OverDrive - OverDrive - February 14, 2025 - Hour 1

Episode Date: February 14, 2025

Join Aaron Korolnek and Frank Corrado for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss the Canada and USA battle at the 4 Nations Face-Off, USA's domination against Finland for a victory, and Canada's lineup construction for the game. Longtime Blue Jays Outfielder Jose Bautista joins to discuss his Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s elite skillset and the Blue Jays' roster impressions.

An iHeartRadio experience to see Teddy Swim's life. We'll hook you up with tickets, flights, two nights in Chicago, plus $500 spending cash. All you need to do? Stream iHeart new music on the free iHeartRadio app for just 10 consecutive minutes a day. Another day, another shot to win. Details at iHeartRadio.ca. Don't miss Teddy Swim's new album, I've tried everything but therapy part two available now This hour of overdrive is powered by FanDuel. FanDuel bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score Alright, here we go. It is mail it in Friday here on overdrive. I'm Aaron Kuralnik with my friend Frank Corrado. We are celebrating Valentine's together for the next three hours on TSN4 and TSN1050 in for

Hayes, Noodles and the ODOT. Frank, great to see you my brother. What's going on? Hey buddy. Yeah, great to be with you. What's going on for Valentine's Day for you? Single guy down on King Street. You're all dressed up, like you're kind of, you're halfway there, you just need another half. So I do indeed. Al's brother is now the resident genius when it comes to love here at TSN 1050 as you're well aware. Doogie and JP, myself behind just listening to Al's brother, tell us about all his big plans, going for an expensive Italian dinner, then going to a concert. Meanwhile, the three of us pigeons are just trying to figure out, you know, can we talk to somebody?

Some potential romance in the air, it seems quite unlikely, but that is the sound associated with the three of us. But for Al's brother, it's the exact opposite. Right now, he's absolutely gunning it down the 401, looking forward to getting home and getting down to whatever business he's getting down to tonight. He's got everything. He's got the flowers. He might have a little rose petals going. Al's brother, he'll do it upright.

No doubt about that. Rose petals? Is that out of the Frank Curato School of Valentine's Day rose petals? No, no, no, no. No rose petals, buddy. We're just very simple. You know what? Back in the day when I was dating my wife, if I had to pick her up, get the door, you know, get the chair, all that kind of stuff. Get the door. Yeah. Some would

call that the bare minimum Frank. Old school. I'll tell you what actually, the bare minimum. When I was playing for Toronto, that's when we started dating, I really wanted to impress her, so we always took an Uber Black. Then as time has gone on, now we take the cheapest possible Uber because... You know what I mean? We don't got to do that anymore. No, you're good. I have a friend whose name I will not reveal here on national television who once was going

on a date. He took an Uber Black... Sorry, he took an uber black sorry he took a regular uber to around the corner of the girl and then ordered an uber black in front of her house so she thought that he had taken an uber black all the way it's a little bit of a regrettable move but only in the fact that I know about it and she never found out about it. Are they together? Are they still together?

And I think the credit goes to the Uber Black as opposed to the Uber X. Well done. Really stepping up. Well done, buddy. Well, you know what? You and I are stepping up today. The boys aren't here. It does feel a little bit like you and I are maybe Travis Sandheim and Thomas Harley.

We're the reinforcements. Although, Thomas Harley doesn't get to skate with the team unless Kale McCarr can't play, which is weird, but at least they got someone on standby. You know what that feels like, the Thomas Harley thing? He's a very good player. Absolutely. If he was the eighth guy up on this team, I don't think a lot of people would argue it per se, but it's like who is young enough that they can't necessarily say no to us, who's a good player and could just be here, you know, at the drop of a hat. So if you missed it, Team Canada practiced that Akail McCarr was absent and there were some serious concerns around the Canadian hockey community with McCarr absent. He has an illness. John Cooper did say that he, I'm not sure he There were some serious concerns around the Canadian hockey community with Macar absence.

He is an illness. John Cooper did say that he, I'm not sure he said I expect him to play or I'm confident he will play. Expect is a big word, but I'm confident. I'm confident he'll be there. That's John Cooper, the coach of Canada in reference to Kale Macar. And yeah, that's a very big deal for Canada. If he isn't there, no disrespect to Thomas Harley.

Kale Macar is one of the best players on the planet. He played 28 minutes against Sweden. Canada needs him against the Americans. But the whole rules situation with this tournament, it seems as if, actually it doesn't seem as if, they are making it up on the fly. Who can come in? What are the protocols? It's as if they didn't contemplate, Frank, oh, there could be an injury in this tournament, maybe we should come up with something in

case there is. Well, they made the tournament up so they can make the rules up as they go. Literally as they go. Like there's no governing body that they have to report to. But if I'm the Americans, if I'm the Americans, I'm saying why is Canada allowed to add a player? I mean, this wasn't in the rules before the tournament started. All of a sudden, they can just bring in a player? Now, I'm certainly not opposed to it. I'm supporting Canada, of course, but you can understand the perhaps concerns from the other nations. This is a direct benefit to the Canadians.

