OverDrive - OverDrive - July 24, 2025 - Hour 1

Episode Date: July 24, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Frank Corrado and Dave Feschuk for Hour 1 on OverDrive! They are joined by Blue Jays Manager John Schneider joins to discuss the Blue Jays' terrific span throughout the season, the coaching mindset and topping the division in the AL East. The guys discuss the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial and players found no guilty, the impact on the organization and the future in the NHL, Hulk Hogan passing away and the Blue Jays' matchup against the Tigers.

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TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker, and up on TSN 4, Brian Hayes, Frankie Carrotto, Dave Festrack of the Toronto Star. What's happening, boys? What's up, boys? How about them Blue Jays? We got John Schneider coming up in like five minutes very rarely do we do that very rarely do we have a guest right out of the gate generally we like to get the ball rolling we talk about a lot of different things generally none of them are sports related but when you beat the Yankees two out of three unbelievably

entertaining series and you have now these series of the years, Jays Tigers chasing that top seed in the American League in Detroit starting tonight, first pitch at 640. When the manager says, I got a call in at 405, you accept that call. If you accept the call. If the Jays didn't win that game is the first question, why the hell are you letting Chris Bassett pitch

to Aaron Judge at that point in the game? Yes, and I love that we, I'm gonna ask him that, or one of us can ask him that, but it come, it's such a different tone. Oh yeah, it's like a... Because the Jays won that game. Yeah, that was cool. Hey, what were you thinking there?

What are you thinking there in the sixth inning, the bases open, you could just give him a free pass, you pitch to him and all of a sudden it's a tie ball game. What happened there? Cause now it's just giggles and it's all good. Yeah, second guess on the manager. Yeah, whatever, we're having fun. This guy may be the manager of the year. I mean, you take a team from last place to first place in the AL East, you can make the case that this isn't just Jay's Tigers in this series coming up starting tonight

it's Schneider versus AJ Hinch in the showdown for manager of the year because I think they're the top two favorites. As of this moment and according to FanDuel AJ Hinch is a big favorite still you're paying some minus money on that but John Schneider is a clear-cut number two and there's no one really close like it's one of those two guys and you're right when you consider the Tigers like the way they finished the year they got into the playoffs. So was this like I don't think the Tigers success was less expected than the Blue Jays success. Like the Tigers I think were expected to carry over the good fortunes of last season. They've obviously got the best pitch in the Blue Jays success. Like the Tigers I think were expected to carry over the good fortunes of last season. They've obviously got the best pitch in the American League. They got a really good staff, really good young players.

Horrible division. That's the thing. They play in a terrible division. So like I'm not taking anything away from the Tigers or A.J. Hinch. Unbelievable job. But I don't think anybody in Toronto, Detroit, New York, Boston, anywhere in baseball was thinking the Jays would be in the position they're currently in. Nobody saw it coming. Compared to the Tigers, nobody saw it coming. The Vegas over-under did not indicate that this team was headed for first place in the American League East.

Nobody that watched this team peter out last year thought they were headed for first place in the American League East considering they didn't exactly overhaul the franchise. And they certainly, and nobody thought they'd be headed for first place in the American League East considering they didn't exactly overhaul the franchise and they certainly and nobody thought they'd be headed for first place in the American League East after the guys they actually spent money on namely Santander have been a does even play. Yeah. Now the odds are starting to flip here because earlier in the week AJ Hinch I want to say was minus 600 or minus 800. Now he's minus 175 and John Schneider's plus 160

yeah this is one of those values starting to move yeah yeah and rightfully so man because this is one of those years where if you were tracking the Jays you're like let's we'll roll the dice and see what happens they're gonna go right back at it pretty much the same staff same crew same core guys and see if they can do anything different but I don't think even if it was different or an improvement of last year, you weren't thinking first place. No way. Oh, but this was like, this has been hugely successful and coming out of the all star break, that was going to be the question.

Like what were you going to look like coming out of the break? And they've been awesome. They're playing entertaining ball. They're playing like clean, gritty baseball. It's been like really what a turnaround. Yeah. Now they benefited from the ineptitude of the Yankees at times last year. Talk about clean baseball.

That's the opposite of what's going on there. Like four errors for the Yankees and Bellinger didn't get hit with an error because he lost the ball in the lights, you know? And so really like that was the biggest point. Now you can argue. You talk about now that's a, I guess a man-made error where it happens sometimes and he misjudged it Then he lost it in the lights and whatever but still get Ernie Clement. I'll take third base Thank you Ernie and the amazing thing about last night was yes

The Yankees put the Jays in positions where they could pounce on them because of their own sloppy baseball last night But you had obviously a huge RBA double by Vlad E they could pounce on them because of their own sloppy baseball last night. But you had obviously a huge RBA double by Vladdy. You had that two you had that big home run by Beau Bichette which that closed the game in the seventh inning. So those are your two best players and Springer was great last night and he went first to home at one point he's dying he can barely breathe in the dugout it's a great scene a great story how he has completely redeemed himself this year.

