OverDrive - OverDrive - March 12, 2025 - Hour 3

Episode Date: March 12, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jamie McLennan and Dave Feschuk for Hour 3 on OverDrive! TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joins to discuss Mitch Marner's contract stance, the background of Mikko Rantanen's trade to Dallas and the Canucks' dynamic change. Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum joins to discuss the Canadian contingent at THE PLAYERS Tournament, the upcoming RBC Canadian Open and Rory McIlroy headlining the field and Bryan hands out his FanDuel Best Bets.

And you're all set! Enjoy your new phone on Bell! Thanks! Whoa! What is happening? What is this feeling? Are you feeling giddy and bouncing with energy? Yes! Yeah, I like to call that new phone vibes. It's that time of year at Bell. It's so good! Get in on those new phone vibes. Switch to Bell, Canada's fastest 5G plus network, and save over a thousand dollars on amazing phones with eligible trade-in. Visit a Bell store or Bell.ca slash spring for details.

Bell. Getting a new phone just got better. Final hour overdrive continues powered by Fandool bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Ryan Hayes, Jamie Noodles, McClennan, Dave Feshtruck of the Toronto Star. The old dog's off this week. I continue to get golf updates from him. He's golfing. Oh yeah? Yeah, every day it's something new. How's he doing? He seems to be doing pretty well. He's actually, he's got the new P790s, the new irons from TaylorMade and he said they're the greatest thing he's ever played in his life. Wow. So he's hitting them well with those new irons. He said

he's got 10 birdies in two rounds which may be fabricated and completely bogus. Could be fake news. Could be completely bogus. I don't know. The scoring. Like he's a good player. Very good player. Yeah but he's like you won't believe these things they're unreal and he's feeling good and playing well and he's jacked for the players this week and we'll get into it a little bit later on because we'll catch up with Lawrence, Lawrence Applebaum of Golf Canada is down there. But this Roy McIlroy scene is pretty wild.

So he was out practicing today and I guess he hit a ball into the water, which is not rare at all at Sawgrass, right? There's water on every single hole. And some guy yells out just like at Augusta in 2011. And that's when he famously, he really threw up on the back nine. You know, on the 10th hole in particular, he snapped one left to a place

that no one's ever hit a golf ball before. And he walks over and we're watching it on TSN2 and he takes the guy's phone and then just walks away with it. Yeah. And I mean, obviously that is illegal. You can't just take a guy's phone. Yes. And it'd be one thing if he was snapping pictures of Rory like out in private with his kids or something and he snapped and said give me your phone and get rid of

it. Guys at a golf course he's chirping. I don't know why you would ever chirp a professional during a practice round. That to me is absurd behavior by anybody it's attention seekers that want to go viral it it could be that you think this was the plan like the guy he thought i'm going to get to rory he's going to come over and approach me and i'm going to go viral you think he this guy had that deep of a plan when it comes to mackarroy or was he possibly buckled and just chirping everyone that came through? That's possible. It's probably some TikToker or something trying to be a, I love seeing on, you know, on Instagram

or something where, you know, they try these TikTokers or, you know, guys that want to go viral, they try these pranks and it backfires and the guy just beats the hell out of them or you know, attack like I love that stuff because you know They get what they deserve sometimes, but Rory What did he do with the phone like did anybody follow up like did he go and put it in a porta potty? Did he go and like like the guys got to get his phone back like that's his property regardless of what he did exactly I mean in all seriousness, you're stealing something from someone.

Like you can't walk over and just take a guy's phone. Like unless this was some premeditated plan, I can't imagine Rory would want anything to do with. But it concerns me because he's been playing so well. And I said last week, I'm like, I think he's gonna do it at the Masters this year. That would suggest to me that that 2011 meltdown is still bothering him like 14 years later.

It has nothing to do with the players, which is confusing. I would think if you're gonna chirp him, you'd use the US Open last year, right? Like that's much more fresh and you would think more of an open wound for McElroy. Except the Augusta thing, it's about the career grand slam. The only thing he hasn't won, yeah. And you know that every time he shows up in April, it's always, they're always asking

Gary Player and Jack Nichols, do you think Rory's ever going to win the career grand slam? Yeah. Of course they ask Rory, do you think you'll ever win the career grand slam? Well, that's the beauty of Augusta, no phones. Yeah. Right? So if someone chirps him at Augusta, what does he do?