But what are you going to do? Like if you're going to play with five defensemen, you can't have someone come and join your team. I would put it this way. I would like similar to what they're doing, your defensemen or your player, if you need someone because you have injuries, can come join your group but cannot play unless you're at a deficit where you're at the point you're going to have to play five defensemen or you're going to have to play 11 forwards. That's a pretty reasonable compromise that I think everyone can get behind because what are you going to do? Are you going to fake it?

No, you're not going to fake it because chances are you picked player X on your team already because you thought he was the better player. So listen, it's been unbelievable. It still is a tournament that was made up by the NHL. So they can make up the rules as they go. And that is kind of the case with a lot of things when it comes to the league. It's at our discretion. It's at Gary Bettman's discretion. And Thomas Harley is the guy that gets called up. And you know what I did come across? Like in the first game, Cale McCarr played over 28 minutes. Devon Taves played over 25 already. And that was without Shay Theodore for what? 50 minutes of that game. You know, so now Travis Anaheim is gonna is

gonna step in those guys are playing a lot McCarr is sick it's a little bit of a it's an interesting situation to see how that plays out what are you gonna play Kale McCarr 30 minutes and he's he's under the weather like a game it's a game for Canada and you need points because this tournament is extremely short Canada did not get the three points in the opener they won an overtime they got the two points the Americans did get the three points last night against Finland winning 6-1 a game that started out in an ugly way if you're Connor Hellebuck. Henry Yoki Harju fires a muffin on net somehow finds his way

past Hellebuck and I'm sure all the Winnipeg Jets fans out there thinking, uh-oh, is this the playoffs again for Connor Hellebuck? But he studied the ship. He was really good from there on out. And in the third period, Mike Sullivan, the coach of the Americans, unites the Kachuk bros who absolutely dominate Finland as we expected, right? I think, I was on the show yesterday, Frank,

I predicted a six-nothing win or seven-nothing win for the Americans. They won. You weren't giving the Finns any respect? I said the Finns wouldn't pick up a point in this tournament. I did say that, and I could be wrong. I'm wrong about most things. Well, I will say they played better and they kept it closer than I thought. Me too. UC Saros in the third period was playing dodgeball.

Yeah, he was a civ. Unfortunately, that was part of the biggest issue for them. That goal that goes in 15 seconds into the third period, the Matthew Kachuk goal, right after that, the wheels completely fell off for him and it felt like for the rest of the team, that's not going in. It shouldn't be going in. He's made that save a million times and as a result of that, UC Saros is now not playing for Finland in their next game. They're going to go to Kevin Lankenen, so that's the first big, you know,

goaltender switch, I guess, that we're gonna see in this tournament. As an aside, like, can it get any worse for the Nashville Predators? I mean, third worst team in the NHL, and now their goalie, who they just signed to a massive long-term extension in the summer, is getting pulled in favor of Kevin Lankenen

when he thought UC Saros was gonna be the guy for Finnish hockey for the next decade. At least does not appear to be the case tomorrow. Finland taking on Sweden and the Canadians playing the Americans tomorrow night in a game, Frank, that I think has become absolute must-watch for any hockey fan. I don't care what nationality, if you're Canadian, if you're American, if you're from Uzbekistan, you should want to tune into this game tomorrow night. And of course this has become in many respects a political situation. There is a crossover from

politics to hockey here and the booing of the anthem was a major conversation today. Brad Marshawn comes out and says he didn't like it and you heard Matthew Kachak come out and say he didn't like it. Of course nobody likes it but it's a reality the situation, the political landscape in our country respective to what's going on in the United States with this was an inevitability. You knew this was going to happen coming into this tournament. You saw it at Raptors games, you saw it in Ottawa with the Senators. It's been happening for a while now and of course it's going to happen in this tournament.

Now tomorrow night, I'm not sure what type of plans you have Frank. I know exactly what your plans are you're gonna be in front of your television watching this game it is going to be an extraordinary atmosphere as hostile as it gets for the Americans and my advice to them would be embrace the booze and use it as a galvanize galvanizing effect because They didn't like it and I totally understand why, but the best way if you want to shove it in the fans who are booing your national anthem is to go out and win and that's what they're going to try to do but it won't be easy against a Canadian team

that I think will be ready as well. Listen when it's all said and done the guys who are on the ice are playing a hockey game and when they're standing there listening to the national anthem and they hear it booed they're gonna have a little bit of a adrenaline rush a little extra motivation whatever you want to call it politics aside like just you know talking about the hockey portion of it you love these kinds of hostile environments and even if you are the quote-unquote villains it's so cool to be a part of it because this is not something that's regular this is not something that's regular. This is not something that happens often.

