OverDrive - OverDrive - January 2nd, 2025 - Hour 2

Episode Date: January 2, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jonas Siegel and Michael DiStefano for Hour 2 on OverDrive! TSN World Juniors Reporter Mark Masters joins to discuss Canada and Czechia's quarterfinal matchup and how Canada can find success in the tournament. TSN NFL Analyst Luke Willson joins to dive into the Eagles benching Saquon Barkley, halting his record pursuit and Hayes and Bro and O'Win Willson's selections for Week 18. 

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The smarter way to book travel. C-H-U-M-A-M Toronto is TSN 1050, an iHeartRadio station and the voice of Toronto sports. This is Overdrive with Hayes, Noodles, and the O-Dog on TSN 1050. Our two Overdrive continues brought to you by FanDuel. Bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Brian Hayes. Jonah Siegel of The Athletic. Michael DiStefano, a.k.a. Al's brother.

Late breaking news. Last hour, Luke Wilson is going to call in at 530 because he doesn't have the stomach or the stones to FaceTime in and watch us with our championship hats. And I have his championship hat that will now be sent either to the pacific mall or somewhere overseas or whatever i was going to show him his hat that never was right his hat that never was but uh i guess we'll talk with luke in half an hour and mark masters in five minutes from ottawa ahead of canCzechia tonight. And I'm sure you guys heard Gavin McKenna speak on the pressures of this game tonight and how people are feeling about the team.

You guys want to hear what he had to say about his mentality going into this game, his team's mentality, and how Canada is prepping for this evening. Have you been able to avoid the noise so far here? Yeah, I've been trying my best to stay away from it and honestly for me it doesn't really get to me it kind of fuels me a little bit. You like to see negative stuff? I don't mind it. Have you looked at anything since the U.S. game? A little bit it's definitely fuel for sure you know you got you got some people in our own country doubting us so I don't know I just want to prove you got some people in our own country doubting us so um i

don't just want to prove them wrong people in our own country doubting us that he's got he's not wrong but what would you expect canadians to do like this is again a scenario where a tournament like this like we were talking about last hour i am openly rooting for them i hope they win i believe they can win the game tonight. Absolutely. But based on what we've seen out of the group stage, you can't expect the country collectively to be uber confident about the way things are going to play out.

No. Come on, guys. It's going to be a close game. I think it's going to be a really, really good game, though. These are two good teams. As bad as they've been, they're still a good team. There's a lot of really quality players on this squad. And I think it's going to be a close game.

You've got two good goalies. And they've just got to find a way to generate some scoring chances. Yes. Get some goals on the board. Find someone that's dangerous. Get inside the paint. They haven't had a prototypical whacking away on rebounds Canadian goal at all. It just hasn't happened

for them. We'll catch up with Mark Masters here in a moment. Big game for Easton Cowan. Second year with the World Junior team. CHL player of the year last year. We know what he did in camp two years ago with the Leafs. Didn't have a great camp this year. By all accounts, has not played up

to his standards in London this year, and has not had a great tournament, showing some frustration. It's not like it's an effort issue with Cowan or anybody else on that team. He's trying to show his involvement. He's trying to get into the game. It just is not triggered for him. And it's a big moment for him, and it's tough because if you're a Leaf fan, you're not following what he's doing down in London.

You're not watching the London Knights play. You're a Leaf fan living in Toronto. This is when you see the top prospects play. Yeah. And you want to see them pop, and it just hasn't happened yet. Again, the beauty of the tournament is they have another opportunity starting tonight. Let's head to Ottawa. Joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline,

here is our Team Canada reporter Mark Masters uh Mark how would you describe the mood of the Canadian team and the confidence of the Canadian team going into this game tonight maybe the mood would be defiant I would say you know they know there's been a lot of criticism of the team and they've been critical of themselves here of late with all the penalties but uh yeah they they they're kind of defiant i think they're still got a decent to you know kind of swagger to a little bit of confidence despite the fact they've lost a couple of games one to you know a team that they've never lost to before this tournament in latvia and one to their most hated rivals so um defiant and yeah still still pretty confident i would say uh easton

cowan we're just talking about cowan and and you've connected with him more than i'm sure the other players because of his team his time with the leafs and within the leafs camp and following his career um what do you make of his tournament so far like i know the stats haven't been great the penalty he took the other night was a stupid penalty. He's owned it. He knows it. He's taken a ton of heat. I think in large part because he's a Leaf prospect. Let's call it what it is.

Everyone throughout the country is going to jump on him immediately because of the team he's affiliated with. What have you seen from Easton Cowan, not only on the ice, but I guess behind the scenes as well? Yeah, you know what? I think his tournament's been of been like the team's, right? He's had some great moments. He got on the board in that Boxing Day win, and then at times he's just been a little off, right? Just can't quite connect, and they've been switching around the top line.

It looks like they're going to get Bradley Nadeau back up there tonight. They had Cole Beaudoin there for the last couple, and they're just trying to find something here. Callan's trying to find something here as well. He's such an important part of this team. They really need him going. If they're going to get this thing back on the rails, it's going to be because he's found his game as well. I like what I've heard off the ice, though. Taking responsibility for the penalty and taking it starts with him. I think that's what you want to hear he's talked about how being a maple east prospect uh he's been under the microscope

more than than other team prospects and that's helped him mature a bit and we'll see if some of that maturity pays off starting tonight we've been talking about how the books and fan duel have canada favored heavily in this one mark minus 335 on the money line. That's a win probability of 78%. But it feels more like a 50-50 coin flip based on how these two teams have played to this point in the tournament. What stands out to you about

the team McKenna's playing tonight? Yeah, I mean, we saw them in the final pre-tournament game. Canada really struggled against them. Didn't generate a whole ton. Gavin McKenna had a big game. He scored a couple of goals. Bradley Nadeau got on the board. They won 3-2 on a late McKenna goal, but Czechia played them tough, and

Czechia's played them tough just historically in this tournament here of late. So I like what Patrick Augusta, the Czech coach, said today. I think he said his team's a little bit of an underdog, but not real underdogs. This is more of a 50-50 proposition in their mind. So I think that's fair.

