OverDrive - OverDrive - January 3rd, 2025 - Hour 3

Episode Date: January 4, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes and Jonas Siegel for Hour 3 on OverDrive! O'Dog stops by to give his take on Canada's loss to Czechia. Hayes and Siegel share their level of concern for Auston Matthews. We give out our FanDuel best bets

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The smarter way to book travel. Final hour for the week. Overdrive continues. Powered by FanDuel. Bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Look at this guy. Right out of the gate. The O-Dog, Jeff O'Neill.

He's back in Toronto. I love it, man. It sucks that you're back back it would be better if you were still in ottawa but uh what do you make of it man we haven't seen you in a while we haven't heard from you we were hoping you'd still be there all weekend but canada's out and that's that it's one of the bizarre things about my schedule for the tournament it's like i only do canada games and then it's like the game's over, and you're like, I'm going home. It's not like, hey, shoot me a note in the morning to Bobby Mac. It's a handshake, and I'll see you whenever I see you.

There is some finality to it where it's like, and this is I think i've been doing it for eight or nine years and this is the third time where it's like quarterfinals and it's like one time was in vancouver i had to make flight arrangements i'm like i said to my wife i'm like we we have to get out of here right yeah like it's like there's no sense in sticking around or we just i don't know it's kind of the weird thing about the tournament but the tournament as a whole it was bizarre haze i mean it started out like game one four nothing over the fins and it's like we're rocking here this is a typical canadian team and they're going to dominate and then the latvia game happened and it's like all of a sudden something happened.

Some switch went off, and they could not score goals. Like the offense was stymied, and it's not like he was actually close either. You know what I mean? It's not like you could say, oh, man, these goalies were outrageous. It's like they could not score goals. And then you factor in the stupid penalties on top of it and all the time they spent in the penalty box, and at the end of the day, you get really a bizarre...

That was crazy, man. Yeah, it is. It's a crazy thing. It's like, of all the Canadian teams, it's like... I mean, the time I left in the quarterfinals in Vancouver, it was like a good team, and it's almost like a coin flip. Anything could happen. And there was kind of a crazy goal in Vancouver, it was like a good team and it's almost like a coin flip. Anything could happen. And there was kind of a crazy goal in overtime. You're like, oh man, that team

might have got cheated out of a gold medal. With this team here, I'm like, they didn't get cheated out of much. That was what was so unique for me was, you know, I'm not as connected as you are. You're there, you're covering it, you're around people. But I had the most unique experience yesterday.

We were talking about it on the show. I'm like, I'm not sure they're going to win in the quarters. I've been in a gold medal match where I'm like, I think the Americans will get them or Russia's better or whatever. I wasn't surprised at all that they lost. How about this one, Hayes? I

asked some people in the hockey community at the hotel, I was like, let me ask you something. If Canada loses, I go home. If you were me, would you pack your truck up and go to the rink? Did you do that? No, I didn't. You driving in with your trunk packed and seeing Dave Cameron on the way in

would have been a wild, wild scenario. There's a flag on it that says, one way to Etobicoke. Don't touch. Keep the motor running. I made a big sticker, O-Dog's truck. Don't touch. He heading to Toronto after. And Team Canada walked by it. They would kick that car in.

Yeah, but it was a reasonable question. It was. You'd be surprised how many people, just hockey people, scouts, GMs are like, yeah, you could probably pack that thing up and head to the game no it's it was crazy man i've jonas you were talking about yesterday we're like this is i don't know if they're gonna win tonight well i'm not surprised that they didn't win jeff i was telling brian at the start of the show i was watching you in the pregame and you were like

the most important first goal ever and then i flipped over the leaf game came back and it was one nothing i was like oh my god jeff was right what are you thinking when that happens that like i'm it's got to come up with some things and items to talk about in pregame and i'm like the way these guys are going offensively if they don't score the first goal and kind of change the momentum of things and get feeling good about themselves it's probably curtains and then when checkia puts up a three spot you're like there's just no way in hell and then it seems like they they flipped the switch they got the crowd going and they tied it up and i'm like it wouldn't shock i i said to myself it wouldn't shock me

if these guys go on a run now and win the gold medal and sure as you know what they they get that penalty called against them and checky is scores on that power play i mean every year we talk about the importance of special teams in this tournament and that power play was something else i think they felt they had it solved putting the london guys together but the power play was useless and the penalty kill wasn't that far off. And they couldn't kill off that penalty, and Czechia won the hockey game. It was a crazy game. You talk about low-event or high-event games.

That game, I'm exhausted today. Not because I had to drive home, because it seems like you were so up and down, and you're like, they're back in it, and they're going to go far, and then there's a penalty, and they score. It just all of a sudden ends abruptly. But I don't know. The blame game's cooking around today, guys. And whenever this team wins a gold medal, the first thing I do is focus on the players.

