OverDrive - OverDrive - August 12, 2025 - Hour 2

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

Join Jim Tatti, Keegan Matheson and Michael DiStefano for Hour 2 on OverDrive! MLB Network Analyst and Intentional Talk Host Ryan Dempster joins to discuss his standpoint on the Blue Jays' roster formation, the pitching construction and the outlook in the American League. In the latest edition of AB's Power Rankings, Al's Brother ranks the brightest futures in sports and Shohei Ohtani accused of sabotaging $240-million Hawaii real estate.

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and that sets up where we're going. Kegan Matheson, Al's brother, Mike DeStefano, Jim Taddy. So obviously, Travis and his brother, Kelsey, doing the podcast and Taylor Swift on it, so we have a clip of that. That's what I'm trying to say.

Where is? Nice color on you. Yes, I know. It's the color of your eyes, sweetie. That's why we match so well. We're not to do a podcast. Okay, Travis and Jason Kelsey and Taylor Swift And sort of an ad-lib moment there

Finally a win for guys with podcasts My goodness, after all these years Well, she announced that she's coming out with a new album on the podcast T-12, I guess, her 12th album, 12 studio albums So that's a big get Let me tell you to get Taylor Swift on a podcast I think they might get more downloads than us on this one We've tried many times

Her reps don't get back. He flushes doogie on the regular. He tries. A complete no guy, if I ever saw a week. You need to get that request out closer to the release. Have you ever reached out to Taylor Swift's people? I'm curious at this point. She's been a big enough store in the NFL where it may be worth a request.

100% I've asked. And you've gotten flushed every time. Every single time. Have you got a response? Or silence? From the record agencies? Yes, I've got responses. And they say respectfully.

No chance. We're going to decline as she's working on her own projects. Yeah. Okay. Let's keep trying. Let them know it's going to be a show that I'll be here for and that I can run deep on the catalog. I will mention that. I respect the full catalog.

You big Taylor Swift fankeeks? I've, you know, by osmosis, I've been around enough of it. So, you know, like release night for the life of a show girl, I'll be there, I'm sure. I was at the concert. Oh, you were at the concert? I was. Toronto. That was insane.

I walked past the Rogers Center while that mayhem was going. going on, it was wild to see. It was unlike anything I've ever been around. Legitimate. I think I turned, because I was just there looking like me, and I just wore what I always wore. I was very out of place. And I think I became a weird target for the friendship bracelet collectors. You know, this clearly awkward boyfriend standing here looking like an ogre in this crowd.

And so I worked up quite the collection, man. It was a cool night. I loved it. What about, you a little Wayne fan? You see what happened last night? I did not see. You're my pop culture, man. Fill me in here.

Lil Wayne had a, you're supposed to do a show last night, down at, it was Bud Stage. I believe he was doing the show at Bud Stage. Five minutes before the opener comes on, they cancel the show. No.

Everyone was already there in their seats, waiting, and all of a sudden, little message comes up on the board. Sorry, postponing the show. Your tickets will be honored for the next time he's in town.

They say why? Unforeseen illness or something like that. But then there was a video that came out on Instagram that the opener who was supposed to come on literally five minutes after that, after that message came out. Apparently he was still in New York City. Whoops. He posted on his story in New York City. So he was never even in the country. There was no shot that he was going to come on.

I don't know what happened there. But that took over my social feed last night. The wheezy cancellation. Yeah. Big stuff here in Toronto. Character move. No, thank you. All NFL trading camps are filled with.

please don't get injured, or if you have a contract to hassle, please settle it. James Cook, return to the bill's practice today, and Josh Allen, among others, pretty happy about that, a positive spin, right? It's a big one for the bills, and they can get him back. I'm extremely normal between us. I'm not going to ask him to do anything that he doesn't want to do or wouldn't do, or I wouldn't do myself, so I understand that, you know, in his mind, it was the right thing to do, and I trust him.

But yeah, very happy to have I'm back out there today. What do you say expected? Have you had conversations with him that lead you to think he's practicing today? Like, has anything changed? I would say so. I would say so that things have changed, Elena, with, and yes, we've had conversations with James, good conversations, as I've mentioned before, and the information that we're getting is that he is moving in the direction of practicing.

That's a sigh of relief from the other side of the Peace Bridge. McDermott always looks so cheery, doesn't he? He's thrilled to be there. I'm sure he's exhausted of being asked about it. Oh, yeah. Because a coach can't say something, and I always feel bad as bad as I can for a coach. When every day they're saying, I hope he's here, I don't know. But it's, you know, for a player like James Cook, I always want the player to get paid.

He's coming off a big year. He's at the right age. He's looking around the league. He just thought Kyron Williams get a pretty fair deal. He's looking north of Tyron Williams. Running backs just don't get paid, though. And you got to do it once. There's no second contract usually for running backs.

Nothing big. You have to be a star. You have to be a big time player to get a second contract at that position. Very short lifespan. And they clearly believe that there's a guy in the building in Ray Davis that could do a lot of similar things. And they don't want to lock themselves into the James Cook business long term. And take up that valuable cap space.