He can't take their phone. Nobody chirps at Augusta. Nobody really chirps. Everyone's under their best behavior. Everyone's so scared of getting thrown out. It's kind of a privilege there, right? It's a privilege to be on there. So if you get banned from there, would they enforce that?

I always wondered that. Oh, I think they would, Nurtles, because their ticket system is all automated effectively. You have these kind of like cards. They're calling badges. Badges, that's right. They're badges. But you have to swipe them to get in.

Right. And they've got your identity. They've got who you are. I don't think that's a place that you're messing around with. Like you're not jumping over a fence or something to get into Augusta. Like they'll track you. This isn't waste management.

No, exactly. Exactly. No, they throw a lot of people out of that place man. They got a lot of security and now they've got these, they've got these chip cards where they, if they wanted to find out where you are on the golf course, they can find out where you are on the golf course. Yeah. They know where you are at all times and if you're messing around, you just get a tap on the shoulder.

It's time to leave now. We do need a follow up on the phone. I'm sorry, like there has to be a follow-up on the phone. I'm sorry, like there has to be a follow-up story on the phone. I agree. Yeah, the reporting hasn't been great. There's a couple of these Rory trackers on social media. One guy's saying now this wasn't today, it was yesterday. Somebody was saying it was the 17th, now they're saying it wasn't the 17th. I don't know what to believe. I can't tell. Well, we'll see if Lawrence can give us an answer on that a little bit later on. Yeah. Raptors sixers tonight, Scotty Barnes is out. Now, no one knows why he's out, but he's out.

West. Scotty's not playing tonight. West. He's resting. He's resting, just like Emmanuel quickly. Two guys in their mid to early 20s. Got to just shut it down, man. It's been tough. It's been a tough grind. So, we'll get to that with our best bets a little bit later this afternoon. But here's our TSN hockey insider, Darren Dreger. What's happening, Dreggs? Hey, fellas. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on there.

Like, I'm about, now I'd be about 200 yards from the studio. Yes? Okay, so you're here. You're in the building tonight, is what you're telling me. No, no, no, I'm just joking. I don't wanna throw Josh completely. Tomorrow I will be, so if we wanna revisit tomorrow, I'll be okay. Okay, yeah. Now, get set up for the night that is,

that's all I'm doing. Yeah, we got some good games tonight, and tomorrow you'll be here, I guess, for the panel, right? We got Leafs Panthers tomorrow, and I'm sure the Leafs will try to downplay it and they'll say it's just any other game and we want to win like every other time we step on the ice but yeah it's a massive game for both teams but I think it's clear that the Leafs are the one with more at stake right Dregg? Sure. Like Florida's gonna be pretty comfortable I think whoever

they play against the Leafs the idea of them being in a position where they can avoid either playing the Panthers or the Lightning, it's almost like playoff pressure before you get to the playoffs. Yes. Like here's an opportunity for you, the Maple Leafs, to prove you can put your foot to the, you know, foot down here and possibly win the division.

It would be massively beneficial for them. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And I mean, you never know, right? Like, you know, sometimes when you face the best radar out of the gate, you know, it can pay dividends, but that hasn't been the case in Maple Leaf. So, you know, maybe you need to just kind of go through the grind a little bit more than they have,

even though there have been deep disappointments, get through that first round and then see where you're situated. I mean, when I look at the Maple Leafs roster now, you know, I'm sure True Living and Company are going to wonder, did they do enough? But they did a fair bit, right? You had Brandon and Carlo, you're going to get Tana back healthier real quick. And you have Scotty Lawton as your third line center. So there's lots of reason to think that the Maple Leafs have bolstered their lineup. But then you look at Tampa Bay, look at Florida, you look at some of these other teams and you're still

questioning as to whether or not that's true. So we get a real good taste tomorrow night. That's what Florida is going to be completely made of and we're not going to know that yet until Brad Marchand steps in in the mix. So you win that top spot in the Atlantic and it opens up doors I think. Otherwise, you're facing the same demons that you've faced for the last few years. I agree, Dragg. But you are facing a team not without Marchand, without Kachuk, now without Ekblad. So they are on paper weakened.

That's the one thing that, so you do have to go for that top spot. Draggs, I just wanted to circle back on the trade deadline. You guys, the insiders, do such a great job. Were there, without telling tales, but were there other maybe crazy trades that just didn't come to fruition, whether it was time, or the teams couldn't agree on the final product?