This guy was awesome. This line was awesome. This D pairing was awesome. So when they lose, I find it a little bit crazy to skip the players and then just hunt for other things because everyone's like the coach and the coach did some weird stuff it's like not changing the lines around and you can talk about the personnel and there wasn't game breakers and it didn't work but for myself and my own analysis when they win i talk about players

how great they were how good the goalie was bedard the third line they were so dominant and then when it's a loss people are asking me to just bypass the players completely and go to the coach and go to the people that selected the team and i just don't think that's right yeah they're young kids and and they they went on the ice and they didn't play well enough and that's right. They're young kids, and they went on the ice, and they didn't play well enough, and that's the end of the story. I think that's fair. I think that's accurate. I think that's reasonable.

I do think there's blame that can go around. I didn't love the way Dave Cameron handled really the whole tournament. I don't think anybody did. No, and I didn't like his, you know, I had no regrets. We did everything we could. I didn't love that type of messaging. I said, from a player perspective, the players are heartbroken. I think the coaches and management are embarrassed, right?

It's because Hockey Canada, you lose back-to-back years in quarterfinals against Czechia. Credit to Czechia. They played really well back-to-back years, and they earned it last night. They played really well last night, and they came out to play. But I think you're heartbroken for your player. You're embarrassed if you're a coach or associated with Hockey Canada. Yet, you're right. The players, listen, these are all

going to be future NHL players. They're all really good, talented superstars in their respective club teams. Collectively, they just never look dangerous. They never looked like a team that was going to really bring much to the table. The pros have to own that.

Oh, they do. For sure. Look at how the Americans play and how they were like a unit out there and they created offense and they were big and they were fat. The Americans, as sad as it is to say this, the American team looked like a typical Canadian team where it was like line after line was just zipping it around and they were big and strong and fast and dominant and

that's what i was watching i watched that american team and i'm like there's no way in hell that they don't win the gold medal this year no way and when they play canada it was kind of men against boys where it was like this i mean as, as far as like scoring and offense, and I just don't know what they were trying to accomplish offensively. Like there was time and time again where it was like pull up, cross pass, intercepted, other way, like cycle it in behind the net, and nobody gets it. And it's like, what the hell are these guys? These guys dominate when they go back to their club teams,

and they can't even get a four check going. And it was almost like they didn't want to be physical, and they wanted to say, we'll go skill against skill. And they got a rude awakening that in the hockey world nowadays, it's not Canada just owns the skill game now. Skill against skill. They didn't find a separator and i always believe and a few of my panel panel members didn't necessarily agree with this but

like big hits and physicality it's like that's one of the separators for canada they kind of totally agree totally agree like like duffy said it to me he's like that's not really the case anymore and i'm like okay they keep doing what they're doing there. But why would we accept that? That's what I don't get. It's almost like Hockey Canada has accepted that, that if you want to make it skill on skill, you are evening the playing field.

And dude, not just that. As soon as they would crush someone in the corner, the idea of getting the crowd in the game, it's like a canadian hockey fan that's gooning a drink yes he loves that and it's the two things it creates momentum and it also helps a forecheck but i guess some people don't want to see it and they don't think it's effective i don't know maybe i'm a dinosaur for thinking it because it was nonsense who plays do people play that way really what do What do you think the Florida Panthers did

last year to win the Stanley Cup? They went out and figure skated? That's right. That's not the same as picking a national team, is it? Dude, give me a break. It's the same kind of game. It's the same size rank. What are we talking about here? I guess I'm just saying, how do you

pick players? Well, I mean, again, generally, it's the players have that capability of also doing that. Jonas, I've seen it a bunch of other years doing this tournament. The Canadian teams, it would be a massive part of their skill set was making the other teams say, oh my God, I got to go back into the corner again. Those guys are just going to destroy me. Wasn't even close to that this year.

What player comes to mind in past years? Historically? I can give you the number one, and this is an extreme example, but go watch Eric Lindros at this tournament. I know that's extreme, but there's a guy who's the most skilled, but he also said, I'm going to kill people when I get out of here. Dion Phaneuf, Jordan

Tutu, Marcus Foligno. You're talking about guys from way long ago, like 15, 20 years ago. In Halifax two years ago, Conor Bedard, whenever he went in the corner said, I'm going to squash that guy. And there's another guy and he's five, nine. Right. It's a team mentality. It's, it's like, I think that needs to be reestablished where the skill is still going

to be prominent. It's not, it's not meat and potatoes for the whole tournament, but I think it's even more prevalent against the inferior teams, especially on Canadian soil. Saucer passes through the neutral zone are not going to get the crowd freaking out. A heavy, forceful forecheck early in a game, that's going to get the crowd electric. Dude, like Latvia?

Sorry, Latvia should be crawling out of the corner and saying, we just... And if you're going to take the penalties, that's when you do it. Boarding because you destroyed someone. And then it's like, all right, give me my two minutes. Yeah, these penalties that these guys were taking, throwing a goalie stick in the corner, which was absolutely insane. Boarding a guy right in front of your bench insane scrums like stupid punches in front of it was february in london it was like what are we doing here it was goofy it was a really weird look man yeah it's too bad

because you know now you got to wait another year and they're the expectations aren't going to change now next year it's like you got to go figure this out hey the expectations aren't going to change. No. Next year, it's like, you've got to go figure this out. The expectations are going to change next year because it's going to be two years in a row, fifth place, pumped in the quarterfinals. You don't think they're going to have the expectation of we better fix this and do something next year in Minnesota? Exactly. That's what I'm saying.

