OverDrive - Duthie on the OverDrive Maple Leafs panel, Toronto's downfall and the Grey Cup experience

Episode Date: November 18, 2025

TSN Host James Duthie joined OverDrive to discuss his experience at the Boston Pizza in Winnipeg, the Grey Cup matchup and presenting the awards with the commissioner, the Canadian playoff teams, the Maple Leafs looking for success and more.

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Restriction supply ships registered in Panama and Malta. There he is. Duffy Country. We're back. We're in Ontario. Activate, JP. Activate, baby. Activate, J.P.

That's where we're at. Activate. Activate. On or off. Yeah. So J.P. I have to say, activate J.P. You know what I feel like when I come on your program?

I feel like, like, Daniel Dale. when he comes on, that's his name, right? He comes on after a presidential news conference and has to refute all the fabrications and the basically slanderous statements that are made and that's what I feel like the few times that I come on this final program. That guy's fake news. Oh, you're calling fake news on the fact checker.

Where does it start? Dan Dale's a good kid. I played golf with his dad. But anyway, no politics here. Yeah, exactly. I mean, no matter what the president is, he comes on, Yeah, you're right. He comes on in fact checks. Okay.

All right, where do I start? First of all, having a great time at Gray Cup week, I get invited on the overdrive program and make the long trek interrupting my research to come out to the Boston Pizza and very excited about it. Find out I'm double-booked with the CFL commissioner, so there was absolutely no purpose of me being there. I didn't understand that either. I was a waste of my 20 minutes.

I barely spoke. Second of all, I get booed upon arrival to which, I mean, my, my, My 92-year-old mother called me afterwards in tears, saying all I ever wanted was for you to be liked, and now you're booed. Friends were texting me saying, why does Winnipeg hate you? We were disappointed, too. We want that pointed out. Yeah, only to find out through sources that a member of the Overdrive team promised alcohol to the entire restaurant in order to boo me. It's interesting how a rumor will fly.

That is. We just said boo you. We didn't promise any alcohol. We don't have that power. Well, then, to the folks at Boston Peace in Winnipeg, why are you pigeons? You know, why are you the robots controlled by this man? Then, yesterday I found out, I was maligned for my footwear choice in the Grey Cup celebration. You had Jerry's shoes on.

I brought the shoe today so the crowd can analyze it. This is a Hugo Boss. I love the shoe. Half-sneeker, half-dress shoes. I screwed it up then. Are you sure you were wearing that? It's not like it's a shoe. are you sure

those are the ones? These are the shoes I was wearing very stylish. Those are all the NFL guys wear. Those are gorgeous. I like the dress shoe normally. I'm a dress shoe guy and I would, if you look back at CFL

great cups over the years, usually dress shoe, but I decided, you know what? It's very homey. Okay, my bad. I thought you had like a jogging A6 shoe on like Jerry. Yeah, you had the,

that's what it was called out yesterday. It's like, you were wearing like sketches. And then further to that, the host of the program suggest that the crowd was booing me and not the commissioner on the warning of the Great Cup. Yeah, that was an ego play for us. We got a little bit carried away with how popular we are.

I missed that one. I did not know that you made that comment. No, but he inferred. You were speaking, and the booed. Well, here's what happened. I'll tell you the lowdown. There was a mistake made in the presentation. And, you know, first of all, I love Stu.

I understand people's anger in certain circles. I personally would like to see what the rules look like, and we'll see, you know, a history will judge whether the commissioner should be booed or cheered. I kind of like a lot of the changes, but I do understand why people are angry. There's a lot of fans who stuck with the CFL for a long time who don't want it to be changed.

I get all that. So, Stu was only supposed to present the Grey Cup, not the awards. They just had somebody else up to hand the awards. But the voiceover said, to present the awards for MVP and those valuable Canadian Commissioner Stuart Johnson with James Duffy. And so I'm up there by myself and the booze are raining out. I'm saying, see, I told you, I saw it. And I'm like, there's booze raining it down on the stage.