The Canadians know how tough the Czechs can be. There's returning players from last year when they lost to Czechia. So I expect this to be a very tight, stressful night here in Ottawa. Mark, the three of us would like to see more McKenna tonight. Do you think we will get that? Dave Cameron has hinted at that. He said that the penalty problem, one of the byproducts of that is he hasn't been able to give McKenna and that line more time.

That's probably the most dangerous offensive line here of late. Berkeley Caton leads the team in shots, and they just feel like they're on the cusp of breaking out. I spoke to McKenna today. I loved his kind of what he was putting off there. He said, you know, I said, how are you handling the noise? He said, yeah, yeah, we try to stay away from it, but I don't mind it. I said, well, what do you mean?

He's like, it fuels me. And I said, did you look at some of the stuff that was being said after the New Year's Eve loss? He said, yeah. We've got people in our own country doubting us, and I want to prove them wrong. So I really like what McKenna's saying, and I think he's going to get more ice time tonight.

He had a hat trick in the gold medal game at the under-18 world. He's shown that he can step up in these big moments, and they're going to give him every opportunity to do that tonight. Lastly, Mark, because I know you've got to fly. There's a lot going on out there in Ottawa. Dave Cameron has been on the firing line. I mean, there's been a lot of people kind of running at him, the way that he's decided to put together the lineup, the way

he's kind of stuck to his team in terms of what he envisioned at the start. He's gone through the group stage, and it sounds as if a lot of it will carry over to tonight. But also, after the two losses, he canceled practice the next day, and then he canceled the skate this morning. Well, they didn't have a skate this morning.

They haven't been on the ice since they lost to the Americans on New Year's. Is there any reasoning behind that? And is it a big story in Ottawa because it appears to be picking up steam online and throughout the rest of the country? Yeah, I think it's a big story. I mean, because they didn't practice, they didn't have a general media availability. I was able to talk to some of the guys at the team hotel for part of our broadcast, and they just kind of wanted to be in a bit of a bubble here going into this game as things have gone.

They value, you know, obviously preserving energy here. They don't necessarily know how much you're going to get out of a morning skate or why not. The Czechs did do a full morning skate after canceling yesterday's practice. But, yeah, they apparently were hanging out at the hotel yesterday, kind of just doing like having a game night kind of situation, playing a little cornhole, just trying to unplug. Obviously, the pressure has been ratcheting up.

McKenna seems to like hearing the negative stuff, but I'm sure some players don't, and it's maybe not great for their mental health. So they've kind of tried to keep them away from that, trying to loose them up, help them deal with the pressure now. I'm sure that if Canada does not play well tonight, a lot of people will look at you know how they handle things and the lack of practice time the lack of skate as as maybe a reason for

that but uh yeah i mean because because there's no general media availability today it's hard for me to get a sense to see how big of a story that is in ottawa here but if they don't if they don't respond tonight uh i can tell you will be a big story after the game. Absolutely. Enjoy it tonight, Mark. We always appreciate you doing this. Yeah, thanks, guys. There's Mark Masters joining us from the Maple Toyota Hotline. Count on Maple Toyota for the right winter tire package for your Toyota.

Trade in your old tires, buy a new set, and get $40 back. Visit mapletoyota.com. Yeah, I don't know what to make of that. The idea that you wouldn't want to stay on the ice, you wouldn't want to get back on the ice, you wouldn't want to practice, especially considering it's such a short tournament. But it feels like that is the point that Dave Cameron's trying to make,

that there's nothing he can do that is going to change what's going to happen with this group. He was asked that question after taking all those penalties the other night. He's like, I can't do anything. I'm parap the other night. He's like, I can't do anything. Like, I'm paraphrasing, but he's like, I can't do anything. Isn't that what Gerard Mayo said once about the Pats? Yeah. He's just like, once it gets past the line, don't look at me, man. Not my problem.

Like, for me, that messaging I found very peculiar. And, again, staying off the ice and trying to shield them from stuff. Like, this is what comes with the junior tournament, especially on home soil. If the guys don't have what it's going to take to thrive under the lights, then they're just not going to be able to do it, but you can't run from it. I think you've got to embrace it. Get out there and talk and skate and play. It just seems like they're trying to go the opposite way.

Which is bizarre because of how much they're struggling and what they're struggling to do, which is score. And you think the puck touches, you think getting in there and getting confidence by playing a little bit, even if it's just, I don't know, like just go out there and play some shit, just get out there. You talk to former players all the time, and they'll say, oh, yeah, after practice I was out there shooting extra free throws,

or I was out there, you know, kickers, just kicking extra field goals, getting my shots in, trying to see it drop as many times as possible. Wouldn't you think you would want the Canadians to be out there doing that possibly here? Do you guys think there's any advantage to the opposite, where they haven't played since New Year's Eve, and the first time they'll get on the ice, I guess, would be the pregame warm-up?