The expectations are gold every single year that they play. Every single year. And it's even more highlighted now. And if the Americans do win this, that'll be back-to-back for them. And now they're going home next year in Minnesota. I mean, why would you expect the juggernaut that is the American program to slow down? It's likely not going to.

Like, they're just going to keep chugging and chugging and chugging. And, you know, we'll see how Hockey Canada handles it. But it sucks. I think it's really disappointing. It's a great tournament. Crowds showed up. Ottawa's a great town for it. It was the best of all the times that I've gone on site.

It was the best crowd I've been a part of in Ottawa. Wow. And they were ready to blow the top off. There's been some unbelievable crowds in Edmonton, in Halifax, in Vancouver. Amazing hockey fans across the board. I thought the Ottawa crowd was the best of all of them that I've ever been to. And I would go the game before. That's when I would show up to the rink because there was a game and then the Canada game.

And I would just look at the packed building and I was like, these people are ready to blow the roof off of this place and Canada's not even playing yet. Two different countries and they never got a chance. They never got a chance to go nuts. They really didn't. They were like, okay, there's no goals and then there's a loss to Latvia and they're walking

out of the rink like, what is going on here? Crazy. Crazy stuff. If Hockey Canada came to you and they said jeff like what should we do what would you tell them i'd say you can hire me but you're gonna have to pay me a hell of a lot of money to get me out of this desk right here they should give it a shot what would you do a little blank well what i do i would it's very simple it just seems like there's these weird agendas where it's like people have these idea like like well here's a scenario that i found pretty goofy the kid that ottawa drafted

you're telling me you couldn't even invited him to camp like maybe you had this thing where he was this one-way player or whatever you're telling me you couldn't even have brought him to ottawa like at least for the pr story for camp it was like the kid's a stud he got drafted by let him go to camp and if you don't think he can play after that and then cut him i i guarantee you he probably you probably would have looked at him and said that guy's pretty good maybe he can help our team there just was no game breaking out there and it seemed like someone had this idea of like we're going to do this instead of bring the best players there. And we've seen in years past where guys like Rick Nash and Joe Thornton and John Tavares, you're now a depth guy.

I did it at the World Juniors. I was the leading scorer of the Guelph Storm, and my assignment was, you're the fourth-line right-winger for Team Canada. You're a cheerleader and a plumber. Go out there and muck and grind and try to score a goal here and there, which I did. Our line contributed offensively, but that's the way it is. That team that went over to Sochi, they were the best players in Canada, best players in the game, and they were asked to play a certain way. And when it was time, if they needed four goals, those guys would go out and find four goals.

If it was three, they found three. I don't know. You've got to bring the best players. You know what I was disappointed in? I had never seen that video of you and Todd Harvey with your helmet on. That is one of the funniest videos I've ever seen in my life. The thing that really you need to look at is when the whole team kind of gathers and catches up to us, I'm the only guy with my bucket on.

Why did you keep your helmet on? I know it's been 30 years. It's one of those things. Our buddy Steve Koulias, I have a weird thing with it. I get out after practice in carolina and the pr person says you got to go sit down in there and do an interview with coolius you can find it online probably somewhere and i wore my bucket sitting down for the whole interview with coolius and i remember somebody should send me the clip because coolius came back from break and he had a helmet on at the desk that's awesome so i just i don't know i was it's the greatest moment of my hockey life like you win the gold medal in canada and we were

skating around and i've got the bubble cage on in a in a cooper helmet i'm like it's insane someone stopped me the other day in i was in a rink i think it was another dad of one of the one of the players on on my kids team and he's like i just gotta say that video of ho with the helmet is one of the funniest things i've ever seen i had never i'd never seen it before dude i'd never seen it you got that's got to be an annual thing you and duffy breaking that down i don't duffy brought it to my attention a couple years ago because you don't you don't really you're just like hey that's us winning and me and Harv. And by the way, Harv is so trying to steal my thunder.

Like, I got that flag from a fan behind the bench. And all of a sudden, his grubby mitts are all over it, trying to rip it out of my hands. And I'm like, you're the captain, but you're not taking this flag. Yeah, that's a two-man job. But Duffy brought it to my attention a couple years ago. He's like, why didn't you take your helmet off for the laps? Like the whole team's got no bucket.

And I have my bucket on. It's insane. It's such a great video. It's such a good video. I haven't seen it. You've got to find it. We'll find it. We'll post it.

We'll fire it up on Monday. Yeah, we've got a full breakdown. Because Noodles will like it, too. Noodles will have a great appreciation for it. A celebration in Red Deer, Canada flag, every other teammate with the helmet and gloves off and always got his helmet still on. Yeah, ridiculous. It's amazing.