That's the problem with the cap world. Yeah. that's a big issue there we've had that here in Toronto a lot Buffalo the bills football same situation so all right let's let's fear back to baseball bringing Ryan Dempster now MLB Network and intentional talk host on MLB Network as well and also from Gibson's BC Ryan how are you

I'm doing great guys thanks for having me our pleasure so take us through your assessment of the Jays I mean obviously we're all excited here where does this go yeah I mean hey that's that's what it's all about and the excitement is what you want this time of year, right? And Toronto has it. I think you've got a really good ball club, you know, make some good pickups, getting Shane Beavers, a nice pickup.

I think, you know, adding depth to your rotation and just a solid nucleus of veteran guys and young guys and all this kind of stuff, good right-handed hitting, left-handed hitting, and they're getting it done. And it's really exciting because there's, like I've said multiple times, there's nothing better than the Rogers Center, you know, being packed, and I know it's going to be electric the next few days as the Cubs coming in town. Ryan, we've talked a lot about the six-man rotation being an option for the Blue Jays. Once Shane Bieber returns, we're expecting possibly as early as mid-next week.

How does that change the mindset and routine of a starter when you're getting the ball every sixth day instead of every fifth? yeah i i mean you know it's interesting i think i think there's a much more adjustability now than there than there used to be guys used to be so set in your routines but i i think you know that extra day sometimes um can help you know looking back my career i'm sure there's times where i probably could have used that extra day i think if a guy is making sure i don't like a six-man rotation then you keep a guy at like 90 pitch limit or a hundred pitch like let them go a little bit if you're giving them a whole extra day's rest um you know just why not let it eat for that week um it's different but it but also you know it can be

effective um and then and then you can kind of play with it if somebody's not pitching well you can move them out of that spot but um yeah i i was just such a creature a habit for me to think outside of that you know was was tough in the time but um i remember you know bob boom when I was in the Reds in 2003, you want to go back to the four-man rotation. So, you know, it's interesting how people want to go about it. And, you know, hopefully it works out for them. And then you don't have,

because you do have qualified starters. Qualified starters. Every one of them is throwing the ball well, so they all deserve to be in there. Ryan, one of those has been Max Scher, and we've seen the best of him lately. It took a bit of a weight in Toronto. He was dealing with that thumb issue through the early months.

But his last few addings, he looks like vintage, Mad Max. what is it like for you to not only watch him do this, but watch him do this at 41 years old. And most pitchers have been retired for a while at this age. He seems like he's still got it. Isn't it crazy that teams shied away from him because they didn't like his arm action

because we didn't think he'd stay healthy, and here he is still at 41. And his issues, if you look at the history of his career, haven't been his arm. It's been back, you know, hamstring, now a thumb. And, you know, for him, when the thumb happened, You got to remember, like, it's first few starts after that. That's basically his spring training.

You know, you can say, oh, we have a time, but to get back facing big league hitters and big league situations and go through all that, it takes a minute. Now he's got locked back in the velocity. I mean, he's still 94, 95 when he needs it. And he just knows how to pitch, man. You can't, if a guy still has stuff, you can't substitute experience.

It's just too valuable. He's seen too many swings. He's seen too many offers. He knows what's going on, and that's why, like, if they continue on this route and get to the postseason, he's a guy that I'm considering putting as my number one starter in the postseason because he's pitching those situations where the adrenaline's going, where guys try to do more. I remember that. I try to do more than I should have done in a postseason start because I thought it was, you know, the end-all-be-all.

Where somebody who's been in that so many times, they just have a steady calmness to them. and yeah, it's got to be a really nice thing for the Blue Jays that you take that gamble on Max Scherzer and for now, right now, it looks like it's trending in the direction of paying off. Ryan Dempster with us on the Maple Toyota Hotline. So, Ryan, just to continue that thought, sort of take us through the difference between starting in a playoff game and a regular season game.

What is the difference? You know, honestly, nothing. And that's the problem. It's controlling that and realizing that it is the same. It's just about making pitches, you know, because you can get caught up in it all, that it means more, that it's more important when the reality is, it just comes down, and you just got to execute pitches. I think the biggest thing, if I have to pick one thing, is you're playing a really good team

who's also locked in at that time. Like, you got to remember that. All those teams that are making the playoffs, those are the best teams going right now. So you're facing a really good lineup usually, and the deeper you get into the postseason, and the more that becomes evidence. So you really have to be focused. Don't take pitches off and just make sure that you are executing one pitch after another.

And that's all that matters. And, you know, when you try to make it grandiose, you try to make it bigger than it is, you can tend to get hurt by that. And then how do you fuel the adrenaline, especially your home crowd, use that adrenaline, use that energy in a positive way instead of it getting the best of you?

So to kind of keep on that deadline of thinking, And you noted that earlier, the six-man rotation, well, you can keep it going because everyone is pitching well, which is the case. But come playoff time, we're going to shorten that rotation, and someone's going to get squeezed out. And, you know, you were in a situation in your career where you ended up having to be converted into a reliever option for the team come the postseason. Like how difficult was that to kind of grasp and how different did that did your routine get when you had to be a reliever as opposed to, to a starter. Yeah, I think for me, at that time in my life, I was 36, 37 years old, 36 years old when it happened.