But Springer, Fladdy, Boll, all contributing significantly, but then you also have Miles Straw with a huge RBI double in the game. You have Ernie Clement who has been struggling moving down the lineup, he had that big single bases loaded early in the game. So it's Guerrero, Springer, Bichette, Straw, Clement. It's guys, both ends of the stick right now. And it kind of bolsters the manager of the year case for Schneider because there's not an MVP candidate on this team.

You're not being carried by a player of judges magnitude. And all the stories that you're reading out of the clubhouse are about the club culture, the band of brothers, as George Springer's put it, right? About how you've gotten guys that were unexpected contributors to be huge contributors. And that's not all on the manager, you can't credit John Schneider with all of that.

You gotta give him some credit for some of it. Absolutely, I mean, I think the fundamentals of the team are very significant and a big part of what the manager and his staff are gonna continue to push. But also you're right, like the idea that you build the culture, someone's gotta be leading that and someone's gotta be responsible for it

and giving guys opportunities. And a lot of that has been injury based where guys that you would think would be playing every day, not around, so you gotta allow someone else to step in. But when they stepped in, they played very well like this is a Team without a leadoff hitter basically changes every single night yet Again, they're the they're the hottest team in baseball and they've been the hottest team in baseball for a month certainly in the American League And they're off to Detroit for the best of four tonight or a four game series beginning down at Comerica

Here is the manager of the Blue Jays John Schneider. How you doing John? beginning down at Comerica here he is the manager of the Blue Jays John Schneider. How you doing John? Hello what's up I'm doing well here in lovely Detroit. Yes you should be I mean when you hear your team described as the hottest team in baseball how does that feel? It's nice man I mean the guys have been playing well for a while and you know there's still a you know a ton of games left but we've been doing this for a while. And it's been another good home stand after winning 11 in a row there and basing another

really good team for the next four years. So it's nice to hear that. And I'm just really pleased with the way the guys are going about it every day. Did you happen to catch any replay of when Boone got ejected, the camera panning over to you and the dugout and what kind of facial expression and body language you had going? Did you see that? I did not. Was I laughing or was I, what was I doing? You couldn't have looked more calm and casual.

And then there's Boone losing his mind. And I have to think that like, you're watching that and you're like, well, I know what that's like. I've done that pretty recently. Was it kind of nice to be on the other end of it? Just chilling in the dugout? Yeah, yeah. You kind of take some mental notes too. So you kind of know what you look like

when you do lose your mind a little bit. Yeah, I think that it was, you know, it was kind of right in front of us too. Booney made his way over kind of towards our dugout. But yeah, I try to keep a straight face. He's been known for some pretty good ones and pretty entertaining injections. So I think kind of in that moment, I was kind of just observing. Yes, I think everybody was just observing at that point.

And you take two out of three against the Yankees the last few nights, you swept them four straight a couple weeks ago. That's six of seven against the Yankees. Why do you think or why have you had the number of New York? We match up pretty similarly but in different ways if that makes sense. You know they're kind of built with the long ball and their starters and I think we did a really good job against their starters both you know this past series and the end the four game or a couple weeks ago. We did a really good

job of putting the ball in play and putting pressure on the defense you know it's we're a tough team to strike out and I think when you put the ball in play, good things happen. So we made, we had some really good pitching performances too, but from both starters and relievers and you know, not your typical relievers. You know, we had, you know, guys up and down the kind of depth chart of the bullpen come in and get some big outs, you know against those guys and I don't know if you have their number per se, you know, I feel like every game is tight against them and

And we kind of made it a few more plays than they did John obviously nobody's really Angrily second-guessing the manager on a on a day after you win angrily second-guessing the manager on a day after you win. But there was some second-guessing last night about the eternal second-guessing question of why did you pitch to Aaron Judge with a man on base, the Yankees down a couple of runs, and he did it to you again as he's done to many teams for many years. What goes into those decisions against a player of that magnitude?

Yeah, it's not a perfect science, you know, it kind of changes every single situation and You know, of course you're kicking yourself because I mean we're talking about an elite talent you know and him and I got I got so much respect for the way he does it, you know day in and day out and In that situation you're thinking it's a six-bitting, Chris had handled them well the previous two at bats, but you can't put, you can't put all your stock in that, you know what I mean? You're always trying to think of the what could and, you know, with the base open there, you know, I kind of trusted Chris to, you know, at the very least, maybe pitch a round to me, just missed a spot and Judge doesn't miss, you know, when the ball's in the middle of the plate. So it's, uh, it's tough. You know,

we, we talk about situations before the game with him specifically, I think you have to give credit to, you know, Ben Rice behind him, who, who took the lead in the ninth inning off off the day before. And, you know, I didn't want to put the, you know, bring the, the go ahead run into the box there where the team that's built for home runs. So it's, again, I know that I have the most intentional walks against him in the last couple years. And it's worked out sometimes and it hasn't sometimes.