So, you know, to have the extra energy in the building and to be able to feed off that one way or another is gonna be really cool for the players. And like, I can't help but think about this matchup when it comes to, you know, how they're gonna match things up in the sense that Mike Sullivan you talked about he went to Brady Kachuk and Matthew Kachuk on the same line late in

the second period yesterday and that was unbelievable they completely dominated the game and the thinking I think going into it was well what's better than one Kachuk two Kachuks so let's have one on one line one on another line So there's no reprieve or at least 50% of the game you could call it There's gonna be one of these guys being so annoying on the ice But now you put them together and you knew you were gonna have that in your back pocket and team Canada They probably have to put together a line here that has a little bit of a response that can go head-to-head with those guys So, you know, they're gonna have to shift things around which it sounds like they did that at practice today like the game is incredible

already and it's going to be incredible but the game within the game is gonna be something else that we have to keep our eye on like the it's a little bit of a cat-and-mouse thing and I think with with John Cooper like he's known for that Mike Sullivan obviously has been a won a lot In the NHL and winning two Stanley Cups as a head coach It's gonna be pretty cool to see how how that kind of lines up in this game And you can see the odds on fan duel here on TSN for

USA minus 110 Canada minus 110 a literal pick them there is no favorite in this game I have no idea how it's going to go and that is the beauty of this matchup you talked about John Cooper some of the line constructions he was perhaps pondering he had Marshand Sam Bennett and Seth Jarvis together would not enjoy playing against that line and then he had his Tampa Trio together Braden points centering Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel. So the reality is here, it doesn't matter which line goes against which line,

the four lines for both teams are all awesome hockey players. It's Canada, the United States. This is not, these are the best of the best, or tomorrow night I should say. And I think John Cooper and Mike Sullivan would be very comfortable about any of their lines going up against the other team's best lines. It's just going to be a sensational atmosphere. You heard Brady and Matthew talking post-game about how much this means to them.

Brady Kichuck saying these games have been the joy of his playing career and he's been stuck in Ottawa, no disrespect to Ottawa, but they haven't achieved anything with regards to playoff success. Of course his brother winning in Calgary, getting up there and playing in meaningful games, of course winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last year. I'm sure this is just an incredible moment for the Kachuk family and really for USA hockey as a whole, Frank, consider how the Canadians, Crosby, Dowdy were there in 2010, Brad Marshawn was there in 2016, the World Cup of hockey, so they have at least three guys who have been part of this and part of this winning.

The USA roster, I mean, nobody. It's a complete changing of the guard. It's a complete changing of the guard. The all-time leaders, Brett Hull and Keith Kachuk and Bill Guerin and Jeremy Roenick and that just goes on and on. Well, but even think about the World Cup of Hockey team that they would have had, right? Like guys with JVR not have been on that team.

Yeah, JVR. Guys like Kevin Schattenkirk. Ryan Kessler. Think about Parise, Kessler. Patoretti, yep. Yeah, this is a totally different group now. And like at the grassroots level, the United States has done things differently than Canada. And I think enough time has gone by now that that has to factor into the conversation as

well. Like how they're developing their guys, the route that you take to get to the NHL, all is going to be valid when it's all said and done. And we have our summits on how hockey is going in our countries. It's going to be really cool to see this game, man. It's the best on best and both rosters are so deep you can throw anyone out there on the ice. The last time around in the World Cup of Hockey, did the Americans not win a game?

Did they not go 0-3? They went 0-3. They lost their last two games in Sochi. of hockey did the Americans not win a game like they went oh and three they lost their last two games in Sochi so they've lost five straight games internationally at best on best have the Americans well I guess prior to last night that is so yeah yeah they're looking to make amends and this is a team a generation of American hockey players that view themselves as just as good if not superior to that of Canada and that's why I think tomorrow night is going to be just so incredible and

True appointment viewing I think Canadian hockey men's Canadian hockey for me best on best is the appointment viewing Maybe number one when it comes to any and all things that I'm including Leafs playoffs I'm cleaning the Raptors and the Jays and I don't know the final round of the Masters And I know it's the four nations face-off. It's a made-up tournament and it's not the Olympic Games. These guys are going balls to the ball. I don't care at all we got to throw that narrative out because it doesn't matter anymore this is real this is serious business. I was talking to your boy Coco this morning on the radio about this and I asked him like were you one of those guys that thought this was gonna be a nohitter? I think he was on the fence about it, like just wasn't sure. But if you've

ever spent any time with hockey players, whether it's like on a golf course or if you've seen the card game or if you've seen like something as dumb as like ping pong, how competitive these guys get for seemingly nothing? and then you throw national pride and all the eyeballs and all the viewers in the arena and all the media that comes with it. If you've seen it for nothing, you're going to see how competitive it is with a lot on the line, a lot of pride on the line. We've seen that so far, which has been pretty amazing. It is the furthest thing from a no-hitter, man.

Last night, the Kachucks were throwing their bodies around. They were involved. That's the thing about this American team. I think AK is like, they were built a certain way and they're going to play to that identity. And I thought as that game went on, they started to do it more and more. And I think one of the narratives that, I can't remember if it was Mike Sullivan or Billy Garren was talking about, there's a lot of great individuals there. They just had to mesh together as a team. You could start to see that come to life a little bit.