I'd been pitching for a long time. My number one priority, my only goal is to win a World Series. That's it. I immediately, I mean, our team in itself, we checked our egos at the door. It was never about me. It was about we. And so when I was approached by John Farrell, he called me in the office probably thinking I was going to, you know, do my best, Ricky Vaughn, throw something to Lou Brown imitation.

But I was like, oh, I get it. Jake PV, we got him in the trade. He was throwing the ball better than I was at the time. And Felix Dubron hadn't pitched out of the bullpen. So, and I closed three seasons. So it made logical sense, and I said, listen, all I want to do is win. And so I would like to pitch. I would like to contribute.

I don't want to just go down there. But also at the same time, you got to remember the guys who get you there are the reason you're there. So I knew I wasn't going to be pitching in these high-leverage situations out of the bullpen because we already had a closure. We already had Tezal one. Craig Breslo was throwing the ball really well. We had guys in Matt Thornton that were pitching well. So that wasn't my spot.

You know, when you're younger, you want to be, well, this doesn't make sense. How could you take me out of the rotation? But at the end of the day, if you checked yourself and go, they wouldn't be asking me to go out of the rotation if I was throwing the ball lights out right now. That's just not how it is. And every team's trying to win. So I think, you know, that's the one nice part. With the Jays, you have a lot of veterans.

So I think you're going to get a lot of that sentiment as well. We all want to start. I want to start a postseason game. I want to start a World Series game. I dreamt of that as a kid. But more importantly, I wanted it to win. And that's the only thing that matters. And if you put the Wii ahead of me, good things happen.

Ryan, coming out of this weekend with the Blue Jays, they matched up with the Dodgers. This was a big one, a big test for them. Now another one coming with the Cubs, who you know just as well as about anyone. What do you think this series is going to tell us about the Blue Jays with a challenge that the Cubs present to them? These are a couple of real heavyweights now in the majors. Yeah, I think it's a good, you know, it's a good look. It's a barometer, right?

But at the end of the day, too, you're feeling good about yourself. You don't really care a lot about what the other team or how good they've been or what they've done or where they're in the standings. You at this point in the season, when you're in first place and you're feeling this good, you feel like you can beat anybody on any given night. You feel like you can, you know, you can do that. You go into L.A., you know, you put yourself in a position and Flaherty comes in, bases loaded, and Otani gets out of that. That's a confidence boost.

So now you feel like it doesn't matter who you got. I just got out Shohei Otani with the bases loaded and won out on the bottom of the night. Who are you going to throw against me? Pete Cromstrung? Who are going to, Kyle Tucker? Cool, awesome. Those are good players, but I got out the best of the best. And so these are, you're at this point in the season where that doesn't

concern you as much. I think maybe like when you look at like end of May beginning in June and you're playing, okay, how do we bash up against the other good teams? Now you are one of the good teams and one of the better teams, you know? You're sitting there at the top of the American League. You feel like you can beat anybody and rightfully so. So I don't think

what we're going to see is a really good series with two really good ball clubs and you're going to see a lot of execution and then when you don't, you're going to see other teams pay for it and that's just you're going to see guys stealing bases. You're going to see guys making great defensive of plays, because you have those kind of players on each roster.

Well, we all have that image of, you know, the strikeout by Otani in the ninth inning that saves the Jay's bacon, basically, and the next place, the fielder's choice. That ends it. Where do you rank the Blue Jays bullpen? What are your thoughts on them? Yeah, I think it's been really good. You know, I have a little concern with Hoffman with the walks, you know, and you're just going through that.

But I also get that, I've been in that situation before. You're trying not to be careful because you've got a lot of guys in that lineup that could hit homers. I did set a major league record by walking four straight batters as a closer and still getting a save, so I can literally say I've been in the shoes. But I like, you know, I like the lefties they got. I like Rodriguez. I think that I was hoping, you know, I stated it beforehand, I was hoping that they

maybe try to make a run at Duran or make a run at, you know, a top line reliever, whether it helps leave from the Cardinals, but they didn't get it done. And that's their choice, right? Like, they're running their team. Just because you need more good arms. Like I said, when you get in the playoffs, you start whittling it down, you get to 12 teams and then 8 teams, and then 4, you need to swing and miss stuff because the guys just get that much better at the plate.

And so hopefully, you know, they got that. And I feel like they do. It's just a matter of not as much experience in those roles, but that doesn't mean you can't get it done. Ryan, since the MLB trade deadline, Is there a team in the American League, they think it started to separate themselves, like going into it, you know,

it was very wide open, and then pretty well every team made a move to better themselves. The J's included, but is there a team that separate themselves, or is it still kind of wide open for you in the American League? I think the team that made the best moves in the American League was the Seattle Mariners. I think adding Josh Naylor, you know,

he's not a huge 40-home run guy, but he is an RBI guy. He drives and runs. Look what he's done in the stolen base department. Hartman's he's got over there. That's kind of been unexpected. He's a good defender at first base. He's a great teammate.