But last night I thought there was enough game for us to come back and if the worst case was a tie game, I thought our guys could come back and score some runs and they did. Yeah, they did. You ended up winning that game with John Schneider ahead of other series in Detroit and Bassett you know spoke on the aggressiveness of your team after the game and about those habits that you know you guys have been getting a lot of love for recently

and you know forcing the opposition to make mistakes and being on your toes and whether it's the bats, you know, running the bases, the arms, like that attitude of being aggressive, how does that apply to the way you approach Judge throughout the series? Because you let Scherzer go at him, you know, you let Gosman go at him, it's, and not, you're not going to intentionally walk him, you know, 15 times over three nights, but you seemingly let your guys, for the most part, challenge him. Is that a part of the team culture that you're trying to apply here? You gotta stay on your toes and you gotta be aggressive.

Yeah, we've been playing that way for a while now. And I think that's kinda how we're built. We have the personalities and the talent to do that. So in terms of him in particular, it's not like it's an automatic home run. You know what I mean? It seems like it more often than not. But I trust guys to make pitches.

And that's kind of the name of the game. You make pitches and you're good. And if you make mistakes, the possibility of something bad happening goes up. So you know that. But I like the way that... of something bad happening goes up. So you know that, but I think in turn, I like the way that, I know Chris spoke to it after the game,

I want these guys to be aggressive. I want them to have the confidence to get people out. I want them to have the confidence to get a guy over, get a guy in, hit the ball at the ballpark. I think just overall, the way that guys are kind of flying around the field, you look at George scoring from first on Vlad's double. You look at, you know, Schneid scoring from second on George's hit to right the

day before. These guys aren't taking anything for granted and they're, and we're playing really good defense. I mean, Leo Jimenez and Ernie at second, Vlad, he made a couple of great plays at first. Um, our outfield, you know, seemed to make all the plays as well. So I think that's kind of what we talk about more. It's kind of how do we use our skills the best to help us win every single night. And when you have not only the talent to do it and the ability to do it, you get the effort and the kind of attention to detail with it and the anticipation. It's just so fun

to watch. It kind of gets contagious. Guys are flying down the line on ground balls, putting pressure on the infield. That's how we play. That's how we want to be known. When a team is getting ready for us, we want them to know that this is what the effort and this is what the aggressiveness is going to be. Is there a moment throughout the season so far that you can point to where you can say that all that stuff you just talked about, you know, the team really kind of buying into what they're supposed to be doing, the guys who are having bounce back seasons, like did that just click or has that just been a steady build from spring training and everyone kind of coming back maybe a

little pissed off with the way last season went? Yeah I think it started in spring you know I mean I remember you know the first full day I had about you know you have your meeting at the beginning of camp with the whole group there and you know sometimes it's long sometimes it's short and this was my shortest meeting as a manager it was probably about 45 seconds or 60 seconds. And all I said is, you know, last year we need to learn from, we need to focus on what's important now

and what's important every single day to win. And I need everyone in this room to be you and not try to be anything you're not. And that was it, you know what I mean? So if it's, if you make contact, I want you to make contact. If you hit home runs, I want you to hit home runs. If you if you make contact, I want you to make contact. If you hit home runs, I want you to hit home runs. If you can strike guys out, I want you to strike them out.

If you can be an elite defender, I want you to be an elite defender. And they kind of grasped onto that. After last year, guys were pissed, myself included. It was a tough year, but you have to learn from it. We had tons of conversations as a coaching staff, front office, and with the players about how we can get better.

And it's been really cool to kind of be aligned in all that and player feedback is huge. And we got a lot of veteran guys here. So we've changed some things that we do. You know what I mean? We've been pretty adamant about that and it's working. And I think when you have really good communication from top to bottom guys understand the roles They're understanding what I'm asking of them what the coaches are asking of them

And what they're asking, you know what they're holding each other accountable to you know, that's that's when you really see it click So when you're when you're focused on what do I need to do to help my team win today? Usually good things happen for you individually and then for the team. Hey John, it's been a little more than three years now since you took this role, replacing Charlie Montoya mid-season. And I've been fascinated to kind of hear you sort of

reflecting about the way you've evolved as a manager over that time. I mean, how would you sum up the way you've grown into this position over the years? Yeah, I mean, looking back, you know, it takes it takes reps, you know what I mean? And, you know, taken over midway through the season, you're kind of flying by the seat of your pants, right? You're just you're trying to just win every single game and looking back,

you know, to where I was and kind of who I was, you know, my first full year to where I am now is totally different. You know, it's I remember, you know, to where I am now is totally different. I remember you're trying to please everyone. You're trying to please the front office. You're trying to please the players. You're trying to please the media. When you get caught in a little bit of a hamster wheel, you're just doing the same thing every

single day. Where I've gotten to, you're just more comfortable as a manager. You've gone through things that you've gone through, you've gone through things that you've done well and you've gone through things that you've messed up, you know what I mean? And I've, if you're not paying attention to those things, you know, the game is gonna fly right by you. And there's gonna be mistakes, you know,

from players, there's gonna be mistakes from me, you know what I mean? And you just gotta be accountable to it. So it's how you kind of adjust from that is I think what makes you better. And, um, and the more you do it, the more comfortable you get with it. You know, the easier it is to talk to the media twice a day, the easier it is to tell a guy that something isn't acceptable or to have tough conversations. You know what I mean?