I think for Canada, they started their game against Sweden so well. Clinical first period. Sweden couldn't even get out of their own zone. There was a lull for them in that game. They need to find what they were doing in the first period and for the Americans They had a nice steady build that they would be kind of carrying over into Saturday night's game It like it it just sets up to see like who's got it right away Or if both teams are ready to go and it just feels like they're playing chess for 60 minutes No, you're absolutely right. And I think part of this is political That's why a lot of people will be tuning in if you're not

a big hockey fan there will be a lot of people want to see how this all looks in Montreal and what happens on the ice and I think you also need to consider how the World Juniors have gone a lot of these guys have come through the World Junior program and have had a lot of success from the American perspective and with Canada I mean the last couple years especially, that has not been the case. This is a battle for whose sport is this? And I know tomorrow night is not the final and the final will go six nights from tonight in Boston but it could go a long way in determining if you make the final. If the Americans can beat the Canadians in regulation, USA is

through to the final. They don't have to worry about that third game. The Canadians would prefer, I'm certain, to win tomorrow night and not have to sweat out that game against Finland on Monday afternoon. I think that would be a big advantage for whoever's able to come up with those points tomorrow. Again, it's such a short tournament, and you talked about the chemistry, a lack thereof, for certain lines

and certain teams. It's a lot of it, just a mishmash, right? And you consider the power plays, which for Canada, this struck within 10 seconds, right? That American power play didn't get cooking until Adam Fox was moved off PP1, who's Zach Wierenski at the point. He was an absolute monster. I think he had three assists in the third period alone. A couple of those on the power play.

So you saw both teams make adjustments throughout the course of that game and it all sets the stage for what will be an absolutely incredible night in Montreal tomorrow. And I wish I had one of those, you know that Adam Sandler movie where he can like skip ahead time and just get right to it. I can skip the rest of Valentine's Day, which won't be overly exciting for me anyways. Just get me to Canada. You guys, you got, I know you got a romantic dinner tonight and all you're gonna be thinking about is Canada vs USA tomorrow I am so excited man. I am so excited for this game. I cannot recall being fired up for something in a long time

I think it's going to be an absolute spectacle in so many respects and Man, do I hope Canada beats those guys. I really do. We thought there was going to be an overreaction after game one. How about the overreaction when this game is all said and done? Depending on what happens. I can't imagine. It's lopsided. I think it's going to be really tight, 2-1, 3-2 type of thing. It could be an overtime game. But the overreaction is going to be great. There's going to be really tight 2-1 3-2 type of thing. It could be an overtime game but the overreaction is going to be great. There's going to be a lot of eyeballs on it and the game within the game all the matchups are going to be incredible. Mike Johnson will

join us live from Montreal coming up in about 40 minutes. Bob Wisschusen who was on the call for ESPN last night for the American win over the Finns coming up in our number three. Joey Bats joins us in five minutes. Can't wait for that. Jose Bautista, Mark Kestasher live from NBA All-Star Friday night where the Celebrities game is going down in San Francisco. The big event on Saturday, All-Star Saturday night with a dunk contest, three-point contest, and a bunch of other stuff coming up on the NBA All-Star Weekend which is always fun.

We'll also get Kesty's thoughts on the Raptors as well. Joey Bats in five minutes. I'm Aaron Kuralnik, that's Frank Corrado. This is Hour One of Overdrive on TSN4 and TSN1050. Mail It In Friday is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree, a side and a drink and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza.

Our one continues here on Overdrive. Mail it in Friday. Corona Corrado here with you until seven o'clock. Jose Batista will call in in a matter of moments. Spring training right around the corner for the Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. remains without a contract. Frank, you have a countdown on your phone until Monday. Well, that's the deadline. The deadline for Vlad. Here's the thing about the deadline. Yeah, you could tell them you have a deadline, but if they want to talk shop and it starts to get enticing for you like don't you I don't know don't you take a peek at that a

little bit or how do you just say don't even bother me with it like if it starts to get up around the number that you want it to be I just feel like it would be too enticing to look at it you know what I almost think is more interesting than this deadline that Vlad has put into place is the fact that Bo Bichette comes out today who's also a pending unrestricted free agent in addition to Vlad jr. and says no we haven't had any talks but from my perspective we all grew up wanting to be one of those guys that has an opportunity to stay with an organization for their entire career no talks with Beau Bichette at all that's

surprising that I'm not surprised about that because didn't it feel like last year there were times where it was almost like one foot out the door, whether it was the organization or him, it felt like it was rocky. And so now I guess if you haven't had talks, you've kind of left the door open for that a little bit. Like I just, I wouldn't be surprised if it was coming to an end. Not saying that's the right thing or the best thing, but just with the way last year went, it felt like it was up and down, I just, I wouldn't be surprised.