Well, you've been off for a while, but you see this Austin Matthews story, like people buzzing out there in the NHL that this guy is still out, not playing. I gotta be honest with you, not one. That World Junior tournament is about the World Juniors. Really? I appreciate that. Yeah, Ottawa Hotel,

I don't even think you could even get the Leaf games, but it's a perfect opportunity for you guys to fill me in. I read a quote with you, Jonas, saying, I don't think this is going to be better, so we're just going to have to play it by ear, or what the hell is the scoop? Basically, I mean... He kind of said, he was asked, do you think this is something you'll better, so we're just going to have to play it by ear? Or what the hell is the scoop?

He kind of said, he was asked, do you think this is something you'll get over this season? He said, I don't know. I hope so, but I don't know. Things happen in a game that you can't control, et cetera, et cetera. So basically he's going out on the ice, and if there's a cross-check, he misses two weeks. That's what's concerning, man.

I mean, sort of of but it's also like he might well that's what we just saw i mean he played a game in buffalo and a guy gave him a crosscheck in front of the net kind of like it was almost standard defenseman protocol where it's like you got a guy in front of the net you're going to crosscheck them and what he's missed two weeks but but jeff like you would have said before that like he still doesn't look like himself right like he takes those three and a half weeks off. It's like, hopefully this helps. He goes to Germany.

He comes back and he kind of looks like a little teeny bit better. And then it just, but not really. He's never, he has not looked like a hundred percent Matthews all year, but that's the irony of this is that he's not going to tell anyone what's going on yet. You can actually look at a video and say that guy buried you in the bag. And now you're not playing. And I think most people are going to put

two and two together. We're not idiots here. What are you holding back? The whole league knows. And that's the concern. It's A, how are you going to well, there's three things. How are you going to continue

to play the rest of this like the regular season i would definitely think the leafs have said i don't know what you think you're doing for this olympic break or four nations break but maybe not the best idea you go into that yeah and how is he going to play in a playoff series if one cross check takes him out for 10 days i don't know yeah it's concerning like and you can kind of see it and hear that he's a little bit concerned about it himself i mean it's a big year he's the captain of the team i mean it's not year nine they have the history that they have well it just must be such a fresh like you probably dealt with this it must be so

frustrating when like you can't play up to the capability you know you have just because your body is just not cooperating. And nothing you're doing off the ice, treatment-wise, is helping to the point where you're better. You've got to be a mental grind, man. Brutal. Mental grind. Especially with the doctors. If you're talking about a Mark Lindsay-type guy or a Mike Prebag or these guys, all the Gary Roberts and Matt Nickel people. If these guys can't get you up and cooking 100%,

you remember that crazy kind of video of McDavid with his knee where he took that chance and did that therapy with Mark Lindsay and it was like it was outside the box thinking and the guy came back better than ever. It's crazy that this riddle can't be solved in somewhat of a short-term basis where it's like, hey, in three weeks we can get you back to 100%. You got hurt in camp, man. Yeah, so then what are we talking about?

Does this need surgery? What does it take to get this to 100%? From everything I understand, it's not that kind of thing, like where surgery will fix it. So I don't know what that. Which, again, glass have empty is you're scared both ways because you start messing around with surgeries you know there's a lot of athletes where it's like you just you can't get back there and i don't want to get there with

him i'm not i'm not going to make a projection on what the rest of his career is going to look like but it's scary both ways you can't fix it if you can't find it. Like, look at Thatcher Demko. He left the game again last night. Like, Demko's, now, again, they're going to reevaluate. They don't know exactly what it is. There's a ton of concern. Don't even get me started on these goalies. Tons of concern, man.

These goalies are just... Tons of concern. Yeah. You caught any Rolf out at Kapalua yet, or what? Dude, Rolf was doing a diatribe today of how the course got started and how he got his car stuck up on the hill when he was going through the site survey. Dude, he was talking about the 8.3 last night. Dude, he is so horny right now.

If they pan down his trousers, he's so excited. He was talking to the mayor on the first tee today yeah they both had the flowers on he just he loves being out there it's this tournament it's amazing i thought he was crying last night he was talking about the elevated green on eight and what it overlooks i swear he was tearing up and you got to see it yesterday tony finau hit a wedge You see him chisel a wedge from the top tier. You got to find a really cool shot. On the green, right? Yeah, it was on the green.

It was actually like a brilliant shot. And immediately, Hicks is like, Rolf, what do you... Like, just everything is about Mark Rolfing this whole week. You'd appreciate it, Jonas. Even though you're not a golf guy. This guy, he's been living in Kapalua. He's worked at Kapalua for like 30 years dude he

was saying yesterday crazy when we built this place we just put the clubhouse there and then we started mapping out the holes from the clubhouse guys he loves it he loves it and cory connor's looking good man i haven't checked this afternoon but he's looking good he's in the hunt and yeah we'll see what comes of it all right right, man. Well, good to have you back, and we'll catch you on Monday. Yeah, get the helmet video ready for Monday. We'll do a full breakdown of how stupid it is. You cannot. You've got to see this, Jonas.

I'm going to watch it in the break. Monday, full breakdown. I look forward to the explanation. Yeah, we will. The noodles will be included. It's going to be a good one on Monday. Watch that greasy pig heart trying to steal the flag from me, too. He does get in there, right?