And players, they deserve that and they, and they want that. So when you're around guys for a number of years, like I've been fortunate to be, and then you have a staff that has kind of been together for a while, you all kind of, you all kind of function at a higher level. And I think that's kind of where we landed right now. And definitely all the things that I've been through have gotten me to where I am today. And I'm going to continue to go through them just like any manager is. How comfortable are you with seemingly a different leadoff hitter every night? It's kind of funny, I mean, perfect world,

you just read the same line about every day. You know, and that's kind of not how we're built, it's not how a lot of teams are built now. So it was, I think when I moved Bo to the four spot from the one, I think it was where we kind of took off a little bit and not saying that it was my doing that we took off, but just trying, you know, just as an example of me being different to where it's like,

Hey, Bo, you are obviously one of the best hitters with letters of scoring position in major league baseball. Let's take advantage of that. And then him saying, absolutely, let's do whatever we can for the team. But you need guys to perform, you know what I mean? You need Nate Lucas to have good at bats against Reddies, and you need Ernie or Schneider,

whoever it is, to have good at bats against Lefties. So it goes back to them just doing what they're good at and knowing what we're asking them to do. So we've gotten to the point to where guys kind of know, they know their roles, they know when they may pinch hit, they know when they're playing, they know when they're not starting. It's fun, you know what I mean it's the kind of the

tactical part of the game has gotten fun when you have some interchangeable parts we'll get you out of here on the question we we talk about every single day and you know we're obviously buzzing about Vlad E and talking about Vlad E on a on a daily basis and you know his numbers he was really productive throughout the series against the Yankees but you know he sits on 13 home runs and it's the constant question how much power do you need from Vlad and you're the guy that ultimately needs to answer that on behalf of the team you know how do you respond to that question how much power do you need from Vlad down the stretch?

I mean as much as we can get right is the easy answer and it's going to come you know powered you need from bloody down the stretch as much as we can get ready to be the answer and it's gonna come you know whether he ends up here with thirteen homers which i doubt he will or be in the year with fifty you know what i mean i think we need him to be the player that he is and not try to be anything he's not glad he has been blessed with unbelievable skills and unbelievable talent so we just need him to continue to be part of this team. And I think he's grasped onto that as well.

So when he gets on a heater, there's not many better than him in the game. And it's going to come at some point. You know, Vladdy hits the ball just about as hard as anyone in the sport. And it's literally a matter of inches to where he, you know, connects with it, whether it's a home run or a double. So the power is going to come. But again, he's been so, so integral in what we're doing from a culture standpoint, from a performance standpoint, and we just don't want him to put pressure on himself.

So all the people that say, you know, Vlad, he needs to hit 40, you know, he's very well made by the end of the season, but what he's doing to help us win every single night is what we're looking for. Well, I'm sure that continues this weekend. There'll be a lot of Blue Jays fans down there. It's always a fun series, four games against the Tigers, right? It's gonna be great. Absolutely. The fans travel well, especially the closer drives, and we appreciate it. We appreciate the sport so much. Absolutely. Good luck this weekend. Thank you, John. All right, fellas. Appreciate it. Thanks. There he is, John Schneider, the manager of the Blue Jays. Good spirits, man. Like, it's interesting. You talk to managers, coaches, GMs at different times and different seasons where, you know, and John's always been good to come on. The Jays have always been good to come on. Ross has always come on. to come on Ross has always come on Mark comes on you know you talk to him at the end of last season it's a different tone yeah

a different conversation and it's it's he has a different voice and a different sound and a different vibe and and now you know everything's coming up Blue Jays and you go up and play the games you win ball games it's gonna be a very different kind of atmosphere around the team and different energy and you can you can sense he's in he's in a pretty good mood and he should be. His team's playing great. I like that you brought up the lineup changes because like don't you remember last year he was looking for every answer he possibly could. Lineup was changing every single day. Teams having success and it still kind of changes

quite a bit. Yeah it does. But like they're they're actually like everyone's hitting everyone's contributing and I guess it's it's kind of like the management group they believed in the players they didn't go crazy John Schneider believes in what he's doing it's like that old thing where you just kind of stick with the process it's the old cliche you play your game and hopefully eventually what you know resembles what you know on the field and that's what's happening for him and the Jays. Yeah, well it's a sign of modern baseball. Like you said, every team has different lineups every single night and that's all about the stats and what they know about, you know, who's on the mound and how guys are playing and the park they're in and all this different data.