You know, Noodle, you always go down that road. Not you, specifically. We, collectively. And I, specifically, we collectively. And I'm sure there were some, I mean, as far as the bigger items go, I'm sure Leaf fans want to hear about, well, what happened with Nico Ratner? Was it even possible that he was gonna end up in Toronto?

And I think we can- Was it? Was it close? A lot of percent it was. It was. Well,, my sense is that Toronto was plan B. If Dallas didn't work out, Toronto was plan B. Now, Marner was not going out the other side, Nye's wasn't going out the other side. It would have been, probably would have been a collection of you know other

items you know obviously the prospects that have been speculated on I don't want to go too deep into the weeds here but yeah there and how juicy would that have been if that had come to fruition especially if you're not well I mean Mika Ratner probably wasn't going to go through the possibility of a third trade without an extension, and that could have been conceivable as well. Whatever team is getting them, in this case Dallas said, we're not making a trade without an extension,

Toronto probably would have been the same. Any team that was willing to step up would have been the same. So then what does that do to the Marner situation? I think it becomes pretty obvious what it does, right? So, I mean, it got pretty dicey and the reason it got dicey, and I wanna say, I think Isaac were safe in saying

that there wasn't a firm answer until noon Eastern on Friday, that there wasn't a deal outside of Dallas that wasn't going to happen. And that's from high level sourcing there. And look, we know the night before, early evening or early morning of Friday, that Dallas and Carolina had made that trade but it was conditional on the extension and I know for a fact that there was outside consideration and conversation negotiations upwards of noon Eastern on Friday. So Carolina their their second choice was the leaf package is what you're saying.

Like Dallas's package was one and it worked out in Dallas Island Road extension. Yeah, I believe so, I believe so. Now, unless there's another package out there that we haven't heard of that just didn't surface, but obviously it doesn't matter. Right. Miko Ratatton and clearly wanted to go to Dallas and I not saying he wouldn't have wanted to go to Toronto it's just that

Carolina had a decision to make and they had to make him the best interest of the hurricanes and the easiest way of clearing that path given the assets that were being driven by Dallas, compared to what might have come on Toronto or somebody else was based on the extension. So they were able to allow that to happen and Mikoran they wanted to take the deal that he ended up getting from the stars. So what is your read on why the lease

asked Mitch Marner to wave? Why did that happen? Like if he wasn't gonna go, if he wasn't ultimately gonna be a part of the trade, why did the Leafs even ask him to wave? But why wouldn't you, Brian? And I'm not playing devil's advocate here, I'm just saying you know he has a no move.

You've tried on more than one occasion to get the player and his agent to the negotiating table. And look, I mean, you know, we have to remind ourselves that Mitch negotiated this contract in fairness and he's allowed to play it to its hilt and that's coming up on the 1st of July and it has a no move clause. So you know as he stated at the beginning of the year he didn't want to move away from the focus of being the best player he can be for the Toronto Maple Leafs and I feel like he's lived up to that and his focus hasn't changed but if you're the GM or you're the

hockey operations of Maple Leafs, God aren't you trying to get them to the table? Like we're willing to spend the money because we value the the asset of Mitch Marner. So let's get negotiating but He hasn't been able to do that and and that's just true to what he said prior to the start of the year He just wanted to focus on hockey. So then the next move in that play is, okay, well now you're open to vulnerability. And other teams pay close attention as we would expect to every team's RFAs, UFAs, all of that. And the highly competent ones like Mitch Miner draw an audience. so i'm sure that other teams came calling in obviously the the carolina hurricane given situation

that they had with uh... mico rand and so that's ultimately i believe why you know uh... brad trullo think went to marner and today if you're not going to stay then we have to present this option what do you think about option and obviously said i'm not going to move If you're not gonna stay, then we have to present this option. What do you think of that option? And obviously you said, I'm not gonna move. Yeah, I'm just trying to like piece the,

trying to put the puzzle together here where I, like I picture a scenario where if you're a tree living in company, you go to them and I guess you say, listen, do you wanna wave? Cause Carolina, they'll take you, and then we'll take Ranton and move on. But if you don't want to wave, fine.