He just can't wait to get that thing out of my hands. All right, buddy. Catch you Monday. See you, boys. There he is, the O-Dog, Jeff O'Neal. Back in the fold. Back at it on Monday here on Overdrive. Best bets still to come later in the hour.

A little role play, you and I, Jonas. We love it. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN 2. The weekend brings Hurry Up Tomorrow to Rose Bowl Stadium in Los Angeles Jonas. We love it. Overdrive continues. day at iHeartRadio.ca. I think those are beautiful. An iHeartRadio experience. The weekend in L.A.

Powered by TripCentral.ca. The smarter way to book travel. Why do we all have to be so happy? Brings up a good point on that. All right, so we don't have to throw to anything. We'll put a little different spin on this. It be no concern moderately concerned extremely concerned okay i'm going to start this off i'm playing the role of the canadian cup droughts just 30 plus years now okay what is my level of concern that the streak will continue this spring

moderately concerned i I think is reasonable. I think we're going to have three really good tickets here. Winnipeg, Edmonton, Toronto. All three teams are going to get there. They're good teams. I think they're going to have really good regular seasons, presuming health. They're going to get into the playoffs.

Obviously, the Leafs have to prove who they are. Winnipeg, Connor Hellebuck in the playoffs has to prove who he is and who they are. But I think they're really good teams. I think they've proven that. I think that gives you a real shot. Three of the 16. Vancouver is terrifying me right now. Like with what's going on with them,

I'm not even sure they're going to make the playoffs. But if they do, Demko, if he's not playing, if he's not available, if he's injured, I'm not sure they're a legitimate threat. If Calgary gets in, which I don't think they will, I don't think they're a threat to win it. Ottawa, the same thing. They could get in. They're not going to win a Stanley Cup. Three tickets. Moderately concerned

that the streak will continue. I mean, the odds are, I guess, against Canada, but at some point, something's going to break their way. And they were in Game 7 of a Cup Final last year. And all three teams are still really good. That's it. Which of those teams do you feel best about?

I'm still going to say Edmonton. I'm going to say Edmonton, but Skinner scares me. Stuart Skinner scares me. The way they defend scares me at times. Yeah, but those two, you know they're just going to... And they elevate. That's the difference between their stars in Edmonton and the stars in Toronto, the stars

in Winnipeg. Hellebuck's playoffs the last couple years have been abysmal. The stats have been really bad. Their best players have not elevated when they're supposed to. We know the Leafs history. They play fine, but then when it's time to really make something happen, game six, game seven, they go into a shell or they just don't do enough.

I know McDavid and Dreisaitl are going to be phenomenal in those games. Well, and remember Hyman was outstanding. Absolutely. And Bouchard was great. Yeah. Like Bouchard immediately established himself as a playoff performing defenseman.

Well, and they got like, I know we disagree about this, but like they got contributions along the way. Like Adam Henrique, I remember, scored like a, I think it was an OT winner at some point. Connor Brown scored. That line got better. Jan-Marc Brown, Henrique was a good line for an OT winner at some point. Connor Brown scored. That line got better.

Jan-Marc Brown, Henrique was a good line for them. They got contributions from different places, but you're right. The goaltending is going to be a big part of it. And who you play against. They've played L.A. the last couple of years. L.A. is a good team, not a great team. Edmonton was favored. They took advantage of that.

Again, not making excuses, but I think just facing reality, the Leafs every year when they play in the playoffs, they have a tough opponent. Like immediately you're playing a really tough team. At some point you should beat them. You do need to beat them. You kind of have to. Typically to win a cup you gotta beat some good teams.

You do. Alright Jonas, you're playing the role of Team USA. This has been a theme all week. What is your level of concern? Austin Matthews will not be available for the Four Nations faceoff. Moderately concerned. Moderately concerned. Because I know that this has been going on for three months.

I know from him that it hasn't gotten better to the point where it's in the rear view mirror and here feels like it's going to be gone the rest of the year. And I know how much playoff pressure the team is facing. I know how much pressure he's facing as a captain now. Like that just adds a teeny little layer to this whole thing. I would be concerned because obviously he, I would think he would be the captain. He's going to be the,

but he would be the best player on that team if he's at a hundred percent. And now you just don't know if you're going to have him. Wouldn't that be extreme concern then? I think once I get a little closer, like if it's two weeks out, I guess he could be extremely concerned. But it's just like there's still too much time. Like it's another five weeks where he could come back in a week, start looking more like himself, and then maybe this all goes away. Yeah, it's another five weeks where he could come back in a week, start looking more like himself, and then maybe this all goes away.

Yeah, it's possible. It just doesn't feel likely because we've been down that road twice before where he comes back, we think he's going to be okay, and he's still very good. He's just not our trophy best player in the world. That would be my concern is that even if he does play, which Matthews are you going to get? Are you going to get the one we've seen

all year with the Leafs? I think it would probably be elevated a bit based on intensity but everyone's intensity is higher. And there's no freebies. You're playing Sweden and Canada and Finland. Yeah, but the difference is you have just a team of stars. You're insulated for sure. I think if anything though, USA, they may not be extremely

concerned because they're probably bracing for it and probably have been for a while. And they like the rest of their team. Yeah, but the problem is... The goalies are great. Defense is great. Even if you were to replace him, like the players... You're not going to replace him. No, but I mean, you're like... Right, like let's say you took his place on the roster.