Because like when we were kids, if a guy hit seventh in the lineup coming out of spring training that's where he hit all year big oh yeah I could never change much you know and it was like more or less if you're a leadoff hitter that's just who that's what you are and it's not based on any stats it's because you're fast and you hit some singles and you can steal bases so you you're gonna hit lead off but interesting what he said there about like moving Bichette from one to four in the lineup and how you know He referenced that as an example of his own maturation as a manager where you know He didn't say this or indicate it

But maybe behind the scenes the numbers were said now keep keep bow there or maybe bow It would be more we think that makes more sense because again if you're a leadoff hitter over the course of a whole season you're going to get some more at bats than the guy hitting fourth. Oh yeah. Because the lineup is going to roll over in the ninth inning and maybe the guy hitting cleanup isn't going to get there but like that's a big part of it too. Can you get an extra 10, 15, 20 at bats instead of guys at the top of your lineup? And obviously Schneider looked at it and he was right because Bichette has been arguably

the most clutch hitter in baseball this year. Batting average would indicate that that's a fact. Move them back and now they found this you know Springer Vlady Bichette 2-3-4 that's been lights out. Everyone else moves around. There's a different leadoff guy, there's a different guy hitting fifth every single night. But those three have pretty much solidified where they're going to be in the lineup right now. It's also the benefit of the guys that are low in the lineup being able to get on base because you'll utilize Bichette. Like not it's not necessarily just a traditional leadoff guy. You've got like you said other guys that are contributing that are hitting you know meaningful

balls and putting them in play and that adds to Bichette being able to cash in some significant runs. Yeah no you're right Frankie like that depth down the lineup has been huge for them. You look at that trade they made last year in darker times when they when they ship out you say Cucucci right and at the time I don't think any of us were thinking much of it right other than you got to get something for Cucucci the season's lost and they bring in among the three guys they got in that trade Joey Lo Perfito and Will Wagner right who've become both playing tonight really big contributors right both playing

tonight both playing tonight yeah and who saw that coming like who saw those guys as guys you could you know pencil in as valuable contributors this well that's that is the the truth and we're kind of joking about it earlier in the week when I was referencing the movie Major League which I always do and I think it's a perfect example that because the early montages of that of that movie when the team comes together people are looking at the you know the lineup card and like who the hell are these guys yeah these guys stink and then all of a sudden it all comes together and it works like obviously Springer Guerrero Bichette are superstars significant names that have been in the

limelight for a long long time in this city. Alejandro Kirk relatively young in his crib it's still a well-known commodity that's been here for a while but Lucas starting in center field tonight he'll hit leadoff tonight. Barger playing third Ernie Clement playing second Luper Fido playing left Heinemann's behind the plate, Wagner's first base, Eric Lauer starting. Again, let's pretend you have been living on Mars since April or since March 15th and you landed in Toronto and you looked at that, you'd say, of course, they're on pace for

like 65 wins this team. This is a joke. They traded, guys, they stink. And it's actually, no, they're winning. They're in first place in the American league. They may have the best record in the American league by tonight, I believe, or by tomorrow night. And all these guys are going to contribute

and you feel good about them contributing tonight and throughout the series. Yeah, you're right. That's a great way to put it because you could look at that lineup back in spring training and think, ah, they're selling the farm. They're going to be selling. 70 wins and they're trading. This is a great way to put it because you could look at that lineup back in spring training and think, ah, they're selling the farm. That's they're going to be 70 wins in their trade. This is a development a year. They're just getting these guys reps. The young guys are getting

reps, you know, who's Eric Lauer or what's he is a fellow. I mean, sure as you got heard. Low per feeling right now. That happens all the time. I feel like with hockey lineups, people will go back if a team has just kind of turned the corner, like the Sens, the Habs. For once in a while, some fan will throw out like the old lineup from 2021 and be like this is what we had to watch. Right. Like that kind of, if you didn't know any better, that resembles what some of those lineups look like except these guys are they're cooking. Yeah like Lucas has been really good, Barger's been huge. Like Barger's been one of their best bats. Oh yeah. And you know Clement had, he obviously had a big hit last night

He got kind of lucky with you know, the lights and bellinger but still you gotta earn it He put the ball in play it counts And like we had cameron maven on yesterday and he pointed out lupe profito. He's like this guy. I like the way he attacks at bats Um, and yeah wagner playing first and lauris been great. He's got a, what's he got, a 240, 250 year right? So. I mean, without him, where would they be? That's a great question because the depth

of the organization, you know, at that position is clearly struggling a little bit. They're gonna need more. And they're gonna acquire someone. It'd be shocking if they didn't acquire an arm, like a starter between now and the trade deadline. I think that has become more and more clear that it's likely gonna happen.