Do you think there's any advantage to just like you're just getting on there and kind of just playing? Again, I guess we'll find out. I mean, I think there's going to be a lot of adrenaline. There's going to be energy. They're going to be hyped up to play, right? And the preparation, I'm not sure what you're going to accomplish. It just felt like more routine for hockey players to be on the ice.

And if you feel like there's a connectivity issue, and it appears as if there is, allow them to work that out in practice. But maybe it is about the criticism. Maybe it's just like these guys are feeling it. Maybe. Or they're trying to shield them from something that they're prognosticating is there. You know, I'm talking about Hockey Canada here. Like, uh-oh, they lost.

Better get them away from everything. I don't think that – I personally don't think that's a benefit. I think what comes with being on this team and playing for your country and especially playing on home soil is it is going to be very pressure- there's nothing you can do to get away from that yeah yes like whether you practice or not the lights are going on tonight at 7 30 and people are going to be bouncing off the walls and the non-practice becomes a story exactly then it's like what are you shielding for get out there and just put it behind you like Like, they haven't been blown out. They lost to Latvia in, what, round eight of the shootout. But that's...

Bad loss, awful. You lost to Latvia at home. You obviously would never be expected to happen. But even the American game was 1-1 early in the third. Yeah. Like, they didn't get their doors blown off. They haven't played up to their standards and up to the expectations. But it's not been an unmitigated disaster.

So just, I would puff the chest out and say, we're still, we are really confident. For some of these team actions, and I don't even know if it's on the players, I think it's more the coaching staff in Hockey Canada are suggesting we're not that confident and we're going to go into this bubble here and we're going to try to avoid everything and everyone

and we're just going to show up and hope it works out where I would have taken the opposite approach. Well, I wonder if the messaging would have been different from the coach if he had just said what you're saying. We're fine. We're good. We're going to break through. Watch. But I guess without knowing how it's going to turn out because they haven't played at this point,

we're simply predicting. I think that's always in your best interest to exude that confidence, even if you're faking it to make it. Just always puff your chest out. We're Canada. We believe in ourselves. If you want to – and McKenna kind of said that. Yeah.

Like if you want to doubt us, you go ahead. We're going to shut you up. I love that attitude, and you might as well have it, right? And it's not that they've expressed the opposite. It's not that they've come out and said, we're in big trouble. They haven't done that. But I think

it's always in your best interest. Once it's declared you're the favorite, and they are regardless of what's happened, because that's the expectation that you're supposed to win because you're Canada, you can't change that narrative. And you can't change that expectation. It will be adjusted to an extent in terms of what you think could happen. But if you lose, it's going to be a disappointment.

That's just the reality. Yeah, it's just always going to be the case. Any year they don't win, we're always talking about, ah, Canada didn't win. Yeah, and you're not going to win it every single year. And if they lose tonight, it's not a summit or something like that. That's not going to happen. There's twists and turns to every single year and every single crop of players. But

you might as well puff your chest out until you're actually out. I guess is what I'm saying. Oh, for sure. Go out there and be like, we're the bullies. We're Canada. We're going to win this thing. People are dying to get on your side. Score first tonight.

That's what it is. Get this place rocking. And the rest is history. What you're talking about, that first 10 minutes, what you were talking about earlier, is going to be key. You've got to go out there, forecheck as hard as you can, be aggressive on pucks, make some plays, get those scoring chances, and find a way to get a couple to drop.

You do that, you're up 1-0, 2-0 maybe in the first 10 minutes of the hockey game. All of a sudden, that building is going to be rocking. Absolutely. And they can field off that positive energy as opposed to the tenseness that it feels like it's been over the last couple of games. Well, and the flip side is then Czechia starts to realize, okay, this is what it's like to play Canada on Canadian soil. You need to get the opponent to realize that

because none of them have had that experience yet. From Finland to Latvia to the U.S., Germany, none of them have really been like, wow, we're in one here. This place is going nuts. I'd rather be somewhere else. You need to impose that. That's always been the Canadian way.

In large part because of the physicality. There's no physicality so far with this team. Now I do think a conundrum they're going to be dealing with mentally is all those penalties that they took. How do you marry the two where you stay disciplined, but you also stay aggressive? And you stay physical. And you push

this team around and make them realize we can't keep up with them. I'm not going in that corner. I'm not going to the front of the net. I don't want to be here. Because that has been the Canadian way for a long, long time, especially with inferior opponents. Make them realize Czechia, Latvia, Germany, whoever, I'm not doing it, man. I'm not taking that hit.

I don't know if Canada's built that way. It doesn't appear as if they are based on the way they've played through the group stage. But that would be my messaging tonight. One thing I do wonder, just in the age that we are, do you think there's ever been more pressure to be on a Canadian team than now, just with social media? In terms of dealing with wins and losses and getting through the tournament? Yeah, I just think it would be different than even 10 years ago. All, I think there's definitely two of them. All these guys are on their phones all the time, right?

I wonder if there's a team policy where... Like no Instagram, no any of that stuff? Even that. I don't even know if you can police... How can you police that? I'm not sure you can. Well, you do hear of a lot of... I remember a couple of times you guys had some Olympic athletes come out, and they say that they completely get all that stuff off their

phone for the two weeks that they're there. did that i remember 2014 i think carrie price said that i think they all concluded that the summer olympics that just passed like a couple of guys said that that's exactly what they did yeah you go into the village i'm not bringing my phone he said i didn't even because i think you're asking oh what's it like getting text afterwards their phone like no i'm not social media is. I think it'd be a great policy to have where actually it would be very refreshing for all these players to just get away from everything.