Yeah, exactly. And I'm like, I don't think that was a Boston pizza carryover. I don't believe so. No, but you publicly suggested. I thought maybe that would be cool for us. Actually, we had that kind of cloud. As far as the rules go, Jimmy, why doesn't Stu, like, do you remember, Remember back in the day the NHL formed Shanney and Marty St. Louis, they formed a competition committee? Why don't they do that in the

CFL and work with Stu? There is that. There is that in the CFL and they will go to that and this is what Stu has been saying but I think it's fallen on deaf ears is that a lot of the things that he seems like the three minute, there's a lot of fuss about what happens in the last three minutes because people want to preserve how slow it goes to have big comebacks and they're worried

it's going to be like the NFL where everybody's taking the knee. Well that's not done at all. It will go to the competition committee and they'll figure it out. So a lot of these rules will be figured out by the competition committee. Again, I asked him that question, why didn't you consult with players and coaches? I think it's a valid criticism.

But I think the people who think he did all this on his own are nuts. Like, this was the Board of Governors wanted change. Everyone wanted the, you know, everyone within wanted the league to go forward. He has to take a lot of the heat for it. Did he act too fast? That's the judgment of all fans. But isn't the commissioners just basically

a conduit of the owners and the Board of Governors. Like he's basically the guy who takes the bullets for the people who want change, right? He's not the guy going, hey, I got an idea and ram it down everybody's throw. You got me the face of it, and like I said, he's probably going to get that for a couple of years, and then when the changes

happen, you know, everybody can judge whether the game's better or whether the game's not better, and we'll see if he's booed in four years or five years. Does the commissioner not get booed every time? I don't remember. Probably a little bit. I think commissioners are generally just to their commissioner is unpopular. Maybe not

that much at the Grey Cup. I'm sure this had a bit to do with it. But, you Yeah, it definitely happens. What about, it depends on what venue you're in. Like, Winnipeg is diehard CFL, right? So you get to some other venues that maybe, you know, love their team and very, very passionate, but not as much. Would he get booted in Hamilton? Yeah, exactly.

Would he get boot in Toronto? Or is it more kind of in the West? Sure. I mean, look, that's the heart beat of the CFL of Saskatchewan. Right, right. And I thought he was smart in the presentation. He got, you know, pretty quickly to congratulating. statue on and it turned to cheers pretty fast, which is

what you got. Anyway, let me just wrap up my little Daniel Dahl soliloquy. Please do. To say that, you know, despite the slander and liable, I still come with autograph copies of a festival. Oh, wow. Yes, there you go.

All right. You're disgusting. You're disgusting. Get a close-up of that, Joe. Go, get a close-up of that. You don't get one. I have one already. Because you already have one. You won one on the quiz. You were making friends with guys are my buddies from illegal curve just to go on their show? What a beauty. Do whatever you can. I like those guys in legal curve. They were awesome.

See how quickly I can flip? He wasn't being booed. He wasn't being a booed. They were... One presence. They were chanting, doofy. I love the inscription. I think you've been now in four of my books. I've been in all of his books. I love it. You're in

the Bryant-Killray book, I think you were in that one. Content machine. Even O'Dog's only been in three, I think. How many, like, how many you got left in the tank books wise a couple more I don't know I'm trying to turn this in maybe this turns into like the next like the Harry Potter where there's 12 of them

and then they become movies is there enough interest for that probably not this is probably the edit I don't know let's flip over to hockey here we were asking a question and tossing it around Canadian teams making the playoffs

confidently what would you say right now Well, it's funny. I looked at it today, and I was going to ask Joe, our great stats guy, when is the last time that there were no Canadian teams this deep in the season in the top 10? I think 12 and 13 is where Winnipeg and Montreal are, and then five of the seven in the bottom half of the league. And I think it's been a few years.

There were some down years in there, but I would go, I think I'd still go three. Max, right? three, but the over-under is probably two and a half right now if you were to do that, right? Like, Wittipeg's going to get there. The reason I'm asking is because yesterday, Brucey Boudreau and these two were like four or five, and I'm like, no

way, man. Edmonton, if you think we'll find a way, I would say Ottawa, Montreal, maybe it's only one of the two that gets, and now I'm writing off Toronto, which I'm not, but I mean, it could still get to four or something, but it could be two. I say four, not easily, but four for sure,

and maybe a fifth. That's That's the way I look at. Right now, right now how many are your playoff positions, too, right? The one two I mentioned is it. Montreal and Winnipeg. That's it. It's just so chaotic in the Atlantic. It's so hard to pick, like you say.