But which of these guys are they gonna trade? Because they probably will trade one of them. Like Lucas, Barger, I can't see. Clement, I can't really see. Luperfito though. Wagner, like maybe these guys have value. They've definitely upped their value. Yes. Like they've they've become commodities and that's huge. I mean it's, you know, it's like, it's an interesting kind of way of looking at things because at the end of last season, the whole town was negative about this team and calling for heads and,

but you know they did make some nice adjustments down the stretch that have paid dividends now. Yeah they have. Yeah, the Red Hot going to Detroit for four games. Like even this time last year, the Tigers were an afterthought. Yeah. Like were not even a consideration and yet obviously they are now. Alright so thanks again to John Schneider. We'll continue to tee up the

series. Continue to look back on what was a really thoroughly entertaining series against the Yankees. Lots to get into today. Dave Festjuk is with us. Frankie Carrotto on Brian Hayes. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050N on TSN 4. Alright Overdrive continues powered by FanDuel bringing you everything from the opening line of the final score Brian Hayes Frankie Corrado Dave Fashtuck so we just spoke with John Schneider we'll continue to look ahead to the four game series Jays Tigers Hulk Hogan passing away today and wow which the guy was at WrestleMania 6 Never forget that

Hogan versus the war ultimate warrior when he slammed Andre the giant WrestleMania 3 It's like one of the all-time most incredible moments in sports and entertainment history That's one of the great moments of my childhood man Like when he slammed the giant it was crazy was like the giant was like undefeated for like 15 years 500 pounds like the legend of Andre the giant was incredible like I Like he and he was a trep in the early days before the WWF at the time now the WWE got big Like Andre the giant was like a he traveled everywhere He played every hockey rink in this country right including the one in my hometown and you know there's always those stories of

people passing Andre the Giant in the hall of a hockey rink and you actually couldn't pass him. You had to kind of get up against the wall because he was just so huge. Crazy like legit giant. Unreal. Yes. But then so for Hogan just to pick that man up at 500 pounds and slam him. I mean it was like the culmination of like that boom time for the WWF. Just exploded everything and WrestleMania has been massive ever since. And, you know, he's, listen, he's been in the spotlight for almost 50 years, you know, 45 years, Hulk Hogan.

And at one point was truly one of the most famous people on earth. On earth. He's the biggest wrestling icon, I would think. I believe so too. I can't, like The Rock, Stone Cold, but no one's bigger than Hulk Hogan. This is like Wayne Gretzky. I think anyway. I agree.

Yeah. Like we've had these arguments before, and I'm not a wrestling guy anymore. Like as a kid, I loved, yeah, I loved watching that and going to WrestleMania. It was amazing. And through the 90s, I was into it a little bit, like Stone Cold and The Rock was kind of cool, but I haven't been in it in 25 years. So I have no reference on what's modern

or what's important anymore or anything like that. And it's always gonna be generational. When you were a kid, it meant so much more and that was what was important. And now kids might say there's some modern wrestler that's bigger and more important or whatever but in terms of him you know transcending into like Hollywood and he was in the Rocky movies and you know he was doing he was everywhere like iconic look right you just knew right away

yeah brother like the word brother like yeah oh brother basically a trademark on our right like he's orange python, yes and then around forever vitamins complicated guy like a lot of stuff going on in his personal life and things that sure we're going on with him down the stretch of his life clearly that You know it was it wasn't a good look for him and everything that he kind of represented away from wrestling but in terms of what he represented in the ring and just as an entertainer like Hulk Hogan is as big as it gets. I'm thinking like that's the thing like obviously every generation is different, but there's no denying the fact that Hogan was the centerpiece of

Pro-wrestling going from kind of you know home town to town Small town, you know fairly big town, they may believe wrestling at Maple Leaf Gardens was huge in those days, but turning from that into a massive pay-per-view TV product that was shown worldwide. In Phelan Stadiums, like 75,000, 80,000 people, like Hogan was the centerpiece of that. That's right.

Taking the massive step to mega entertainment, right? That's what it represented. There's no denying it. There's no denying there's absolutely no denying then goes to WCW and flips and Hollywood Hogan was the greatest heel turn of all time That's the thing like Hogan could do the baby face and the heel and if he went heel like yeah people were gonna hate him But there was also such a huge portion of the the viewership that just loved him because he's Hulk Hogan yeah you're you're almost like conflicted because he's the Hulkster he's he's been your guy for years absolutely he did them both at the

the top of pro pro wrestling no question yeah so yeah Hulk Hogan you know passing away today at 71 which was not expected needless to say no he had been healthy for a while. Ozzy you kind of thought maybe that was coming at some point? Ozzy Osborne at 76, but considering how yes, he has really had health issues for a long time. Yeah, like we talked about, that's like, he was 103. Yes, yeah, exactly.

He was living in dog years by the end. And Hogan probably as well, man. Like that guy, because you talk about the like slamming under the giant I believe he said and others that have slammed them like you could just hear your back like breaking basically oh that's like you could just you know because I think he was shorter like three or four inches shorter by the end of his life because just his vertebrae I've taken such a beating years so yeah Hulk Hogan passing away at 71. We'll get into that more a little bit later this afternoon. But you know, this morning was when we were expected

to hear the verdict of the, you know, five former members of Canada's 2018 World Junior Hockey team and the charges that were obviously they were facing and we did get the verdict and all five players are acquitted on all charges in the London hockey trial. So in terms of where this goes next is something we will try to report on as we go forward. I mean we haven't we haven't discussed this a lot because it's it's not opinion based. No the nature of our show is obviously we try to have fun, we give opinions, we talk about sports. This is such a heavy heavy topic, but this is the reality that the players have been