No, and I think that appears to be the case. I mean, if that's the direction that they're going in, it's an interesting one, but to have no conversations I thought was fascinating in that you would expect maybe some kind of conversation to be broached, but apparently not the case at the moment. So spring training is right around the corner for the Jays. Pitchers and catchers are in camp. The whole team will be there on Monday. And I can imagine for a man who is as competitive as our next guest in his major league career must get a little bit antsy at this time. You know, back in the day he was out there sock and dingers for the spring and now he's retired but he will

soon be part of the 2025 Canadian baseball hall of fame class thrilled to welcome in Jose Batista here on overdrive Jose how you doing congratulations thank you very much i'm doing great guys how are you all right we're all right we're all right do you get the itch a little bit this time of year with spring training right around the corner? Anything at all of that sort? Are you very content in retirement? Not anymore. I did for the first few years but it's been a while now and

I've obviously come to terms with it and I don't get that itch anymore. I used to for sure. What was it like this time of year, knowing that spring training is around the corner? How did you start mentally preparing for that and how long of a process did that become for you? Well, I used to take the whole off season to mentally prepare, but I was just at this stage normally I would be you know like a like a horse in the Ready to go and and be set up to the races and in the paddocks or whatever you call them You know you'd be antsy. It's just yanking at the chain

So it was an exciting time every every season at this time of the year So it wasn't long ago you were inducted to the Toronto Blue Jays level of excellence. Now the 2025 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame class. Take us through the call, the experience, and how you found out and how you feel about it. I feel great. Very humbled, very fortunate to be treated in such a way not only by the Blue Jays franchise but but Canada in general. And now another great honor in being inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame and be joining many greats. So I'm definitely excited to come to St. Mary's this summer and celebrate

with everybody. I found out in my house, getting ready to have dinner, I kind of feel bad for Scott Cropper that called me to give me the news because when he initially called I was doing some zoom calls and I didn't answer but I called him back. I mean he caught me by surprise. That was the last thing that I was thinking that he was calling me about. I think I thought he was calling me to just make sure we got to spend time at the Joe Carter's event this summer or something like that because we run into each other every now and then in Toronto and he's a class act. But yeah, he gave me the news and I was in shock there for a minute, not going to lie. But it was a great surprise.

So I was excited. I got a little emotional, but it's a great moment for me and my family. I told the family, told the kids, we enjoyed a great dinner, and it was a good evening. I'm sure you've been asked this a million times, but you playing for the Blue Jays, what you accomplished here, and what that means for baseball in the country of Canada. Do you ever look back at that and say, man, this had a bigger impact than I could ever even realize while you were going through it.

Yeah, I completely agree with that. And obviously I feel like this question is better answered from the other direction, but I can tell you how it feels from my perspective. It looks and feels, and I hope that we did get a whole new generation of fans excited about this sport and the Blue Jays, right? Because, you know, I couldn't help but to notice that my early days with the Blue Jays, we weren't necessarily packing it in. But as soon as we got some better teams and we were putting up more wins in the column and climbing up in the standings and making it to playoffs, the stadium was packed and you can see that

a vast majority of our fans were younger and there were kids that were just excited about baseball again and I'm glad I was able to be a part of the teams that allowed that to happen again in Canada and we'll see the product, you know, in a few years. We'll see if there's a few more Canadian Major Leaguers than in the past and I'll be able to at least think or make myself believe that I was a small influence in that. One of the great Toronto Blue Jays of all time Jose Bautista our guest here on Overdrive Aaron Koronek and Frank Corrado in For the Fellas. In the later part of your Blue Jays tenure Jose you did have a little bit of a contract squabble heading in a spring training. It was well documented and now Vlad Jr. I wouldn't call it a squabble but certainly

it's been a major talking point of conversation around the Toronto baseball market. Have you had the chance to speak to Vlad at all? I know you guys do have a relationship and maybe give him some advice on this subject. Listen, I think he knows and realizes the responsibility that he has and you know how badly he wants to finish his career there but ultimately I think both parties will try their best in trying to figure this out. I'm a firm believer in that. I think at face value at least everybody would admit that is the best thing for both sides. And I'm hopeful.

I'm hopeful they figure it out. I'm not very close to the negotiations part of it, even though Vladi and I are really good friends. I try to keep my nose out of it and let things kind of play out. But selfishly, I can't imagine V Vladdy playing in any other uniform. Then I believe it's uniform, so I'm hopeful that they figure it out soon. Well, that's music to the ears of a lot of Jays fans who don't want to see Vladdy go. You're very close to him, you know his game well.

If you were evaluating where Vladdy can be in the grand scope of the league when it comes to the power hitters, the superstars, like where do you see Vlad? What tier of player or superstar level can he reach? I mean, he's already proven it. I don't think if he can reach any higher, we might be talking about somebody breaking Otani's record, right? I think he's as good as it gets. It's just a matter of figuring out the terms. And again, I'll keep my nose out of that part. But he's invaluable in my opinion to any franchise that he may end up playing for.