He says he's not going to play. The player you're getting is not him. No. Even at 75. No, you're getting the 15th best forward. Right. Right. Who probably doesn't play.

Who probably won't even play anyway. Yeah. All right, I'm playing the role of the Blue Jays' season record in 2025. When is my level of concern that I will not sniff 500 all season? It's extremely concerning right now. Extremely concerning. It's extremely concerning. Charlie Morton signed with the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon.

One year, $15 million. I like Charlie Morton. He's just always around. He always sends a one-year deal. He makes $15 million every year. He always eats innings. Every single year. Give me a one-year deal, $15 million, I'm happy.

And Baltimore said, fine, we'll take it. Like, Corbin Burns left. They replaced him with Charlie Morton. Is it a downgrade? Yes. Significantly. We'll find out. But Baltimore's now in the fold, right?

They're going to lose Santander. We believe he's probably going to leave. But they have, like, a million prospects. But they have the number one prospect pool in baseball. Exactly. And that's another thing. You've got Holiday, who's just coming. Exactly. And that's another thing.

You've got Holiday, who's just coming. But the Jays, like, I keep telling myself, they're going to do something. And they will literally do something at some point. They're going to sign a few guys. But with every passing day, and every free agent going somewhere else, it becomes more and more clear, or at least

it seems to be moving in a direction where it's going to be very similar to the offseason from a year ago. Here's Justin Turner. Here's Conor Falefa and Turner and Kiermaier and maybe an arm or two in the bullpen, and let's see what happens. If that happens,

I just don't see how they're going to be even remotely competitive. They just don't have enough. I know internal improvement is a statement that gets goofed on, deservedly so. If Bo Bichette is healthy, that will improve them significantly. He had a disastrous season.

Where else is the internal improvement? But that's the thing. George Springer is not getting better. Exactly. And even the arms. Like Bassett's not going to get better. I'm not sure Gossman's going to get better. No?

Had a down year? Yeah. Is Barrios going to have the same kind of year that he had get better. I'm not sure Gossman's going to get better. No, had a down year? Yeah. Is Barrios going to have the same kind of year that he had last year? I'm not sure he will. Maybe not. Maybe he has the year he had before. They haven't really addressed the bullpen. They brought in Garcia, but they still need to address more pieces.

So, yeah, I'm extremely concerned until the Blue Jays prove otherwise. And even at this point, like let's say you sign Anthony Santander. Okay, that's a guy. Switch hitter. Hits a lot of home runs. Improves you immediately. You've got to do more than that though. Once you've committed to him, you're like, that's going to be a pretty significant

contract you're going to hand him. That means you're saying we want to win. They have to give up a draft pick to do that. Look at the division. Who are you supposed to be better than? As of right now, Tampa, you might feel better than Tampa. Maybe this sucks. I don't think so.

I don't think so. I don't think so. It sounds like Bregman may end up going to Boston. Although I don't know how that would work with Devers. I think they said Bregman would move to second maybe. Okay. And I don't know what Bregman has left in the tank. Yeah.

The Santander scenario, it kind of given me like Kendris Morales flashbacks. Remember in 17 when they're like, we got to do something. We just ALCS back-to-back years and switch hitter Morales, same thing. He's not as good, not the same stats, but it just felt like they were desperate,

and they're like, we're just going to sign a guy. And then a year later, they realized, we've got to turn this over. It's not good enough. Batista's got to go. Tullo's done. Donaldson's done. Martin's done. Gibby's out.

It kind of feels very similar. The vibes are bad. The vibes are not good. It feels so similar to last offseason. Only worse because it was a worse season they're coming off of. Yeah, right. Like two years ago, they went to the playoffs. Yeah, and had the embarrassing situation happen.

Right. Which did leave you with a sour taste in your mouth. But at least they won 89 games and made the playoffs. Yeah. This year they were a disaster. Well, and then there's the whole contract situation with Bichette and Guerrero where it adds even more uncertainty.

A lot of anxiety. Alright, Jonas, you're playing the role of the NBA. You're the NBA. What is your level of concern? 2025 will be LeBron James' final calendar season in the league. No concern at all. He's still playing at too high a level

that I don't think he's going to retire after this year. He's still averaging. You look at his numbers. He's averaging 25, 8, and 9. They're still... The Lakers have been playing better lately. They're still around the playoff mix. They're not that good.

They're not good. They're not winning a championship. He knows that. He basically referenced that the other day when he said they're not a championship caliber team, which is obvious. But this is not that good. They're not good. They're not winning a championship. He knows that. He basically referenced that the other day when he said they're not a championship-caliber team, which is obvious. But this is not the year. How many years do you think he still has left?