I play with him in the WBC. He's fun. He brings a lot of energy. You go get Eugenio Suarez, who hasn't even really done what they were expecting him to do yet. I think that will come. They get Caleb Ferguson,

a nasty lefty from Pittsburgh, and all that while, they already had a good bullpen. They got a lights out closer in Munez. They got Matt Brash. They got a starting rotation that other teams are envious of. So, yeah, and they were already starting to swing it well.

It was like they took momentum and ran with it. And so I look at them as a ball club that is very dangerous going down the stretch because not only GI players, you have had experience. You know, look at Josh Naylor. He had a chance to go deep in the postseason last year before being traded to Arizona when he was with Cleveland. Yeah, I just, I think that to me when I graded the trading deadline of teams that made moves, I think they addressed every issue that they needed to address.

for the first time, really. So, yeah, they'll be interesting to see if they can overtake the Astros. Ryan, when you look a bigger picture in the league, I think last week it was when you were on intentional talk, you were saying that you thought the Blue Jays had a chance to pop a little more champagne than the Dodgers. And if I'm remembering right, Malar said you sound like a Leafs fan. I don't know if that's a compliment these days or an insult.

But when you look at the Blue Jays and their odds, not just to make the postseason, but to make a real run here, who else are you looking up as the big powers? It has to be the brewers at this point. What they're doing is incredible, but who do you think are there big hurdles to make another World Series run? Yeah, first of all, shout out to Kevin

that the fact that he even knew the Leafs were hockey. I was impressed. I was very impressed with that. So, you know, it's hard. Listen, the Red Sox are playing great baseball. So that's going to be a little bit of a challenge, and then they go lose three in a row. It's like, oh, here they come.

They got Garrett Crochet, and then he goes out there and gets hit around, by Houston. Yeah, I look at, there's nothing really runaway. Like, to me, I think the Yankees could miss the playoffs. You know, I think Cleveland is playing really good baseball right now, and I think that, you know, they could be dangerous because they always just find a way they're sneaky.

They, you know, and Detroit, like Detroit has hit this lull in their season. Is that because they're tuckering out, or are they just in this low period, right? You look at the last 162 games they've played from, you know, You know, the trading deadline last year to this year, they've been pretty good. And then it's like, do you keep up that pace? So, and then there's other teams, but, like, I've been expecting Texas to make a run and thought that maybe they would pop a little bit. So, like, when I look at it, I sit there and say, why not the Jays?

You know, you're sitting here. You've got the best record in the American League. You got a fan base that is electric. They feed off of that. You got as solid as rotation as anybody in the American League. And offensively, you're scoring runs without having. to hit home runs. And I love that because, you know, like, look at what the brewers have done since July 1st. As a team, the brewers are hitting 281. I watch him score 17 runs one game

without a home run. The next day they scored 12 runs without a home run. I saw them score 10 runs without a home run. It's great. Home runs are awesome. Do they win the game? Yeah. People always say, well, if the team hits the most home runs, that wins the game. For sure. Yeah, I completely buy into that. But it's also the base hit before the home run. The tough walk before the home run. They're getting on base with a two-run home run and not a solo shot. It's those kind of things that get you done.

Andrew Vaughn sat there with a five-to-one lead and runners on first and third, and he's as hot a hitter as they have in Milwaukee, and he's facing a lefty, and he rakes lefty, and he's safety squeezed. Because the most important thing was winning the game. It's not about

my stats, and that's kind of what I love about the Blue Jays is I look at it. Like, glad he has 19. Did he get to 20 yet? I think he had 19th. And so we don't have a guy You don't have a guy in the team with 20 home runs yet You're the best wrestling base That tells you a lot

But the value of putting the ball on play with two strikes About having tough at bat About getting a runner over About getting a runner in Now you hit the big three-run home run It's like, well we hit the three-run homer Cool It was all the hard work before the home run

Is the reason why you're winning that game And I just I see that in their ball club And I think that they do They have to see that And because of that they're playing great baseball we had on earlier Chris Colabello talking about how lit up the Rogers Center gets and he's on the home team you're in the visiting team you go into that building

help us give us some context on what what is different about that building or you know the experience of when it's lit up and you're on the visiting team yeah it's an interesting thing right it's like home field advantage you feel like it should be the same for both ways right Like, you have this immense amount of noise and the crowd gets going. But for whatever reason, when it's your home ballpark, you're able to channel that into an extra mile an hour or two on your fastball. You know, you're able to, like, treat it as like somebody's in your corner in the ring. And yet when you're on the other team, things tense up. The ball gets tighter in your hand.

