunter Mahan. Like that's, you knew that, right? Hunter Mahan? Hunter Mahan. Hunter Mahan. Shoeless Mahan. Wow, Hunter Mahan. Hunter Mahan. Hunter Mahan. Shoeless man. Wow, Hunter Mahan with quite a quote. All right, we got to get out of here for today,

but we will be back tomorrow. Thank you all for listening. Thank you all for contributing. Congrats to whoever won tickets to see the Who later this year. We got to get out of here for now, but we will be back tomorrow. Signing off for now, I have a Mike Alfred, he's been Jason Brough, he's been Adog,

and he's been Laddy. This has been the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650.