Yeah, it'd be interesting. Like go into a bubble and go old school. Instead of being on your phone, you just give every player a flip phone. Yeah. Just say if you want to call your parents. But you don't even need that. No phones?

Well, I mean, if you want to use... A phone in the room? At the hotel, exactly. All the parents are there, more or less. You can see each other before the game, after the game. Like, it worked for every other team over the last 40 years, right? Go into the bubble. You're not going to be asked to do anything else.

It's not like a teacher's calling you and said, hey, where's that essay? You know what I mean? Like, there's nothing for you to do other than focus simply on the game. Well, and then if that's gone, there's no, you're not feeling anything from the outside, right? I think it would be a great policy. I don't know if it's one that Hockey Canada entertains.

I don't know if it's one that they apply. I don't know if it would... Players just hate it, right? I think it would be difficult for young players, young people to be completely... Because I'm sure that a lot of them have girlfriends and stuff and friends back home and there's different people you want to talk to yeah and you want

to hear from but it is very difficult to avoid the comment section it's impossible to do it nobody i'm even if they're just like scrolling through instagram they're going to come you're going to see something a headline and look and there's 2,000 comments and you're going to go through it. Getting DMs from every loser out there saying these guys, oh, how dare you lose, you can't even score a goal, what are you doing, they should have took this guy, should have took that guy. That's the conversation happening right now.

It's a legitimate discussion, right? You talk about there was a lot of really talented players that were left off the roster and I guarantee you, guarantee you, there's a lot of people DMing saying this guy should have been there over you. You're not doing this. That's what comes up immediately if and when they lose.

Who didn't make the team? Why didn't? That's just par for the course. So you got Canada checking in tonight to get the Leafs. Islanders. John Tavares going back to the island. It's not a story anymore up in Toronto. Oh, my man.

That first time he went back, I was there. It was in Ruthless. And they got smoked. That was one of the most embarrassing losses they've had in a long time. I remember because Jake Muzzin, I think Jake Muzzin after that game came out and was very honest and opinionated about how they played. It's not like that anymore. They still boo him, I think.

Oh, yeah. It's not as visceral as it was. That was anger. Yes. We don't need you. People were holding up snake signs. Remember that? They were burning his jersey in the parking lot.

Ruthless, man. I think the Islanders won 6-1. They dummied the Leafs that night. And the Leafs went into a shell. It was a bad look. And again, that storyline doesn't necessarily carry over. In fact, I don't think it does at all. Yet, John's sitting on 19

goals in the season. And a lot of discussion has been had naturally about why it's happening, how it's happening. I think opportunity is a big part of it, too. The fact that Austin's not around, this guy's playing in the biggest moments. More and more is

running through him, and he's playing with better players consistently, and he's getting better opportunities. Everything's got to run through John. I don't know if that's... I think there's partly truth to that. He's had harder minutes without Matthews. It's almost like you could even say it's more impressive that he's done harder minutes without matthews so it's almost like you could

even say it's more impressive that he's done what he's done facing better competition facing better competition like his line is getting buried every night in the defensive zone he is playing with marner like the teammate thing is like i'm not sure that's true like he's either played with neil under a marner the whole time but 34 season like if i told you when that contract was signed he would be having this kind of season in year seven of the deal you'd be like no way no i don't know he's on pace for over 40 goals yeah i just don't know how i wonder how different it is actually from last year where he just wasn't getting those shots to drop and this year they're going in i think the style is

probably more conducive to him playing under craig brube they don't play as year they're going in. I think the style is probably more conducive to him playing under Craig Brube. They don't play as quickly. They're not going to expose defensively like they would with some of the rush chances. Yeah, credit to him. Yeah, no, it's a big opportunity for him with Matthews. Austin's on pace. Statistically, he's probably going to have the worst year of his career.

Yes. I looked at it. For 82 games, it would be like 37 goals, 79 points. Yeah. Which would, for him, again, is a down year. It's a really good year. That's the thing. You just said Tavares is on this great pace.

He's on pace for 40 goals, and it's like Matthew's on pace for 37. It's like, ah, terrible. I know. It's coming off 69 goals. Yes. It's lackluster. It speaks to the greatness of Matthews and what he does and what he is when he's himself.

But I don't know what his season is going to look like the rest of the way. That's been determined. Matthews, we're saying. I don't know how much he's going to play. I don't know how confident he's going to look, how comfortable he's going to be, what he's going to produce at. We'll see. It's a complete unknown right now.

Hopefully it works out. Hopefully he's popping and everything's all good, but we don't know. So with that being the case, and him effectively having a season where all it has been about is his injury from camp, like when he left the camp, the practice early that one point, he never felt comfortable, it has opened up

an opportunity for someone else to step in. And that has been John. To his credit, exactly. It could have gone the opposite way. Like if it was a year seven drop-off, the Matthews conversation would be even more, I think, nerve-wracking. There'd be more anxiety around that. There's still a fair amount because of who he is and where we're at. But if John didn't have 19 goals and was playing every single night

and healthy and still taking on big minutes and big assignments and stuff like that, it would be an even more daunting scenario that they could be facing right now. So full credit to Tavares. It's just the consistency. And that's what he's been all like. You know exactly what you're going to get from Tavares each and every night. And the fact that he's still doing that at 34 years old, in year seven of that deal, I think is what's overly impressive.