I can't speak from hitting there, you know, but as a pitcher, it tightens up a little. Your hand gets a little bit harder on the ball. Maybe you're trying to be a little bit more perfect because you don't want to give up the big home run and have the roof blow off the place. You know, like all these things can creep in, and it's a real thing. And not every ballpark has it. The Rogers Center, A, it's big, can have a lot of people in there, and it's loud. It's just louder, just the way the setup is, and it's just, it can be obnoxiously loud for a visiting ball player, and it's a huge advantage. and that's why having, you know, the ability to have home field advantage through the playoffs,

man, you're talking about, I mean, legitimate, legitimate, you can go into statistics and all that kind of stuff, and you can talk, cool, I've been on that mound in that stadium when it's loud, when I was at the Red Sox, and, you know, my bad never lost there, but, you know, I totally remember what it's like, and then I've been in there as a spectator, and I've seen it on TV with the big moments that we've seen the bat flips and all that by Battista and all these things, it's real and so for them I think if they can find a way to continue

to play like they are and get home field advantage you know, man what a truly big blessing they would have going into the postseason. That's an interesting take on that, Ryan. Thanks very much for your time. Appreciate it. Yeah, absolutely, guys. Great to be with you. Thank you. There you go. Ryan Dempster,

former Major League Baseball pitcher starter and got into some relief work. Ryan joined us on the Maple Toyota hotline drive the built in Canada fuel efficient funder drive Toyota Ram 4 gas or hybrid models available visit maple tootaota.com and check that out I mean we don't talk much about the atmosphere you're in there I mean yeah if you go to a game you

you feel it but but to get the context of how that plays out across Major League Baseball that's fascinating to me this year's different and when I compare it even to the 22 and 23 playoff runs they were sold out crowds but two different sellout crowds they're not the same. You can tell when people are there for hot dogs or a bobblehead and when they're there because the team is hot. Right. And right now they're there because the team is hot. Yeah, there might be cheap dogs some night and there might be a giveaway, but they are there

because of the baseball team now. And the noise, the last month, completely different than the recent playoff runs. The players feel it, man. It's energizing because they're all exhausted. It's energizing and it's working totally different. Yeah, you can't get a ticket right now. I was looking into it. I might go down to the game. potentially Friday, you can't get a ticket even up in the bleeds for less than 60 bucks. Like earlier in the year, you try to get tickets in May, like you could easily get tickets for $14, $15 a day of easy for nosebleeds in the 500s. Now you're paying $60, $70, $100 for tickets to hop by.

Or $150. Yikes, yeah. There we go. As I did the other day. Yeah. I mean, that happens. Well, that's demand. It's the market value.

Right? They'll give all that money to a big slugger, don't worry. I think they already did. That's how it works. Yeah, they already did. They're getting out of the red at this point. One more to go, guys. One more, one more slugger to go. You have a powerless, brightest futures in sports for franchises.

Yeah. That's coming up next is Overdrive Grines on TSN 1050, TSN4 and live on YouTube. Set up for Al's brother to take over the proceedings here with the brightest futures in pro sports franchise-wise. Yes. Top five list, Little Al's Brother Power Ranking. Now we're bringing to the table here. And as you noted, top five franchises with the brightest future. So we'll go from five down to one and we'll kind of just break him down as we go.

And coming to that number five, got a little Cancon here. I like the Montreal Canadiens. I like the future. I like what they've been building over the last couple of years. They've been doing some good things in Montreal. Obviously, Lane Hudson's arrival last year and him breaking out into a superstar. Helps that. Ivan Demadov came in at the end.

of the air, you saw what type of buzz that did, and people believe he could be a true, like, 90 to 100 point guy, like that's big. To go on top of the Slavkovskys, the Coffields, the Suzuki's, there's a lot to be happy about if you're a Montreal-Canadians fan.

The future looks bright in Les Abitants world. What I like about the HABs is so many of these teams built through the draft, there's nothing to matter with that, and then bring in veteran pieces to help these guys figure out how to win. That team's driven by youth. I like that.

Yeah, and they're all, like, for the most part, you look at, Slavkovsky, Koffield, Suzuki, like those guys are locked in long term too. And they carry the team. Yeah. And eventually, you're clearly going to get the Hudson deal dealt with. You got Demadav for a couple of years at a cheap rate. You can bring in some guys, you know, to supplement that at the deadline if you want. I like what they're building in Montreal.

I think it's a team. They, you know, finally broke through, made the playoffs last year. I don't think it's a one-off. This is a team that I think is going to continue. continue to move forward in the NHL. So you've got the Canadians coming in at number five. They've nailed the drafting too, which is what makes this sustainable.

They've got some surplus draft picks coming up. I think they have another two next year. They can deal. Like I think they can make that jump now with their major players in the trade market as well and shop with the big boys. They made that nice little piece too. They went and acquired oh, who was it that they brought in from St. Louis? Bull Duke.