But you have to know we've put another package together that if they take that, we're bringing in Ranton and signing him. And then you're gone. Like, is that the problem? And then again, I'm like my thought would be because if they want Marner well, more than Ranton and basically it's it's you got an hour here because Carolina might take it and then we sign them Do you want to negotiate the next hour? And I guess Marner just called their bluff and said no go I'm not waving and if you want to go get man ranting and go

Ahead and neither happened and now yeah, and now what now now what happens, but that's what he's entitled to do No, I'm not disputing that tracks But yeah, like I'm just saying like it could have been a scenario for Marner like if he said I'm not waving and obviously you're the lead you got you can do whatever you want to do or they could have in a different universe like acquire Ranton and given him eight years by 13 and effectively Mitch Marner gets the 3 p.m. and goes this is for me, I'm gone after this season. Right.

I'm out of here. But that's. And he was willing to risk that. Yes. Yes. It seems like that he was willing to risk that. And how uncomfortable and awkward or great would it have been?

How do we know? We're never going to know because it didn't happen. Like, I mean, again, I'm going to give Mitch full credit here because he knew this was how it was going to play out from the beginning of the year. It's not like Toronto didn't try and get into negotiations in the off season, right? He knew that. Like that's the environment that this kid has played in and has experienced. So I can, there's no way that they wouldn't

have had that scenario in mind. Now, maybe it played out that way closer to the deadline because I don't think that two months ago, anyone expected that Mico Ratanin was going to be traded by Colorado to Carolina. And now in hindsight would have probably taken the deal if he had known he was going to be traded to stay in in Colorado. Well that didn't transpire. Then all of a sudden you have this trade that actually has worked out but it's contingent on an extension and the bottom line is 12 million. Ratman wants 13 so now you know everybody is exploring other opportunities and one of those, yes, 1000%

is Toronto and the possibility of playing with an extension if you're a Ratnain with Barner, who's on an expiring contract to the end of the year. That would have one of three ways. Yeah. You know, no good, okay, and they win a Stanley Cup and then one guy leaves at the end of the year I mean how else does it factor in it's crazy Well, the other kind of quizzical thing here drags is the idea that we hear Bryndamore in Carolina Say that hey Rhett has showed up and said there's four places

I want to go and sign and you're not one of them and then today ranting comes out and says oh no i would have considered signing in carolina like who are we to believe on that front uh well dave i'll leave that to you but i i i was told point blank by my sources that that was not the message to the carolinaricanes. Now how Rod interpreted that from messaging from above, because Rod Brindlemore is not negotiating contract extensions with his players. Is he in the know? Of course he's in the know. I mean nobody is more swagger as an NHL coach than Rod Brindlemore has, you know, by NHL standards. So I think that was a bit of an exaggeration because I never had that interpretation

going in to Friday and I've talked to the random camp since and I think that and I haven't watched or heard the entire interview but I mean I think Eric Tulski came out publicly to the Z yesterday and tried to correct all of that. So I don't know, how do you know? Like honestly, when you're in that, I can tell you one thing I know is that Mika Ratanin did not expect to be traded. Like, and he's made this clear,

he didn't know that Colorado was at, this is our final offer. If you don't take it, we're trading you. And maybe he had taken it if he understood that. Okay, well that's water under the bridge. That happened. But, you know, he wasn't going to Carolina thinking that he was going to extend there. He was open-minded, my understanding is, to getting there and seeing how it played out and

Wasn't going to be forced into signing in an extension and frankly, that's what the trade deadline is all about So now you've got an active owner and Tom Dunman is like well We just gave up a fair bit to acquire this player I'm not letting them walk out the door for nothing, which is what could have happened. So let's got bait. I think that's probably more to the reality. With Darren Drager, a TSN hockey insider, what's your read on what happens with the Vancouver Canucks over the next, let's say six months?

Like who stays, who goes, how, like, cause they lost again last night they have 13 wins on home ice this year pretty staggering number for a team that played the way they did last year yeah Patterson you know we know what's going on with him Hughes in and out of the lineup he might play tonight Demco's a mess like it just it's it's flipped so drastically the market is so rattled it is what do you see happening here? Well, I mean, a month ago we were led to believe that, you know, Vancouver just had to get

a centerman. And it made sense, you know, whether that was before or after the J.T. Miller trade. I mean, now, you know, you're trying to replace that top center and you're hoping that in Alias Patterson you can you know get that piece of the puzzle back in place and neither happened and you know the messaging I got from Vancouver was when they basically threw out the SOS for a centerman that was around the JT Miller trade that was to kind of blanket the league and smoke out what available centers might be there and there wasn't a whole lot.