If you look at the underlying numbers, they're pretty similar to what they've been over the last few years. So to your point, is it because they're dropping a little bit more, the shooting percentage is a little higher than it's been the last couple? Maybe that's why it looks a little sexy. But he's been just as good in a lot of those areas. He's a guy who every year is in the top five in high danger shots. He goes to that area.

He gets into that spot. He gets to that spot, and he's been so good in and around the net his entire career. So you know what you're going to get from him, and that's what I appreciate is he's been able to do it deep into this contract and deep into his career because if that fall off would have come, I mean, we talked about it in the first hour,

the fact that you think they need to go out and get a third-line center. Well, it's because Tavares is playing so well right now that you don't think they need a number two center. But if he wasn't, in the past, you're thinking they've got to get someone to replace Tavares and move him off to the wing. But because he's playing at this level, and hopefully it continues, I mean, you never know when it's going to fall off. Now it's a little less loud about the top six

as opposed to now it's okay. Matchup, third line center is the number one need. When you look ahead to the playoffs, they need this to continue. We talk about all those guys. He has not produced enough in the playoffs. He knows it. I've talked to him about it. It's something he's aware of. If they can lighten

his load a little bit, I think that would help. To go back to our earlier conversation. And that's where like Matthew's, what you're talking about, like his health and whether he's like, I don't know, 75%, 85%,

95% makes a big difference because suddenly if you're having to give Tavares harder minutes, suddenly maybe he's less productive. Like there's a trickle down effect of everything. And especially come playoff time. Like again, he is still producing Tavares' with tougher competition.

Yes, but also playing the Islanders. That's exactly the point. It's one thing to do that against Buffalo. It's another thing when Tampa's waiting for you. Or Florida or whatever. He played pretty well in that time he scored the game winner, but I think he

ended up with three or four goals in that series, if I'm not mistaken. But look back to last year. Ryan O'Reilly, though, was a three seed, taking on a lot of those responsibilities. Yes, they do not have that. And look back to last year. He played well defensively in that Boston series.

He didn't score. That line didn't score. And they can't really survive a second line not scoring. They're not deep enough, right? Well, and goal scoring has been a primary issue for him in the biggest games of the playoffs. I mean, they have to find a way to perform, and John is

expected to do that. And again, there's still a lot of season left to see where we're going to be come playoff time, in terms of where his game is at. But so far, so good for John Tavares. And again, the Leafs are in Long Island tonight, so we'll continue to tee that up here. LeBron will join us just after 6 o'clock.

Luke Wilson coming up. We'll look ahead to Week 18 with Luke. Get his take on this MVP conversation and the fact that Saquon Barkley is not going to play this weekend. 100 yards off, 101 yards off, establishing a new rushing record. Eric Dickerson is all good. Eric Dickerson, man, went on the record, said, I don't want this guy to beat me.

I love that honesty. That's how every athlete actually feels. 1,000%. If you're an uber, crazy, competitive, freakish athlete, you never want anyone to beat you at anything. Gretzky's lying through his teeth. They all are. When he talks about OV.

I love that he's going to do it. Why would you want anyone. Why would you? Why? Why would you want anyone ever to beat you? Why? Why would you not want to hold on to an incredible record like that? You don't. Now, Gretzky might say, hey, I have so many records.

I can maybe give one up. But that's one of the biggest records in the game. But that's the boldest one in terms of the total number of goals. Like the record Brady gave up a record last week. Most sacks ever taken in an NFL career. He's probably happy about that one. Right? Gave it up to Aaron Rodgers last week.

That he's okay with that one. That is a different record that you're happy to give up. The positive ones, they all want. And Aaron Rodgers is a touchdown throw away from.500 in his career. So we'll get into that more with Luke. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050. Online tsn1050.ca. The weekend brings Hurry Up Tomorrow to Rose Bowl Stadium in Los Angeles

on January 25th for one night only. Get there with iHeartRadio. Two tickets to the show, flights, and hotel from tripcentral.ca, plus $500 cash. For your chance to win, enter every day at iHeartRadio.ca. And iHeartRadio Experience. The weekend in L.A. Powered by TripCentral.ca.

The smarter way to book travel. Hit me a smile. What the? Owen Wilson is cooking. Girl, you know it's not going away. It's not going away anytime soon. Al's brother, that hat looks absolutely phenomenal on you. You too, Part C.

You too. I appreciate that. I feel great. I haven't slept much in a few days. Jonas, how's it have been great, you being in here with two champions, Al's brother and I, Hazen, bro? Champion sandwich. It's just been a phenomenal afternoon.

And we got more picks. And we were going to take a ceremonial knee, but that's a loser's move. That's a Nick Sirianni loser's move. We want double digits. Yeah. That's what we're pursuing. I want to be Dan Campbell. I'm going Dan campbell you're going

dan campbell we're all in on these picks for week 18 here's luke wilson the future commissioner of the canadian football league have we spun you out of control like what is going on with you okay where do you want me to start here boy do you want to start with a football picture of cfl what's going on here? Well, congratulations. That might be in order right now. I sent you the tweet. I said congrats on the President's Trophy.

I told Hayes, I remember my first season win. It was a special moment. I get you guys got your first one. And I couldn't be more excited for you two. Again, I think for the parity of the league, it was good you guys finally won one. Okay. And now we go into the championship. But I would like some clarification, and I think this is fair.

You know, the last year, it was a bit gray with, like, the first round, the second round, the Super Bowl. And I don't necessarily think it has to be today. But maybe next week, Doogie can come on and say, this is what it's going to take to win the Super Bowl this year. That's all I ask for. I appreciate that, and I think that's important. And I want that clarified as well.