Jack Bull Duke for Logan Mayu. And it's just a great trade. That in excess of surplus of, you know, bottom men the defensemen, an NHL defenseman, I believe, but someone who's maybe a bottom four guy, and you bring in a third line winger with a little bit of grit, just to balance out your lineup. So I thought that was a great trade as well to kind of add to what the Canadians have

been up to. So they come in at number five for me. Coming in at number four, we're going to go to the NFL. I like the future of the Denver Broncos. I like the Broncos. I mean, you look at the season they had a year ago. I think a lot of people were surprised at the success that they were able to have

with rookie quarterback, Bo Nixon fold. But he turned out to be a pretty solid quarterback. And it's easy to play the quarterback position, or easier to play the quarterback position. We have arguably the best offensive line in football, which is what they have. When you have Sean Payton as their head coach, who knows how to win football games and big time games as well,

former Super Bowl winner, they got a terrific running back in the draft this year to try and help that process. But really, you look at it, they've also had the best defensive football. the reigning rookie or the reigning defensive player of the year. And Pat Sertan is unbelievable as a corner, a little lockdown, shutdown corner, Revis Island 2.0, if you will.

And they've got a lot of other pieces on that defense I like as well. And locked up long term too. So similar to the Canadians, it's a young group and they're locked in and ready to go. I think that the Broncos are going to be competitive with the Chiefs for the next few years here in the AFC West. Love the next story. I mean, this guy was a debate for a week or two and then just took over. So anytime that happens, that's great for

a franchise. And they've given him a lot of help, too. Like, I love that they even brought in Evan Engram. Like, he's not the most dynamic guy in the world. He's going to suck up a bunch of targets. He's going to move the chains. I love that they added R.J. Harvey. The running game's going to do a lot. Sean Payton's going to have some fun. Pat Bryant, the receivers, some young guys

they've got in there on top of Cortland Sutton, man. The defense, like, Sean Peyton plus a defense, bingo. Yeah. You're happy. Great defense. Like, that's the thing. So I expect big things in the Broncos this year. They're going to be competitive, not just this season, but moving forward. Sounds like a man with the over Broncos wins over here.

Oh, I do. I have over over on the way. I think it's nine and a half. Yeah. The over there. Hammered the over. I also, uh, I like the future of the San Jose Sharks who come in at number three for me. So going back to hockey, I think what Mike Greer's done out there.

And you look at last year, they bring in Macklin's Sellebrini. I mean, it was an obvious number one overall pick there, but he had a heck of a rookie season. And that said, like he looked like a guy who can lead a franchise. And when you have a guy who can lead a franchise. guy who can lead a franchise like that, down the middle, you know, I think that that goes a long way to building out your team. This year, you come in, Michael Mesa, right there. You got Yaroslav Ascrov, you picked up in a trade. I still believe in him, which was incredible in the American League last year. So I think they're building the pieces properly here. They've got Will Smith.

We've got a lot of really good young talent, and they're starting to kind of insulate that with some veterans around them. So I like what's going on in San Jose. I think it's a bright future there. not liking it no I mean I like what they're doing I just don't know if it be number three on my all sports franchise I'm just high on Macklin Celebrini I would be to be a stud

absolute stud okay well that's me go ahead to Keegan do you think this takes a while though like is this the year they becomes the little no I don't I don't think they're ready yet and this for me when I'm projecting like when I looked at my list it wasn't this year like necessarily it could be teams like I think the Canadians and Broncos are there

but it's also all right this team is built for, you know, five, six, seven years of sustainable success. That's kind of where my parameters went with the sharks. So it might not be this year that they take that step. I don't expect them to be a playoff team, but they're putting the pieces together. And I think eventually it's going to break through. I think they'll have some success with the group that they're building. Coming in at number two, again, this is another team that's having success this year,

but I think we'll have sustained success. The Detroit Tigers. I look at the Detroit Tigers, and I think, man, they're already one of the best teams in the American League. You've got the best pitcher in baseball and Turing Scoob over the last couple of years. Paul Skeen's might have something to say, but it's very comparable, 1A, 1B. Spencer Torkelson is finally turning into the talent that we expected him to become when he was the number one overall pick. Riley Green is turning into that.

And I took a look at the farm system. They have five players in the top 52 in MLB Pipelines, top 100. Jackson Joe being one of their top pitching prospects in all of baseball, it can come in and help with the Tariq Scoobles, the Casey Mises of the world to really get that rotation cooking over the next five years. The Detroit Tigers, they were a surprise this season early on, and they've cooled off a little bit, but I still expect them to be a competitive baseball club,

not just this year, but for years to come. I would agree with you. And, I mean, their story started to take off late last year. So let me throw this at you, Kagan. I mean, it's not literally the same as the Jays, but kind of the same story, isn't it? It just comes out of not nowhere, but it comes suddenly. Happens when it happens, and you need it all to come together at the right time. The Blue Jays outspend the Tigers, and that's what I'm interested to see where they go next,

where they're spending in Detroit. If you win, if you make it to an ALCS, more money comes in, you can put that out. Everything works financially. But especially when you get someone like Scoobel going up against, you know, the end of their deal, and how much do you spend there? Because watching him pitch is a joy, man. Like a big lefty like that, built big, country strong, throwback, attacks, attacks, attacks, hitters.

It's so fun to watch a pitcher like that who you can tell is going to sustain it and going to stick around. They're not just here to try and throw 104 once. They're trying to do it over and over again. And when you've got that as a foundation, and you've got like those five prospects top 52, that typically means you suck. That typically means you're bottom of the league and you're about to come back.