And so obviously they didn't make a move and now you're, you know, you move J.C. Miller, you get good return for J.C. Miller and you're uncertain about Pedersen, absolutely, no doubt about that. And you're going into the off season going, all right, right well we didn't move Brock Besser we didn't move our our pending three agents other than Besser and we're going to try and retool if we can in the offseason the problem with all that is and I get it I do understand like they had flies swarming around Brock Besser nothing that was even tangible. Zero first round picks on the table. I heard that they had somebody nibbling at a second round pick and then that team bailed. So they

couldn't get for Brock Besser what Washington had to give up for Anthony Baville. I mean, that's, that's, that's, that's questionable for sure. So you start to scratch your head as to why and what's going on. And then as I was reminded today and I forgot about it to be fair, now you have the uncertainty of Rick Tauke. And what does Tauke want to do going into an option year?

I think it's a club option, but an option year at the end of this year. So holy smokes, there's a lot going on in vancouver as they you know continue to kind of push for a playoff spot here but they don't have a whole lot of help at the moment no no kidding big one tonight vancouver and calgary i think quinn hughes might be playing here he's on the trip they're saying that there is a good chance of playing

man could they use them yeah but uh... yeah that is a good chance of play in mank of the use of out yeah but uh... that's that's a big one big one tonight calgary vancouver by drugs believe it there were doing in some god heavy lifting today and tell us yes and then really taking you through it softball next week we're at the end of the next week so but talk about

i don't know cba non-ppanther something will change this will talk about rule that i have yet fireman and his you guys come up with the top no this uh... legit homework assignment you come up with top two three a routine is you'd like to see on behalf of over drive and i'll present them to the g m's next week of what i thought i like that idea right fired up

will send it your way at a set thank you drugs but like what daren drager tsn hockey insider uh... right best best of the common we've got our p g a pics here's a problem and i got it i've got a new phone today i'm all out of sorts because now i've lost everything in

well really well i haven't lost everything but i've lost some of my own messages while that that migration of this i don't know what the hell we can send complain about that but i lost a bunch of my nine o'clock the other night my contacts were gone i don't know okay what the hell's going on here i'm in the same boat so i mean you know i've i've had to get a new phone my old ones and old one was cracked it wasn't charging properly i'm like all right i gotta move on here it's all good good

thing we're moving up we got a new phone but then I've lost some messaging including the old dog who I texted with earlier this morning largely about his golf game but also I said send me some picks for the players right yeah and now I can't remember really who he picks so I'm gonna look at the board I'm gonna make my picks and I'll give him five picks and I'll give him a Canadian I've got a I've got a pretty decent recollection of who he took But I might mess up one or two which means he's gonna hear it He'll call doogie and scream that it's you know, he's being duped or someone's

Gonna rip him off. Well him and Luke are starting to act up in their group chat again. Luke's already driving me crazy That's the benefit of me actually getting starting to act up in their group chat again, too. Luke's already driving me crazy. That's the benefit of me actually getting the phone is I lost that group chat. I lost the group chat of Luke and Joe from the Bridge and the old dog and Al's brother and everyone just consistently bothering me. Like, Luke's all over me about this statement

and he wants his playoff championship hats. And like, I got it, man, I'll hook you up, don't worry. He's coming, it's just a matter of time. You didn't get their hats yet? It's been a while. Well, he's like basically my neighbor now, Luke. Like he doesn't live far from me. I'll tell him, bike on over.

Because he doesn't drive, I don't think. He just bikes everywhere. Does he bike everywhere? Yeah, he's like a, he's a cyclist. He's a cyclist, yeah. But he wants a hat. Like he wants this hat and he wants a statement and he's what's this had any watch a statement in your life i'm not making a state i'm i refuse to make a statement in time with al's brother

i'm not doing it on by myself right now his brother will be a part of that statement so that that's my my response to the request is the next time i see else brother will have a statement and i'll get your head is this the email ad history No, we put some on the line. Well these idiots they put something on the line they were leading going into the Super Bowl so we were in tough anyway. Right. Like we want a statement you

know something childish like you're the best we're the worst you know Chubbs Peterson and Happy Gilmore. So that's kind of what I'm anticipating but we'll make the statement whichever way we choose. Alright. Nothing's written in stone. So we'll make a statement and I'll get you your hat. And stop bothering me.

Yeah. Fair enough. I've got too much on my plate right now. Way too much on my plate. Alright, we'll head down to the players, we'll get to our picks and a lot of Canadians in the field, we're getting closer to the Masters, There's a lot going on in the golf world. We'll get to that more still to come. Overdrive continues.