acquitted of all charges and as of now from an NHL perspective they they're all they're not like they can eventually be reinstated. I guess like as of now, they're not allowed to just step right back into the job. I would imagine Gary's gonna have something to say. Like he'll have his kind of evaluation of it. And I think the only player that still is like property of a team is Formonton. He's the only one who's still in Ottawa. All the other contracts were expired or were something like that. He was an RFA so they retained his rights and everyone else was either terminated or let go or whatever. But yeah like it was it was a legal process so what opinion are we supposed to have on this? The process is

supposed to play out and then you see what what happens after it. Well and that's that's it. Now this is this is a judge that's acquitting all five players so like unless there's some sort of an appeal that that we'll try to get answers on later this afternoon then you you presume the players are going to return to their lives. Now where they stand in terms of hockey whether that's a priority for them right now we don't have those answers but if and when they are reinstated into the game like that is there's gonna be a lot of team I think it's safe to say a lot of teams are simply just not even gonna look at these players yeah like

there's gonna be a lot of them where the owners will just say based on you know what you're accused of what you've gone through we're not going to do it but nothing would surprise me you know but nothing would surprise me. You know, like nothing would surprise me and I think most, I think everyone should be bracing for that. Like there is a, I don't know, good to very good chance that at least one if not multiple players will return to the NHL. Well Carter Hart jumps off the page obviously as the guy who would be the most coveted.

Because of the position he plays. Because of the position he plays, plays a goalie and does the fact that you could get him for essentially nothing right he's actually good like he's a good goalie he has the potential not another question can he play anymore as a player right more than I think last time he played an NHL game was January of 2024 so it's been a while right but you're right he Hayes, like every athlete, you know, ultimately, they embroils himself or finds himself embroiled or herself embroiled in some sort of a, you know, legal proceeding,

you know, whatever you want to call it, controversial moment in their career. They're always weighed, their transgressions are weighed against their talent. Just the reality of the sports business. Like if one of these guys had been a mega talent, I got news for you. The conversation would be very different.

Most of these guys are not mega talents. I mean, Carter Hart maybe has the potential to be a really good goalie. I'm not sure a mega talent goalie, but pretty talented goalie. But yeah, like I think unfortunately for some of these guys, the risk of taking them on, the baggage to take them them on would not be worth it for a lot of things. Yeah that would be that's my expectation again without knowing what these players are capable of doing

anymore what these what these what these men even want to do with their future like you know that that's that's not really a question for today but eventually it's going to happen you know and as of now again like the judge ruled that they've been acquitted on all charges. So now what it means for hockey Canada and looking back on that i don't think this changes anything in terms of

the way they handle that situation you know hush money and using money that Canadian parents have been paying the program forever, you know, they deserved everything they got in terms of the reaction to it all and ultimately the fallout of it all. But in terms of these five men and these five players, again, acquitted on all charges. So we'll try to get answers as we move forward it is July I can't imagine we're gonna have answers before like training camps but you know if if the players are gonna push on that and they've got agents that

i'm sure will be calling Gary Bettman pretty quickly and you know reporting is going to happen almost immediately on where Bettman stands on this i'm assuming we're gonna get a some sort of a an answer from the front office of the Commissioner at some point yeah right like some sort of an answer on and I think it'll be very vanilla you know we understand the news today we're gonna review everything and we'll proceed from there like you're not gonna get any any finite answers from Betman in the Commissioner's office no but I would expect some sort of statement I wouldn't be surprised because again this

this story is not going to go anywhere No, it won't but do you write like there there'll be a taking of the temperature by the league office Yes, and and they have their own kind of rules and regulations and in their own constitution in terms of how they apply penalties and Punishment and exactly they consider everything because it's a business in the end and their argument will be you know it's it's not a right to play in the NHL exactly the privilege to play in NHL we will allow you to will determine whether or not you're gonna get that privilege again but let's go guarantees

well but let's be honest there if there's a club that calls the league offices said says we really want this guy I mean it's hard to imagine that after a period of time the league is gonna stand in the way of that club, right? and I think particularly because all of the Charges were acquitted right where it's it may be different if there if there was a guilty charge When he went to prison for years and then came back and tried to return to the game that may have a different You know connotation to it in a different field to it but this is clearly not the case all five players acquitted during this London trial earlier today so more on that a little bit later this afternoon Jase Tigers tonight Adam Svensson shot a

60 at the 3m today course record down there a 60 Canadian flag up there at the top of the leaderboard shot a 60 to start His tournament down in Minneapolis So we'll get into that as well a little bit later this afternoon overdrive continues TSN 1050 and on TSN for All right, Jase Tigers tonight Man those Yankees. It's so much fun to watch the Yankees struggle and dude, you you know what's even more fun? Watching that Nick Turturro on Twitter. You know who that guy is? No, I don't think so.

Brucey from the longest yard, the guy that can't kick the ball and he can't throw the ball. Why can't I be quarterback? He's got the popcorn on his hand. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I shouldn't have had that popcorn. Is he a big Yankee fan? He's going ballistic on Twitter.