You're the Orioles from a few years back. Right. But to have present-day value along with prospects coming up. An embarrassment of riches to be a Tigers fan right now. Like you've got the present and future of your ball club. Another team in baseball that I consider in this list, an honorable mention, that fits the same mold, like the Boston Red Sox have a bunch of top prospects. They've got some boxy come.

And now you've got like Garrett Crochet in the mix as an ace starter. You know, like they've got some guys who are going to come. come through. Roman Anthony is going to be a stud. And so that was kind of an honorable mention that I had on this list here. Two baseball teams with a bright future. But coming in at number one. Is there any kind of drum roll here? There we go.

There we go. The San Antonio Spurs. I think the Spurs. I mean, you look at, I mean, Victor Wenbenyama is just an absolute gift for that franchise to get that. So many years' success under Greg Popovich and right towards the end of his career. they give him Victor Wembenyama as a parting present basically. You know, they haven't broke through yet per se, but he hasn't been healthy, you know, really to the extent of what he can be.

But, man, like the way this guy can play the sport of basketball is almost like anything we've ever seen. Like he's 7 foot 6. Got an unbelievable wingspan. He can shoot the ball. He can defend. He's athletic. It's unreal the way that Victor Wemdama can play.

We've got the reigning rookie of the year. Stefan Castle. They just signed Dearon Fox to a long-term deal. They drafted Dylan Harper, another young, talented player. So they've got a young nucleus here. And I would imagine that at some point, like,

they're going to start to be the destination for some veteran for agents are going to want to go to attach themselves to a Wenbenyama of sorts as this team starts to win a lot of basketball games. So for me, the Spurs, I think that they've got a very bright future. I'm not going to argue with you there. I mean, we did

the game where he absolutely wiped out the rafters. Oh, yeah, like 11 block, 10 blocks in that game? You're watching that game and you go, here he is. So, where we go. It's unbelievable. And what Mike says is exactly, yeah, it's going to be a destination. Not just for superstars, but that's how you get the 34-year-old veteran who says, hey, I'll take that minimum just to come and chase one.

Right. That's the best spot where you get it. You've seen it with Yokic and LeBron and the big ones, but they're still their big move away, too. Like, they haven't made their other big superstar with. Wemby move yet and that's where it gets excited because any superstar who's on the market and ideally some good ones come up it doesn't just have to be Durant every year but you're going to have a big one come up and it's always going to be the spurs in that because they haven't struck yet they still have control of their picks and got cash to do it and that's where this gets

excited because Wemby alone is a destination but if you can add a star next to him that's I like that as number one a lot yeah you're right we're going to miss that Durant story when annuals that fills some summers baby It does, yeah. It's valuable. Who got scalpled off your list? I mean, who was sort of there? A team that I considered putting on this.

I mean, Oklahoma City is a team that I think also. I like that story. Well, they just won a championship. So for me, I almost disqualified because it's like, how much better could you get than being a title with the best player in the league? I know, but you go from Duran, Westbrook, and Hardin to this. Yeah. That's a nice transition.

Oh, 100%. Like, absolutely. Like, they are going to have a very broad. right future, but I wanted to look at teams that hadn't won yet, I suppose. I kind of disqualified them from the list. But that's another team that, I mean, again, they've got all these players. They're all under 25. He's what? 25, 26 years? Like, he's still very young. Oh, he's just starting to get into his prime, right? They got everyone else locked up long term. They gave up a lot of money out this summer lining, getting everybody

under contract. So that's a team. They consider putting in this list, but kind of disqualify them. The Washington Commanders was an interesting team as well, just because of Jane Daniels. But the rest of the roster, I question. But at least having your quarterback and a guy who looks like he can be a franchise quarterback, one who could potentially be a top five guy, I think we're going to have Mike Sandoan in just under an hour, has him as a six best quarterback in all of football. That's coming off a rookie season.

historic rookie season. If he takes off, that'll be a destination as well. A guy that brings players in and if they can figure out some issues on defense, it's an aging defense. The offensive line needs some help too. So I couldn't quite put the commanders in there, but I mean, Daniels made it a slightly compelling option. Did you, when you thought about the Raptors, where did you go with that? Not even remotely. Really? Really? Not even. I have to be honest.

I didn't even think about the Raptors. When I think about bright futures, they are so far removed. They could be a five or six seed this year. That's not that bright. But what do they? I don't look at this team. Who's going to be a superstar for this team? Their future's good.

Yeah. That's it. There'll be a middling team. All of these teams I could see competing for championships at some point. Okay. The Raptors. I don't. I mean, right now, no.

He's got that 2032. But if these guys develop into what they're supposed to be, like right now, the opposite is there, but the San Jose Sharks, I got to, who's the Macklin-Cellibrini on the Raptors? I don't know, Scotty, has proven that he's that guy yet. I just, I think that the Raptors, you know, to me are, is it the glass half full or half empty? They could be really good or this could be the start of something not good.