I think it's like minimum. I haven't spent any time thinking. Two or three? I bet he probably wants Brawny to get a little better and maybe next year he's like the 12th man and then maybe the year after that he he's like the 9th man. I think he got his Bronny thing. They came in together opening night.

He got his picture. Then maybe he leaves. Maybe he leaves the Lakers. I don't know. I don't think he wants to leave LA. That's the thing. I don't think it's about championships anymore. I think ideally he'd win one, but he's not going to get flipped to Oklahoma City to help them win. He's bigger than that. He's moved on.

So you just think he just does this again two more years? I would guess that's the option. If he wants to play, it's just in L.A., live in the L.A. lifestyle, be in LeBron James as a Laker, and whatever happens, happens. Do you picture him going somewhere else? I don't think anything is inconceivable with that. Maybe this becomes tiresome. I mean, he would control it all, clearly. It's not going to be some sweepstakes. picture him going somewhere else i don't think anything is inconceivable with that like maybe this i mean he would control it all clearly it's not gonna be some sweepstakes he just had some

comments a couple weeks ago maybe it was a week ago where it was like he kind of left the door a little bit open like i hope i retire as a liker but like you never know like i feel like it would have to be like the perfect situation like i don't know what that is like well new york comes to mind right i don't think he's going back to new york comes to mind right i don't think he's going back to cleveland he's done that he's he's been down that road he's not going to do it again he's not he's not really good too that'd be interesting it is golden state is a team that he's been connected to yeah go and play with stuff they're in the same boat they're just not contenders maybe got him yeah maybe that's the question but um although if you're a laker if you're the lakers

why would you trade him the golden state his contract would i think would just run out i think he does like the one plus one but that's why again i don't trust him because he's always passive aggressive with that and i think a lot of it is directed at lakers ownership and prior to that it was cleveland and then it was miami where it's always this idea that if you don't do what I want you to do, I'll leave you. And in large part, he's been worthy of that kind of leverage. And it worked, and it was smart business for LeBron.

But is it to a point now where the Lakers are like, what do you want us to do? What are they going to do? Have you been following this Jimmy Butler thing? Jimmy's 35. He said last night, effectively, I need out. Like days after Pat Riley said, we are not trading Jimmy Butler thing? Jimmy's 35. He said last night, effectively, I need out. Like days after Pat Riley said we are not trading Jimmy Butler this season.

Well, because the reporting has been pretty substantial that he wants out. And he's wanted out for a while. And yet, like Jimmy's 35. His numbers the last couple games haven't been great. And he's not shooting the ball. He's talking about not being happy, and he wants joy,

and it can't happen in Miami. Do you think that's a guy the Lakers could possibly be targeting? I mean, again, he's 35. I don't think they have anything really to trade. That is a bit of a concern as well. And if you're Miami, what are they, 17 and 15? They're in the playoffs. They're sixth seed.

Jimmy Butler's a great playoff performer. But like your other players, he's old, gets hurt. But he is a rock star in the playoffs. Anyway. Alright. Alright, Jonas. Let's get to one more here. You are playing the role,

or I am playing the role, of Aaron Rodgers. What is my level of concern that the NFL will ice me out in 2025, even if I want to play? Extremely concerned. I'm extremely concerned. We've established this. We've talked about it the last couple of days. I think there's very few teams that would even contemplate the idea of bringing

Aaron Rodgers in. He's over the age of 40. His numbers aren't great. He's a difficult guy to deal with and handle. He's going to want to be on his own program. He's going to want his own people. He's going to scramble. He's going to audible.

He's going to do what he wants to do when he's on the field. He hasn't won anything in a long time. He won a Super Bowl 14 years ago. He's going to do what he wants to do when he's on the field. He hasn't won anything in a long time. He won a Super Bowl 14 years ago. He's not a winner anymore. That's another thing that gets lost. The MVPs are not that long ago. I know that, but look what they did in the playoffs.

They didn't win. Yeah. Right? They went to the championship game in 20. They got destroyed against the Niners. Then the Niners went into Lambeau when they were the one seed when he won the MVP. And again, Shanahan ran all over him. Like, he's not a winner anymore.

That's another thing that doesn't really come up. You look at the stats. You look at the mojo. He's a compelling guy. He's a remarkably interesting person. But he doesn't win. So even if you're so desperate, or you're desperate because you want to win, he's not going to help you do that, in my opinion.

And I just think there's a number of teams that will say, I just don't want to put up with the circus that is Aaron Rodgers. I think that's more it. The performance doesn't justify the circus. And you'd have to pay him a fair amount of money. I was just thinking, if you had your own Pat McAfee like where you just got an athlete on every week who would it be

where he just comes on he just talks about everything that's going on doesn't really help him it's not really clear why he's doing it the amazing thing is he really does get going and talks yeah he will I would say like Matthews or McDavid,

but they're not going to do that. That would be great. You could talk about how good the team is. I know you want to talk. That would be incredible. If Austin wants to come on every single week, the invitation's there. Just come on and talk.