Like I guess he's got someone who sits there and watches the games with him and takes videos of him losing his mind and When they had the errors last night, he's freaking out catch the ball. He's going nuts It's great theater, but I don't know why you would subject yourself to Like if you and I are watching a game I have a camera on you the entire time just waiting for you to go absolutely nuts. It's because time just waiting for you to go absolutely nuts. It's because somehow there is an audience for that. Like that that's the reality. There are there is an audience for people live streaming their reactions to games and it's always over

the top. You have to be you have to be animated or no one's gonna watch. Right. Like that's the nature of it. Like you can look at it and say oh that he can't be that pissed off. No he's probably not but if he just sits there with his feet up no he's got 12 viewers so if you want a million views you better go crazy and start calling people out as well why you need views like he's an actor is he trying to make money probably probably needs another part in a movie what Adam Sandler couldn't get him into Happy Gilmore that comes on tonight hey that's oh is that out tonight yeah how does that that out tonight? Yeah.

How do releases work with Netflix? They set like midnight ages. They determine a time. They're like, yes, it drops. There you go. It drops. Okay. Yeah, cause it's kind of fascinating how,

like movies that go directly to streaming services, they still have the red carpet and they do it seemingly at like a cinema. Right? It's almost like trolling, like the cinematic world where you're like, we're not using you, like we're not putting our movie in your theaters, but we'll come by for the first night and pretend like it's you know 1996 again. And JP says 4 a.m. Happy Gilmore 2 comes

out. Why would it come out at 4 a.m.? It's a weird arbitrary time. Why wouldn't you put it on in prime time? You know why they put it on at 4's a weird time why would you put it on in prime time you know why they put on at 4am because if they put it on in a prime time situation is going to crash the server everyone's going to watch it at the same time like that fight remember that fight I had and no one's gonna watch it yeah that's right there is an NFL game real issues with that is is happy Gilmore to really gonna have like be so big it's gonna knock the server out imagine like I I love happy Gilmore and really gonna have like be so big it's gonna knock the server out?

Like I I love Happy Gilmore and I'm a Sandler fan and I have been for over 30 years I'll watch it at some point, but I feel very uneasy about these and like the dumb and dumber one where they they finally did it together Jim Carrey and and uh Daniels Jeff Daniels.s was really difficult to watch because they were so much older. Yeah. You know, like Adam Sandler is almost 60, I believe. I think so. And it's just not like, like shooter.

Shooter McGavin is like 70 or something. I can't have you as a villain playing golf shooter when you're the age that you are now This is and the movie came out movie came out 27 28 years ago. Oh, yeah, it's just it's been too long There's a real massive flop. There's no good got a real chance at being awful. I have a good movie Maybe this is my fault like I have not watched a good new movie in a long time So if this is what it takes a remake of something we all like to bring a little nostalgia Give me a lot of golfers. That's the thing. I think all the guys are in it See that again is a concern of mine. It'd be a red flag the original had lee trevino

In the quickest little cameo you could have just shaking his head never said a word Yeah, just sat there and shook his head a couple times. I believe it was lee trevino Yeah was verne lungfist was in there and you know he had a couple who the hell is happy gilmore but it was quick exactly but this is half the tours in this yeah which makes you think maybe they don't have a lot of other material like this really the script may be a little flimsy it has i guess with the cameos it has a little bit of like the entourage movie thing going where you know an entourage the if you watch the the show there was like oh

there's 50 cent for a scene or there's whoever for a bit everyone was in the movie it's like they had to they had to call their agent be like you got to get me a spot in the entourage movie you kidding me yeah well every celebrity right you get paid for that oh yeah like none of these guys Scotty Scheffler and McElroy them they're not doing this stuff for free. No. I think Michael Block is in the movie. No way.

That might be a bridge too far. I'm telling you, I'm pretty sure it is. Because when we interviewed him, we actually got big time by Michael Block because when he came on, he was coming on to plug something, but we had heard or been told that he was on set of Happy Gilmore 2 so

naturally I asked him like what's up with Happy Gilmore 2 and I guess he had signed some NDA or something he's like I technically can't get into it like Michael Block please if they please block if they found a storyline for Michael Block that is absurd yes I think that's a quick cameo that 90% of the audience will not know who he is oh exactly yeah exactly like he had an unbelievable PGA tour unreal yeah and hit a hole in one with Rory and that was great and that was it they got to get that's and a hole in one when he was in a Royal Montreal he did that as well that one guy they got to bring back is

the shooter I'll meet you at Sizzler. Yeah he passed away though recently. Oh did he? Yeah Jim Flair. Didn't Flair do you? I believe he did. Can you edit that out? No no nothing wrong with that because when they would have been shooting the movie I think it could have been a possibility. Don't quote me on that. Now I might be messing you up. We're late we got to go to reverse We and the coming over the top acting like he's got to edit this out and we got All right our two coming up editing will continue overdrive continues TSN 1050 and on TSN for You've been listening to overdrive powered by fan duel fan duel bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score Fandual, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Seasoned gamer or just video game curious? This Week in Gaming is the podcast for you.

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