And we'll figure that out over the course of the next year. a very low ceiling, the Raptors. I think you're looking at five or six seat. That's not a bad jump from where they are. Is that great, though, Tat? Well, the East isn't great, but, I mean, at least they're not regressing. It's pretty hard to aggress from what we saw over the last couple of years. Well, that's true.

Go to Washington. There's some bad stories that East where it's an annual thing. It goes from bad to worse. Well, and you can't tank because it doesn't matter. I mean, if Dallas is going to win and San Antonio, That was another team that was an honorable mention for me. The Dallas Mavericks, I mean, getting a generational talent like Cooper Flag, that is another kind of big-time get for them.

That was another honorable mention on this list. But you want with two NHL teams, which is impressive. Yeah, I mean, we live in Canada. Yeah, I'm going to argue with you about San Jose. I mean, I like what they have. Yeah. I just don't see it turning into any kind of serious run at this point. Montreal, absolutely, I could see that.

Yeah, yeah, fair enough. Yeah, we agree to disagree. Coming up next, did I ever do this? By the way, I didn't give the sponsor read, which is kind of a big problem. Overdrive is brought you by a Fandul, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score as we continue on

on TSN4, TSN1050, and live on YouTube. Ah, that's Yes, Guy, Music. Welcome back. Overdrive continues Jim Tadie Keegan Matheson and Al's brother, Mike DeStefano, And on the way back in the CPKC women's open coming to Mississauga Golf and Country Club next week, here's your chance to win a pair of tickets to the penalty box on Friday, August 22nd, a semi-private box located right on the 10th hole. Caller number 10 at 416-870, 1050 will win tickets to the event.

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They get about town. They get around. So a couple of things that we didn't deal with earlier. One is Shoe Yatane. There's a $240 million real estate deal in Hawaii that went, I don't know if it went south is the right way to say it. who's a project manager removed and there's a lawsuit filed against Otani and company for some sort of an influence on that and I don't know you know I mean there's the lawsuit there's

the 240 million bucks and I'm not asking anybody to feel sorry for this guy but you know he he makes that kind of money he's that notorious how do you live a life yeah and you just don't want your name out there for business anything it's rarely out there for good business but bad business or business has become confrontational. You'd have to sort of be a silent partner in order to survive, right? And that's why, guys, the more and more I'm around pro athletes, the more impressed I am by guys who keep their name out of this. And the example I keep coming back to, this is my Nova Scotian bias, but Sidney Crosby,

he's been the biggest name in Canada and one of the biggest in the U.S. in pro sports for two decades. Yeah. And I barely hear a thing about the guy. You know, even back home, you barely hear a little. thing about the guy where everyone's talking about everyone. But when I look at Otani being involved in this and his name coming in this, it's not something you like. Now, of course, the lawsuit itself is not for that large of a dollar

amount. That's the real estate development. But some of the details about that were interesting. It was being advertised as, you know, Otani will have a place here. He'll even spend time here in the offseason. It was really selling, you know, you might get to have a beer with Shohay. So there's lots of interesting stuff going on on all sides. Well, and depending on who put that out, that may be why the person was removed. Maybe. Yeah. A little pushing the envelope there.

He didn't sign on for that. He commodified a bit. Who knows? I just look at it now. This is two years in a row where this guy's been involved in, like, some sort of scandal. Like, there was obviously, like, there are two different situations. Like, the Epegambling thing was obviously completely separate to this. But does wonder, like, is he surrounding himself with people who have his best interests in mind all the time?

If you put yourself in the guy's shoes, I mean, how would you handle that? You're in a different culture, different part of the world. I mean, at some point you have to trust somebody, which is a hard thing to do when you got that kind of a bankroll behind you because people are deceptive. Let's be honest here. It's got to be the right person at the right time. And especially when you're involved in as many things, like I'd be fascinated to really get down to the real number of how many deals, broadly speaking, Otani has.

I'm talking clothing companies, food and beverage companies in Japan, where he is, he's not just a star, he's a god. He goes beyond anything we can comprehend here in North America in terms of athletes, multiply it by a hundred. The number of deals he must have and the number of people who are involved in all of those deals, if anything along that chain goes wrong, their name's not in the paper because we don't know who Joe Johnson is. We know Otani's name, though, if he's tied to it. Well, look, you know, obviously pop culture has all kinds of victims, if you will, because they were put in a position that they just didn't know about him. And the evolution of it is people are a lot smarter with that now. And people have made money in professional sports, tons of money, but not like this.

This is a new category, isn't it? This is a new level. And you're seeing it with NBA players as well, where salaries are going. It's every salary I see is blowing me away. It's a new level. guys in the NHL must be sitting there like come on what are we doing here but it's coming it's coming but NBA has just had that massive jump and Major League Baseball is having that massive jump right now where the term and the money is both there well that's right I find it very interesting how this conversation with with the you know the CBA coming to an end and discourse surrounding a potential salary cap in baseball which would put an end to that

So I'm curious how much the players would actually want that. It would complicate it. And I would think probably not a whole lot. Coming up next to hour number three, going to move over to TSN2. We'll have confirm or deny Mike Sando from the NFL. We'll stop by as well. We also continue on TSN 1050 and live on YouTube.

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