Talk about anything you want. Half the time they talk about the Jets, but the other half, it's just about anything. Then you should just stand up and just do tank tops, do the whole bit. If Matthews wants to come on weekly, I would do that. I'm not holding my breath on that. You don't think Austin's going to be willing to accept that invitation?

I'm sure there are guys in the NHL that would. Matthew Kachuk comes to mind. You know who would be good? Ryan Reeves. Ryan Reeves is a really compelling guy. And he loves to talk. He's engaging. Reeves would be great.

I'm assuming he's got media in his future in some capacity. A hundred percent. He'll be good at it. I think he would be good at it. I think he'll do his own thing. Yeah. No, he'll say whatever he wants to say.

He can back it up. Yeah, Reeves would be a guy that would be really cool to talk to. All right, there you go. Role play level concern looking ahead to 2025. Melanin Friday brought to you by Boston Pizza's new game day menu. Stop by your local BP for $7 touchdown pints. Shareables for the whole crew and weekly prizing up for grabs. Football game days are better at your local BP.

We'll come back with our best bets looking ahead to week 18 in the NFL. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN 2. 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.

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Conditions apply. See Specsavers.ca. From the News Talk 1010 Traffic Center, I'm Christina Gale. Melody Friday is brought to you by Boston Pizza's new game day menu. Stop by your local BP for $7 touchdown pints,

shareables for the whole crew, and weekly prizing up for grabs. Football game days are better at your local BP. I think my kids are at Boston Pizza right now. We've got a tournament that we're playing in Scarborough. Whippy Wolves. Shout out.

They're 2-0 already. I missed the afternoon game. Playing great. Awesome to be around just hockey people, hockey parents, kids, tournaments, GTA, Canada. Can't beat it. Cannot beat it, Jonas. Are you a laid-back hockey dad?

Yeah. Easy going? Easy going, sitting up there, having a good time. Have you ever yelled? No. Okay. No, not yelling. Not yet?

No, I said not yelling. Not yet. Maybe. I mean, at some point, you never know. But no, not yelling. I mean, it's U11. We're just kind of getting going here, having fun. But it's awesome.

Everyone's having a good time. Everyone's having a good time. All right, best bets powered by FanDuel. Make your picks and assemble a same-game parlay in seconds on the FanDuel Sportsbook app. I got one play. My last chance. Fading the Jets. Give me the points.

The Dolphins are a one and a half point dog. I get it. Tua's not playing. They have to win to get in. They have to win to get in. Is Skyler Thompson playing? I believe that's going to be the case. He was not good at all before.

Do you know how bad the Jets are, Jonas? I know, but at least... I don't care who they're playing against. If the Jets are favored, I'm fading them. That's what the pick is about. Not about Miami. Miami does have something to play for, you're right. Again, it doesn't matter who's playing against the Jets.

If the Jets are giving points, you have to take it. And I got one more chance to do it. Week 18. I'm on the fish. I'm on the dolphins. Today's Best Bets powered by FanDuel. The FanDuel Sportsbook app. The exclusive home of the Overdrive.

Same game parlay. Please play responsibly. 19 plus physically located in Ontario. Hazenbro victorious this year. Hazenbro, just a phenomenal run. That's an objective view. Just unbelievable. Objective view.

In both meanings of the word. Unbelievable. Yes. I can't believe it happened. Spectacular go on and on and on how great hazen bro or um al's brother's on a victorious cruise right now he booked a cruise after we won last week how many times that guy goes on a cruise it's unbelievable you know uncomfortable i would be on a cruise that many times? The most interesting things I learned this week were that Al's brother goes on lots of cruises

and Doogie wears multiple colognes at once. Doogie claims he has like 25 different colognes. Just mind blowing. And has like one cologne for the left side of his body, one for the right. You know how abnormal that behavior is?

I've never heard of it. I love Doogie, but that is just absolutely absurd. But I guess what I was trying to drive at was, once we get through Week 18, it's go time next week. Do the playoffs matter more? Because they technically should. Shouldn't. Shouldn't.

I don't think so. I mean, listen, we won the playoffs last year. Now we won the regular season. We've won it all, Jonas. We intend on winning the playoffs again. And we are going to spice it up. Doogie is putting together a little bit of a different run, some different picks, different ways to rack up points,

different point systems. It's going to be very creative, very different. You've got to tune in next week to find out how. All right. All right. The O-Dog, I think, he'll be back. We saw him earlier this hour. Noodles will be back.

Noodles, I think, is in St. Louis tonight. Ottawa lost in Dallas last night to get the Blues tonight. But Noodles should be back in the fold next week. It's going to be fun. Doogie will be back. JP will be back. But great seeing the guys behind the scenes. Thank you, Jonas.

Great seeing you, as always. We appreciate you doing this. Jonas Segal of The Athletic. We're out of here. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out. Everyone for tuning in today. TV, radio, you as always. We appreciate you doing this. Jonas Segal of The Athletic. We're out of here. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out. Everyone for tuning in today. TV, radio, podcast, web. We appreciate that.

We're out of here. Enjoy your evenings. Enjoy your weekends. We're back Monday at 4 p.m. We'll chat then.