And I think any team should be honored and privileged of having a guy like that in part of their organization. The things that he can do go well beyond the impact of hits, walks, RBIs, and home runs. So again, I really want them to figure it out soon. So I can be as excited as everybody else when I'm tuning in on opening day or maybe even come in person and watch at the Roger Center. There we go, now we're talking. Jose Batista, our guest, a legend of the Toronto Blue Jays.

He is a member of the 2025 class of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. You played in the AL East a long time, Jose. You know how competitive it is and this year will be no different. Toronto making some moves in free agency that I think a lot of people like. Son Tondere is a J, Jeff Hoffman they trade for Jimenez, they bring in Max Scherzer, someone who I'm sure you faced many many times. What is your assessment of what Toronto was able to do in the offseason? Um, you know it's tough because I think they they had high hopes and sometimes the ball just

doesn't fall in your direction or the chips go in a different way. I'm sure if you ask Ross or Mark, they'll say the same thing. It certainly seems like the effort is there, but the offseason is also not over. I think the team has much improved. There's no doubt about that. And at the end of the day, you know, from the front office side, you can sign, not sign, and do what you want to do. But when it's all said and done, it's the guys between the lines that dictate the wins and losses. So

I'm very confident in the group they have together. It's just a matter of them figuring it out amongst the group, building that confidence, tackling every game together as a unit, and becoming a force that ultimately yields more value than the sum of its parts just because they come together well and they figure out how to win no matter what. So the guys got to step up as leaders. I think adding a guy like Mark Scherzer on the pitching side will, you know, provide a different perspective. The San Juan Center there is definitely going to help. I think the growth of Vladdy and Bo, who by the way we haven't talked about and I'm hoping

that, you know, they figure out with him long term too. Those two guys are mainstays and pillars of any organization. So that's a great core to build off of. And they're all together this year, hopefully not just for this year, but if they come together well and those guys step up as leaders, the sky's the limit for this team. The contract negotiations are obviously very interesting, but we've now seen back-to-back off-seasons where two deals are signed and one know one seven hundred million one seven hundred and sixty five million like did you ever imagine that this kind of money was going to be thrown around in the year 2024 year 2025

no it's a crazy surprise I mean even like a rough deal with 350 back in the day still still would what a surprise have surprised many folks. But I guess it's where the game is going. Even on a year-over-year basis for shorter deals like Bregman just signed, the numbers are what they are. I guess the value is there for some clubs with these guys' contributions. And if that's where the sport's headed, that's, I guess, dictated by supply and demand, but, um, I didn't think it was possible in my lifetime, but it's worth going for sure.

Too bad for you, Jose, that you weren't a free agent in 2025 after hitting 54 bombs for the Jays back in 2010. If so, big cash. But you did just fine. You're a legend here in this city and now a legend here in this country as a future member of the canadian baseball family can't thank you enough for doing this and hopefully we see a here up in toronto in the summertime all right though i think you both of the front and i think that you know was a bit easier

but they have a bond with a job on that for call Jose Hey, how you doing? What's going on? I guess he's got his information now. Absolutely. It's crazy to think you know the amount of like important influential people in sports that Doogie has direct access to on his phone like he's got a lot of numbers now Oh, he's just a kid man's a walk-and-roll addicts. He's got it all. He's got it all. But Jose Batista, and we talk about tomorrow night's game, Canada, United States, going back to 2010, the Crosby Golden Goal, some of those moments for a lot of Toronto sports fans. That bat flip moment, that inning as a whole, the seventh inning against the Rangers when that entire iconic sequence that eventually lent itself to the bat flip is as memorable as anything, including I know the 2019 NBA finals run for the Raptors winning the title.

That's the cool thing about the Raptors and the Blue Jays is that they're the only Canadian team, right? So there is a real sense of national pride when those teams are going deep into the playoffs and it always feels like it's the Raptors versus everyone or the Blue Jays versus everyone right like the UMPs or the refs they're out to get them they got to play at one o'clock or they don't get the prime time start it's like everything's working against these guys but it was it was amazing you know watching those those playoff runs and then Jose Bautista what a career.

Legend he really is a legend and that those teams man it's bautista it's n karnasi on its donaldson those are the three faces that we remember more so than anyone and those guys are all just ballers absolutely love all three of those guys revere them in uh... very well-deserved honor for hosie and we congratulate him again we have mike johnson joining us in about twenty minutes live from montreal canada united states him again. We have Mike Johnson joining us in about 20 minutes. I'm from Montreal,

Canada, the United States. Tomorrow night from the Bell Center, today in Philadelphia, Frank, it was the Eagles Super Bowl parade. There was some imagery coming out of there that is very concerning. Look at this. So that's Howie Roseman up on TSN4, the GM of the Eagles. He's got a huge welt across. It looks kind got like a baseball seam right across his forehead it's because some hooligan whipped a beer can and hit him right in the grill and look at that I mean we'll play some sound on the other side Quinion Mitchell of the Eagles a cornerback was so buckled these guys just just get after the parades. I think back to 2019 year in Toronto, Marcus Saul just hammering that bottle of Rosé.