So, Doogie, you have about a week to figure this out, exactly what the parameters of the playoffs are going to look like. Okay, and what's at stake in the playoffs are very important, obviously, and we intend on winning those also. Yes. We'll get more hats. If we've got on winning those also. We'll get more hats. If we've got to get more hats, we'll get more hats. Job's not finished.

Job's not finished. But, yeah, no, it's all good, man. We'll get to some picks in a moment. I do want to pick your brain on a couple of NFL stories, but I did see you tweeting about the CFL. I find that quite intriguing that you see it as a big opportunity, the Canadian Football League, to take advantage of what? Where the rest of the sports landscape is at right now?

Is that where you're kind of driving home? 1000%. Hey, hear me. In the CFL hard-os came for me. I've been in an absolute war on Twitter. It's unbelievable. We can get to that as well. But I sit here and I say, you know,

you look at the current landscape of, let's call it youth and pro sports, basketball, especially in the States, viewership is extremely down. And I think there's a pretty big reason why. The product is trash. You know, you get the odd game where it's a good matchup, but basketball, everyone's jacking up threes. I look at hockey, and I don't think I'm in the minority here, guys, and feel free to push back. But there's this world right now where it's like, man, this is the most talented hockey's ever been.

And first and foremost, I don't think that exactly equates to a better product. Secondly, I would disagree. If you look up the 1999 All-Star Game rosters right now, I have a hard time believing you guys are going to sit here and read those rosters and say that team doesn't dominate in the NHL right now. But beyond that, you look at youth sports. You want to play hockey, it costs your arm and your leg. You don't check.

There's no fighting. It's unbelievable. It's not the best product we've ever seen on ice. And maybe I should be nailed to the cross for that, but that's how I feel. Then I turn on the NFL, and this is what I'll say. There's been a couple snoozefests last week. I will agree with that. But you look at the Monday nighter,

San Fran versus Detroit. That game was electric. You cannot sit here and sports sense that was not a fun game to watch. You look at the Sunday nighter, Washington versus Atlanta. Unbelievable. Unbelievable product. I would go to the Bengals-B, Washington versus Atlanta, unbelievable, unbelievable product. I would go to the Bengals-Francos game and be like, holy smokes, this thing is also incredible to watch. And I sit here and say, why can't the CFL, obviously they're not going to be the NFL,

despite what the Hardos believe, it's not the best game of football in North America. It's not the most talented. I'm sorry CFL hardos, that's just not the case. But this is an opportunity for the CFL to make a step here. There's a lot of fans up there that still like seeing contact, and you're not going to see that. You're not going to see it in the NHL. So the CFL, to me, has an

opportunity. But I'm learning via Twitter that I think part of the thing that holds the CFL back are these hardo fans. They want no changes in the game. Game's got to adapt, evolve. It's unbelievable. That's where I'm coming with that.

I hear you. I think you're onto something. You tell me, Hayes. No, I think you're onto something. I mean, I would agree with your assessment of hockey and where it's at. I do think it's a slippery slope that we're moving away from a lot of the physicality, a lot of the craziness, a lot of the unpredictability that a lot of Canadians have pushed out of the way for whatever reason without realizing what the endgame is going to look like, where it's more and more about the skill, which of course has a place and should have a place, but I think you need to marry the two.

But I'm fearful that that ship has sailed. And I do think that there's an opportunity for a physical sport to remain physical and to remain at least at the forefront. And I'm curious where football is going to go in this country in terms of the Canadian Football League, that they add teams at some point. You know, the Toronto market's always a conundrum because the NFL is so popular here now. You know, how do you marry those two together? I don't know.

It's complicated complicated but i think you might be on to something uh as for the nfl i'm curious you're taking the saquon barley barkley situation where it read to me the way barkley spoke on it the fact that he's not going to play this weekend at home against his former team yeah a hundred yards away from eric dickerson 101 yards rushing away from establishing a new record, a revered record in the sport, and he's not playing in preparation of the playoffs. What do you make of it?

Do you like this decision? Can you reason with this decision? I cannot reason with this decision. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it as well, Hayes. I hate it as well. And I'll tell you this.

What's very tough for me from an outsider's perspective is if you listen to Dan Campbell in his speech on the Lions last week in a game that was not meaningful for them as far as the standings go, and then you hear that's the mentality Detroit's got and they're probably gonna have to see Detroit at some point okay and you're on the other hand like we're resting players like oh we were afraid to get hurt that is my first concern where it's like that's not really a huge thing in the NFL and I was watching a thing with Bill Belichick and Harbaugh and they were like you talk about resting players even in the locker room, so it's okay

you can't rest everybody, you don't have enough guys. So it's like, oh, okay, it's okay if Lane Johnson goes out there and gets hurt, but it's not if Saquon. And that creates a bit of a weird ordeal, and again, it's not obviously apples to apples here, but then you keep going, and it's like, let's weird ordeal. And I'm not, again, it's not obviously apples to apples here, but then you keep going and it's like, let's talk about the record itself. I'll be honest and think that, and say to you like that might be as a team,

the coolest record you can get, you know, as far as that front seven in the sport goes. And I get there's an extra game. We can get into that. But my argument with the extra game would be right now we'll say, oh, he did it in 17 games. You guys tell me Roger Maris beat Babe Ruth's home run record.