I know the Leafs feels like the sky's falling in and they're, you know, four points out of a playoff spot or whatever. Was it 10 days ago, 12 days ago, the Leafs had won three in a row. Yeah. Right? Like they were, and I believe somebody called them a wagon. Well, I did, and I'm glad you brought that out. You called them a wagon?

I believe on this program. I did. No, I wasn't on that. I wasn't on that. Let's roll in the wagon, Sam. It was saying it facetious. I was saying it sarcastically. You were being a smart ass.

I did not detect that. I know. Well, and it's been posted everywhere. Leaves are a wagon with my face on it. Dude, I texted it to him. I'm like, that's what you get for that. I know, but you were being a smart ass. He got radioed by his own show.

Jonas was in here, and I know Jonas was going to be, they're terrible, they're brutal, they're awful. And this guy wasn't in the mood to really pump tires either. Right? You're like, even though they're winning. doesn't look great. And I was like playing the role of the contrarian. Let me spin it. And I was, I'm like

to leave sir a wagon. I said it jokingly multiple times, assuming people would pick up on the sarcasm. When I was driving my car, it felt serious. I know, but the amount of people writing me being like you called them a wagon two weeks ago. And I'm like, yeah, I did. I guess my point is

I was jabbing at Jonas more than anything, which I love to do. But I say it all along. five-game lost streak they're at the bottom five-game win streak you're right back in there like you talked about

like out west between first place and like out of the playoffs is like three points here it's four points the division's upside down and everybody could be still packed in February the thing I would be concerned about

is the schedule's been easy easy-ish compared to the rest of the league schedule's been heavy home now you got all these injuries oh yeah in Toronto yes absolutely you know it's crazy there's one Canadian team with a plus goal differential.

One. The Habs are, yeah, it's Winnipeg. Habs are minus three. Ottawa's minus one. Winnipeg is plus nine goal differential. Edmonton's minus 12. Yeah, that's not.

That's crazy. The least are minus five in Calgary's minus 19, Vancouver, minus 10. Those are big, big numbers. Into the red in terms of goal differential. And that's usually an indicator. to go Michael K on this

in terms of like run differential, goal differential, one Canadian team in the plus. My bigger concern, and I'm completely with noodles, like we always rush and judge and they could turn things around and still be a playoff team easily.

I haven't given up on that whatsoever. But I feel like the NHL breaks down into like five categories a team, and it's probably more than that. It's probably 10, but just for the sake of this. One is like the true Stanley Cup contenders, right at the top,

who would call. The Carolados, the Vegas's, you probably put Carolina in there, you can make your list, whatever. The next would be like the close to the would-be contenders, right? The teams that are, you know, Edmonton would fall into that still. And then like the teams who have really solid cores who are looking, maybe the jerseys and the Ottawa's teams like that, who think they're ready to make the next step. The third would be the teams that are, the windows opening. so maybe Anaheim that

you know they're not a contender but the window is starting to open for them they've been through the rebuild and they're starting to get their Chicago not quite there yet Montreal maybe yeah yes Montreal would fall into that the fourth would be in a rebuild

or just you know starting a rebuild I can't think of one off hand right now maybe Calgary starting that right now and then the fifth would be the no man's land of either you're at the end of your window and you got nowhere to go. And the thing that would concern me is those first four groups all have the same

thing in common. They have hope in some way or another. Hope of winning a cup soon, contending for a cup soon, or that things are getting better. And if the Leafs continue to fall this year, they fall into that category five where you got nothing in the cupboard. And what do you do? I just, that would be no concern. I've always said it's the worst place in pro sports to be is if you just miss the playoffs or just make it and get crushed in the first round, where are you actually going? The answer is no one.

But if they tumble, let's say the injuries pile up and they end up near the bottom of the division this year, I mean, you're not going to trade Matthews and Nylander. That's not going to happen. Like you say, you have nothing as far as first round picks, and to me, that would be the most dangerous, depressing situation they've been in in 15 years or something like that. The only thing I would say, and I think you're...

You just made him do a head shake I haven't seen in a long time. Thanks for that. You're still a ways. I think you're a ways away. I'm not saying that's now. I'm just saying worst case scenario on the season. I would take a look at recency. The Boston Bruins went through some weird things last year.

Right? That's retooled. They retooled in the right back. But my point being is, Lindholm was gone for the season. That was their number two defenseman. That's a big blow. McAvoy gets injured in the four nations.