That was like a, how long? That's Kawhi Leonard, yeah. How long was that parade? That was like the parade that never ended. But some of the visuals of some of the fans out there for that parade in Philly, man, there's some hurting units for sure. Oh my goodness, that was quite a day here in Toronto in 2019, hopefully another one coming in the not too distant future. Were you in there?

Oh yeah, we were there, yeah, I was with Landsberg and then Cole Acavo was there. So you guys did the show? We did the show there in the morning, we were live on location, Overdrive, I think they went from noon to 7 p.m. because the Raptors parade never showed up Oh those guys. I remember O'Neill like is there any food here? We've been here for seven hours

It was also 35 degrees that day as well the hottest day here's Saquon Barkley Who is the king of shotgunning beers like look at this? Proficiency he's the Connor McDavid of shotgunning. that's like frank rattle back in the sudbury days right now imprint always do another auto okay that is going back to back yeah these guys had themselves a time as a share of the world absolutely chiefs you know i really chiefs not even close yes yes yeah now is that

something they will play quinnion michael on the other side's beautiful mike johnson coming up just over twenty minutes hour one Mail it in Friday continues. You're listening to overdrive on TSN 1050 watching on TSN for overdrive is brought to you by Fanduul bringing you everything from the opening line of the final score Coral neck Corrado with you Mike Johnson in about 15 minutes John Cooper coach of team Canada was not ready yet to confirm his starting

goaltender for tomorrow night, which I thought was interesting in that if you're going back to Jordan Binnington you may as well just say it. I don't know if there's some gamesmanship from Cooper there Frank, but do you think it's more likely we see Binnington tomorrow night or perhaps Aiden Hill? I feel like we're gonna see Binnington just based on the way John Cooper likes to do things like think about him with Tampa Bay And I know he's had Andre Vasilevsky, but it's always been his net There's never been a thought about it. So he's probably used to that and he's become accustomed to that I

Was talking about it yesterday on Sports Center that it kind of just gives you a free pass to look at Aiden Hill Doesn't it in a pretty good situation? Where you win the game. Yeah, you get two points, you don't get the three for the regulation. But Bennington led in a couple goals where no one would argue if you went to Aiden Hill, so it makes that move easier to justify. And if Hill looks great, and he plays lights out, you can stay with him the whole way.

If he looks average or below average, you can go back to Benningnington And I guess the thing that you look at is well Bennington responded really well in game one in overtime He made some big saves so if you put him back in the net you should have some trust that he will respond well again When you put him back in I guess verse Finland so it feels like you have some options But if you go with Bennington again, your options become more limited. You've now doubled down and it would be harder to put Aiden Hill in and give him the ball and run with it because you're basically halfway through the tournament at that point. No, you're exactly right.

You would be halfway through the tournament. Cooper did say before the Four Nations faceoff began that he wasn't keen on a goalie rotation and that makes sense right it's a short tournament you want the guys that are going to go for you and you could argue Bennington certainly the first goal the Brodean goal you didn't love the Adrian Kempi goal you definitely didn't love those hit the middle of the net and then you also have to consider the fact that the dude was awesome in overtime made made some huge saves for Canada. I think Binnington goes, but I wouldn't be stunned if Aiden Hill went either.

Now I don't think Montembeau is in the equation at the moment, and if he was in the equation that would be a concern for Canada, but it's an interesting dilemma that Cooper is facing. I do think when it boils down to the reality, the situation, you're not necessarily deviating from the plan in a major way because both goaltenders, I think, are viewed in very similar light. Like the Americans, I don't think there was a world in which they were moving off of Connor Hellebuck. I think he started every game. They would have to have gone so bad for him or would have had to honestly get hurt for them to move off of him.

Yeah. And maybe USA wins tomorrow night and in the third game, Autinger gets it or Swainman gets it because it doesn't mean anything for the Americans point-wise. They move on to the finals. I also heard Cooper... I bet the Winnipeg Jets wouldn't mind hell about having a game off. I think they would love that. And I also heard Cooper today talk about how he wants to see everybody get in the lineup, right?

Sam Bennett slots in tomorrow night against the Americans. You'll see Sandheim due to injury, but you wonder if he would have gotten in regardless. Does that also apply to goaltenders as well? And I guess we're going to find out, but that's a very important position. Tomorrow night, it's going to be something special. And the Americans have a ton of firepower and maybe the difference between Hill and Binnington and what type of performance they put out there could ultimately impact it will ultimately impact who wins and who loses and if Bennington gives up three again, which I think against the Americans wouldn't be the worst thing that might give Canada a chance to win the game