Do you not have extra games? 30 years later, no one talks about the extra games. You know, it might be an asterisk now, but it's not always going to be talked about that way. You've got a shot in a past first league right now to basically write the history books as the greatest single season rusher ever. And you're 101

yards away playing an absolutely very poor defense who you happen to kind of be a cast away from in the New York Giants. You don't play football thinking you're going to get hurt. This guy's rusher 2,000 yards this year, not getting hurt. I have a hard time

sitting here and being like, hey, man, we should play him because we shouldn't play him because he might not get hurt. That's the end of my rant. If I'm Saquon, you could tell in the interview. I think he was a little sad about it, man. I would be, too. I mean, that's like cream of the crop style records here.

This is some garbage thing. Like, oh, it's kind of quirky. This is King Dog. I cannot believe their entire playing unit is not asking Sirianni to play. I'm talking O-Lyman, tight ends, and Shaquan being like, we don't want to rest. We want to play. I agree. I hate the idea that he's not playing.

I think this is another development in sports. It's a sports science soft. I'm agreeing with it. You like this idea? I like it. Let me just explain yourself. So let me give you a future headline. Daquan Barkley injured in the first quarter

trying to chase a record done for the season. How do you guys feel then? Okay. I hear you, Jonas. I understand, but can I ask you this? That's a possibility. Of course, anytime you play football, Jonas. I understand. But can I ask you this? That's a possibility. Of course, anytime you play football, it's a possibility. But in the same breath, it's like, you know,

as a former guy is sitting out a week and not putting yourself in the normal routine of playing, you know, and now all of a sudden he goes out there and for whatever reason, like, hey, man, I spent a lot of extra time on the couch last week or I didn't have a game or whatever i got hurt in the first quarter of the next game yeah because i was doing extra lifts or whatever like it's a hard game to quantify because that would be obviously worst case scenario and i totally get that but i still don't think it's that likely like i you know the. The guy's played 16 games so far,

and there's been some of those games where he's touched the ball 25, 30 times and not gotten, quote-unquote, hurt. But if I can eliminate the risk, right? If I can eliminate what's riskier, right? Him playing or not playing? You're saying maybe it's probably him playing. Him not playing, yes. I mean, in sports, if we're saying maybe... Well, it's probably him playing. Well, sure, him not playing, yes. I mean, in sports, what are we...

Like, if we're doing a headline thing, it's glass half full, glass... We argued about this last year with Matthews. Game 82. Yeah, he played Game 82 trying to get 70. Right. And he was fine. Yeah, exactly.

And he should have. And he wasn't fine. And then he... Well, it didn't work for him in the playoffs. I mean, but I think the ideal scenario is he gets the record and then wins the Super Bowl. Then it's the most magical season you've ever seen. Because if he doesn't win a Super Bowl and they don't win

and they hold him out for nothing and they get bounced in round one or two, now all of a sudden it's, well, what did you give up? What did you give up? Why did you give up that record? You gave up a chance at history. That is, yes, an individual record, but it's also a team one which is what you're saying luke like the offensive line would take a lot yeah of pride in this and they should i'll be honest i i as a guy who was like you know especially in my second third year pretty heavily involved in our run game with marshawn

if we would we were never close to 2,100 yards but if we were ever close to 2,100 yards, but if we were ever close to that record, I would want to play. To say that, like, I was a tight end on that team, and yet Marshawn would clearly be the main reason. But to say that I had a small part in being the greatest rushing attack of all time, like, to me, that would be one of the most special things of my career. It would be in my top five. I mean, obviously, Super Bowl of my career. It would be in my top five. I mean, obviously, Super Bowl is one, but that would be in my top five. Absolutely.

All right, let's get to some picks here. Owen Wilson on the clock. The Ravens are now 19.5 point favorites. 19.5 against the Browns. You guys are on the clock. What's your play? I mean, I hate that I'm doing this, and I'm sure you guys will make fun of me.

I'm taking the Browns. Yes. And don't get me wrong. You have to. I want to take the Browns. Correct. But 20 points? I mean, even if it's 20 in the fourth quarter,

like on a game that doesn't really matter that much for the, you know, if it's 20 in the fourth quarter, on a game, it doesn't really matter that much for the... If it's 20 in the fourth quarter, Lamar... Ravens, it's over. Yeah, exactly. He's getting pulled from the game. It's done. Like, does DTR come back and snag a whatever? I

have to take the 19 points. It's going to be one of the grossest games of all time. It's a division game, too. It's the Browns' last game of the year. The guys trying to go with a good taste in their mouth. I think it's going to stumble in a bit here because you don't love taking 19 and a half. It's gross.

No, it's gross. I'm taking the Browns. I think it's the play, though. I mean, it's so many points. Bengals-Steelers. Bengals minus one and a half. Yeah. Champ, where are you at?

I'm kind of surprised that, you know, this is a short line as it's been. You look at the way that both these two teams have played. Steelers stink right now. They've really showed their true colors the last couple of weeks. They're not a good football team. We've been saying it all year. It's a fraudulent playoff team. Meanwhile, Joey Burrows out here making a late charge for MVP.

If he has any hope in hell of dethroning Josh Allen, who I think deserves it at this point, he's got to win this football game and win it handily. I think for sure I think they're going to win this game, whether the Chiefs do them a solid and beat the Broncos, we'll see. Then Miami's got to lose. Miami's got to lose also against Aaron Rodgers. It's a gong show.