They decide to move away from Marchand. Like they trade Charlie Coyle. That was at the deadline. that was after they made the decision we are going to bottom out Swayman coming to the camp late couldn't really get it on the rails there were so many things

Lynn home comes over signing didn't settle in Elias Lynn got hurt I believe at some point so there was just all these things but that took a while that was like a wave you could see that build and then they made the decision and then they crashed and burned

I think the Leafs are far away yeah 20 25 30 games exactly that's my point is wait right now we're looking at it through an 04 and 1 lens 100%. That's where I try to remove, there's still 75% of the season left, but the team has

to play better. I want to see when Nicholas was healthy. What is his capabilities? As your number three centermen settled in, if Lawton can get healthy, like where are people slotted and can they play in the post-Marner era, different identity, all of that type of stuff.

Haven't got to that yet because we haven't seen the finished product. There's been injuries and inconsistencies. Until that happens and the decisions made, like that's why I'm still going. I was talking about where we are at the end of January, if it's 18-wheeler off the cliff sort of thing, then they're in that predicament. When Bradford Living

said vanilla today and everyone's trying to interpret what that means, do you think it means what O's been saying for a while here that they have a lot of guys that just look the same, that are just guys? What did you call him? Yeah, Jag, just a guy. Just a guy.

Is that what that means a bit, maybe? I don't know. Well, there's a lot of guys you watch them. What do they accomplish out on the ice? It's not a whole lot. So it's like, what are you doing out there? Hayes made a great point, though, before you came on, said there's, like, who should be taking that personally? Like, is it the coach?

Is it the leadership? Is it the players who are just the guys? Isn't it all the above? Probably. Yeah. Yeah, I think everyone should. I think Barouba would be most insulted. that. I think the captain

should be very offended by that. You represent the lifeline of the team. The personality of the team is the captain, right? Generally. And if you're the captain of a vanilla team, that should hurt. Now he's not playing.

And Matthew skated today. He won't play tonight. Won't play Thursday. We'll see when he plays again. But yeah. I mean, the last thought on what you said, though, James, about like, that could be a reality. Is that for the first time in nine years, it actually could be a reality. Does it mean it will happen? We've never had

this, we've had slump discussions, and you guys have had to do overdrives where they've lost four in a row in the middle of the season, but there was always the feeling that, you know, they would find a way and get it done or whatever, and I think this is the first time in a while that there is doubt about that. Yes, and the fact

that Boston owns their first round pick next year also just doesn't jive well with people here. Yeah. All right. Well, we'll catch you on the panel. This is my favorite. night of the year because I don't intend to do, I'm going to say welcome to the show everybody Brian Hayes take over

and then I just sit back and put my... I'm going to put my little Hugo Boss running shoes up on the table and let's sure that they're yeah well I got you guys I got in trouble out of time because I gave an answer there was too long and you guys are like that's an amateur play remember we did the Sports Center hit and I talk for two and a half a lot. I want you to do

some of the throw to breaks to see if you can talk into black again like you've done before. I did do that. The Harvey's throw you were still talking. You were still talking. Still going. Hey, coming up next.

When do we get back? We're on to the next commercial, Brian. It's Putin. You might cut her 12 seconds ago. I'll try my best tonight. This will be awesome. Everybody loves it when overdrive takes over the show,

so I will step back and let you guys do your thing. That's your show. We're jumping on board. I see what kind of lies are told tonight about me. I think we've got a streak going, too. I believe we're 2 and 0 for overdrive show.

There you go. The Leaves Guaranteed win. I think I speak for Leas Nation and saying this is the perfect timing for this. Yes. This trio is what is needed to turn things around. Now, what happens to Dregs and Cheryl and so on if they win five nothing tonight? That's a great question. And then it starts to be a thing. It was like when they didn't want you in the building on those playoff runs a few years ago, but the reverse where you have, maybe I'm going to be in trouble.

Maybe you're right. Maybe we just got to be on a panel. Okay, well, we'll figure something out. All right, JD. We'll see you in a bit. Okay, guys. Thanks for me. We're, of course, on the panel tonight with J.D. The Leaf Game on TSN4. It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas with IHeart the holidays. Non-stop Christmas music 24-7. All your festive favorites. Unwrap the magic of the season. One song at a time.

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