I'll tell you what man Like if you go back and watch that first period against Sweden Not only is that some of the most skilled hockey, like that is some of the most intelligent hockey and if they can replicate that, like there's there's just not going to be those chances for the Americans. The problem is the Americans are so good that they can they can force you into mistakes, like they can get you running out of position, they can take a toll on you and I think that's one of the things that has to come to mind is the fact that early in the game, someone like Trouchek

or the Kachuk brothers, they'll throw a big hit at you. But it might not do anything right then, but as that game goes on and they continually chip away at you, that's where they make the investment shift over shift, period over period. So it will be interesting to see how that dynamic plays out because I think with Canada, they're not necessarily going to try and run you out of the building. They're going to try and skate you right into the ground, skill you into the ground, try

and be really smart about how they do things. There's an element of like smash mouth hockey to this American team that I think they're trying to bring to the table be their difference maker, their separator in a tournament like this. Yeah, I think you saw that firsthand last night. The physicality for the Americans against the Finns looked a lot different than what we saw for Canada and Sweden. There was a ton of skill on the ice. Not saying the Canadians don't have the ability to ramp up the physicality, which they absolutely

do. You look at the lawn up construction with March and Bennett and Jarvis. Those are Three rats three pests three guys who everybody hates playing against all online. I'm lying. I love that line I love but I liked the the point March and and Jarvis line I thought that was that was a really good line for Canada Well now that now they're going with a Tampa line the Sorelle pointagel line, which is something I'm sure John Cooper feels very good about. And that was a move he made late in the third period against Sweden as well.

You saw his trio go together. So I think it's going to be a really fascinating game tomorrow night. And the chess moves for the coaches could very well be the difference, making the right move, whether it be a line combination or a deep air along the way, because the tournament is so short, the margin for error is so slim that a coaching change, some

kind of decision could make a massive difference as well. Yeah. And you know, so earlier this year I was down in Montreal calling a game against the Penns and Mike Sullivan got asked a ton of questions about the American team because of Cole Caulfield. Like at the time he was leading all American skaters and goals and I think a ton of questions about the American team because of Cole Caulfield. At the time, he was leading all American skaters and goals. I think a lot of people were unsure whether he was going to make the team. It sounded like he was on the outside looking in. Or the team had just been named and he wasn't...

Actually, that's what it was. The team had just been named and he didn't make it, but he had the most goals out of all the American players. He said, we went through simulated games in a white, you know, in a boardroom with whiteboards simulated situations and said, you know, if this happens, who's going over the boards? If Canada throws this at them at us, who were we coming, coming over the boards with? And interesting to see that, like, all these things have been thought of already. So They kind of know

they've accounted for everything. There shouldn't be anything that catches any of these guys by surprise, which would lead you to believe that if the Americans are going to throw something at Canada, well, John Cooper has done the same thing. He knows exactly what he wants to do in every situation, and so it makes it easier to kind of pull the strings on certain line combinations. I'll tell you one thing I do like that Canada is doing among many things and this relates to Toronto and the Maple Leafs, leaving Mitch Marner with Conor McDavid because yes he scores the overtime winner, it's not easy to play at the speed, the cadence, the rhythm that

McDavid plays at and so you get one game under your belt with it. Hopefully now you feel like you can read off him a little bit more and maybe you guys can be on the same page. But if you take him off and then you just put someone else there, chances are that guy's having the same feeling out process that you just had and you lose a chance to get that continuity. So keeping Marner there I think makes a lot of sense playing with McDavid. Agreed and you consider some of the discourse leading into the tournament. The idea of Zach Hyman playing

alongside Connor McDavid. The idea of Chris Kunitz playing alongside Sidney Cosby in years gone by. That familiarity I think definitely helps but especially with McDavid in that he plays at warp speed. I don't know what was going on in the first period of that game but it seemed that every time McDavid in that he plays at warp speed. I don't know what was going on in the first period of that game, but it seemed that every time McDavid had the puck, the entire Bell Center just rose in unison and were just experiencing the McDavid effect firsthand. Not that he doesn't bring that type of speed on a night-to-night basis in the NHL, but this is best on best. I mean, look what Sweden had. Hedman and Ekholm and Dahlien and Forsling. These are stud NHL, but this is best on best. I mean, look what Sweden had. Hedman and Ekholm and Dahlien and Forsling. These are stud NHL defensemen, and they had no hope in hell of keeping up

with Conor McDavid. And I am hopeful for Marner, who again, who had the OT winner. Maybe they do equate themselves a little bit better. I mean, think about the talent. Sam Reinhardt had 57 goals last year. Oh, no kidding. Marner, a selkie finalist, a guy who's getting close to 100 points seemingly every single season. And Connor McDavid in the middle. It's going to be so much fun to watch and the matchups are going to be a major story tomorrow. Again, the Kachuk Bros with Jack Eichel as their centerman, Austin Matthews and Jack Hughes and Jake Gensel. That line

came alive in the third period. Man, tomorrow night is going to be something really special down at the Bell Center. A place we will head down to to kick off the second hour of Overdrive. Mike Johnson, our hockey analyst, will be part of the show. We'll also play a segment your wife came up with, Frank, called Love It or Loathe It. That's coming up here in an hour or two of Overdrive. You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by FanDuel. FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score.