But I think they absolutely take care of business, and they get their victory, certainly with a one-and-a-half spread. Who day, baby? Yeah, all day. We're on the Bengals. All right. Falcons minus seven-and-a-half. They have to win this, and the Bucs have to lose at home to New Orleans,

which I don't think is going to happen. But Falcons minus 7.5 against the Panthers. Who do you like and why? Ken, I mean, at this point, like you said, it doesn't really matter. But I'm taking the Panthers. It's a division game. I understand it's got blown up by the Bucs, but Michael Panics right now is not Baker Mayfield.

Baker Mayfield is on fire. You know, and you sit here and say, okay, they also don't have Mike Evans. I like Drake London. I really do. But Mike Evans up first ballot Hall of Famer at the Rays going. You look at the Panthers right now. You know, they got a win two weeks ago against the Cardinals. They played the Eagles tough.

They played the Bucs tough December 1st. That one went to overtime. They played the Chiefs tough and they beat the Giants. Now the outlier in there is the Cowboys loss. But I sit here it's a division game. This will be obviously the Panthers Super Bowl and I don't think the

Falcons think they have much chances here. I think the Bucs everybody pretty much knows the Bucs are going to handle their business. Correct. You got a young quarterback in there. I don't think they've fully opened up the playbook for him. You know, watching last week, I thought he had –

Penix had a tremendous fourth quarter with some really great plays. But I think midway through the third, his pass rating was 50. You know, and he looks like he's talented. I'm not saying he's not going to be a great player in this league, but like any quarterback, you know, it's his third game starting. So, to me, I've got to take the 7.5 here at the Panthers. I think Dave Canales has got that squad at least turned around a bit, and they'll battle this thing and keep it somewhat close.

Yeah, I like that. Well, here's another one. Broncos minus 10.5 at home against the Chiefs. Denver has to win to get in. The Chiefs, Mahomes isn't going to play. I can't imagine Chris Jones. He's not going to play. He's been banged up. Kelsey's going to

play. You've got Carson Wentz. Divisional game. Andy Reid will be there. It's a big spread, though. It's a big spread. Double digits is kind of insane exactly like they're sitting my homes but like this defense is still good enough to limit a rookie quarterback and andy reed steve spagnola against a rookie quarterback like i get they've had a really good offensive line but i still think they're gonna put some pressure on on this kid

and force them into a mistake or two they could may not win the game, and they may end the season 15-2, but 10.5, a double-digit spread, is insane to me. I think you've got to take the points. I think you have to take the points. I wouldn't be surprised if the Chiefs won this game. I would not be surprised at all if the Broncos puked all over themselves here. I agree. It's unfortunate Doogie's still giving you guys layups.

But I sit here and say, I mean, it's unbelievable. I'll tell you what else is unbelievable. Dave Festruck on that little thing you guys put on Twitter. I didn't realize Dave Festruck was one of you guys. I can always see it in their eyes. Dave Festruck had that hint of, I hate pro athletes. I could see it in his eyes. He wanted to shed a tear for you guys.

You guys didn't warn me that Festruck is the moral, I hate pro athletes. I could see it in his eyes. He wanted to shed a tear for you guys. You guys didn't warn me that Fess Chuck is the moral enemy to the pro athletes. I've seen many people like this guy before. He's public enemy number one right now. Once I find where my partner is, because he's on the milk carton, I'm going after Fess Chuck. Let's go back to the

Chiefs here for a sec. I also think, I know you're in a lap, but I think the NFL is going to help them out. They want Joe Burrow playing, man. Big time. 100%. Got to have Burrow in the playoffs. I sit here and everyone's like,

there's not a good chance. If you're Goodell right now, you have the two potential matchup of the two best football players currently on the planet playing in Joe Burrow and Josh Allen in the first round of playoffs. Terrifying for the Bills. I mean, nothing could be more electric than that. That would be amazing.

Terrifying for the Bills, agreed. But as far as the NFL goes, you can't write the script any better. I mean, you want to talk about ratings. Let's say the Bills win that. You're then going to see probably Lamar versus Josh. And then whoever wins that, either Josh or Lamar versus Patty Mahomes. Oh, it's brilliant. I mean, this is.

It's brilliant. It's unbelievable. They're going to get Joe Burrow in. NFL's rigged. All right. Well, quickly here, because we've got to be quick. Lions-Vikings. Lions minus two and a half to put a cap on the season.

Oh, I'm taking Vikes for sure. I'm taking the Vikes. Two and a half. Listen, last time these guys played, it came down to the last second field goal. I think that right now the Vikings are humming. The big matchup here, Hayes, is going to be, believe it or not, for me, it's going to be Vikings run defense versus Lions run game. Vikings run defense, number two yards per game, number two total yards. They can keep Goff in third and long. I still think Goff slings it, but it's going to be one of those

things where now all of a sudden you get two or three stops, and I just, I can't see the Lions getting that many stops unless they get some bad turnover, some Sam Darnold, kind of like they got from Brock. I think Addison, Jefferson, and TJ Hawkinson have an absolute day. I agree. So I'm taking the points. Yeah, I think that's the play. I'm with you there. All right, man.

Find your partner because it's go time next week. Playoffs next week. Listen, all I'm saying is this. The playoffs next week is really going to make or break Timo and Wilson heading into next week. Listen, all I'm saying is this. The playoffs next week is really going to make or break Timo Wilson heading into next season. A lot of controversy right now. Playoffs are going to be very telling. All right, buddy.

We'll get the bot. That's for them to figure out, not us. Good chat with you, buddy. We'll do it again soon. Cheers, guys. There he is, Luke Wilson. All right, Pierre Lebrun still to come. We've got a list coming up as well.

Leafs in action, Canada in action. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on the TSN app.