TSN 1050N on TSN2. And you're all set. Enjoy your new phone on Bell. Thanks. Whoa, what is happening? What is this feeling? Are you feeling giddy and bouncing with energy? Yes.

Yeah, I like to call that new phone vibes. It's that time of year at Bell. It's so good. Get to call that new phone vibes. It's that time of year at Bell. It's so good. Get in on those new phone vibes. Switch to Bell, Canada's fastest 5G Plus network, and save over $1,000 on amazing phones with eligible trade-in. Visit a Bell store or bell.ca slash spring for details. Bell, getting a new phone just got better.

All right, that's, that's still to come. We'll get to our PGA picks as well for the players. We're gonna have to wing it for O. Pretty sure he took McElroy. I'll give him McElroy. Yeah, I'll give him Rory. I'll give McElroy, but yeah, McElroy bent out of shape, stealing phones down there. Talking about YouTube golf, right? Which is a recent phenomenon in the golf world really. There is this separate universe of people that are making a

Serious amount of bank. Oh, yes you know just playing golf in different courses and just a different personality more relaxed and all this kind of stuff and You know Rory said I'd be I'd prefer to watch the players on Sunday than YouTube golf. Well, obviously Rory Yeah, of course. I would expect you to say that, and I think most people would say that. But the thing is, the tour, you're not on all the time. On a Tuesday morning, people are like,

well, what can I watch? I'll go check this out. I think it's a good thing for the sport. That's kind of where the PGA Tour is right now. Jay Monahan spoke of it earlier this week, that they're in this new era, and they're trying to market the game differently and try to allow you to view the game differently they're going to expose slow play by the end of the year good luck with that you don't think

that's gonna happen they've been trying to do that for years and never just get slower while they're claiming they're going to out players we'll see I want to see that happen at public and private places all throughout the country. Wouldn't that be nice? Like just if somebody's like rated as slow, you out them? Like you have a list of like slow players? Absolutely. I think you can track this stuff and we have a guy on the line who could spearhead this. He has that kind of power in the golf community. He does. He is the CEO of Golf Canada. He is Lawrence Applebaum. Lawrence, I need you to do this. I need you to be tracking time of play on Canadian golf courses throughout the country.

Can you promise me you'll look into that? Well, we slapped a tracker on you, Hazy. I don't know if you know this, but we followed you for all of 2024. We had a little GPS tracker. Your time was 4.06. That was your annual time okay all your rounds together so you were pretty good the I can't see Jamie there but Jamie had a

more more robust number because Jamie takes a couple more strokes yes and I got no dad on on on Dave no data sorry I'm the fastest golfer on a planet well you and oh would get along well. Oh's absurd. Oh's like two and a half hours. Yeah, if it's anything more than that, it's annoying for him. You know who might be the fastest golfer I ever probably played with outside of Oh would probably be, and this is a horrific name drop, but Sidney Crosby puts the peg in the ground. By the time the peg's in the ground, the ball's in the air.

I love that. I can see it's peg, air, walking. And it's really quite something. Brilliant. Yeah, I could see that out of Sid. All business, all the time. Competitive, but nice, right? Canadian, very nice.

But also, like, let's get playing here. Let's get moving. The best. The best. I like that idea. Yeah, well, how how we feeling down there? I mean, this is obviously a big one. We got the players, the fifth major and you know, the course looks great. Everything, every year you get down there and they say it's in better shape than it's ever been in.

You've been to this tournament many many times. Can you, would you concede that? Do you think the course is ready to rock this week? Yeah, a big TSN contingent down here. We're looking forward to seeing it all weekend but just to paint a picture for you is it's the kind of day that we kind of dream in Canada all sort of winter for. It's like the snow is gonna melt but it was 22, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. This place is so lush and green. It just is a tremendous golf course. It is really nice to see. We spent a lot of time with our Canadian players out there. And one of the things that makes us all sort of

really smile is that they play their practice rounds together. They have fun. They're sort of rubbing off on each other in terms of the competitive set because they're all playing pretty good. But it's just a perfect day and it reminds us that you know spring is coming and we're not that far away. So Lawrence, you know there's a lot of talk, you know at the players there's always a press conference with the PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan, and we've been talking about this ad nauseam about when is the merger coming, when is golf going to be united. I mean, what's the buzz you're hearing? I know you rub elbows with a lot of high brow golf people. Are you getting any insight into what might be coming down the pipe?

Well, I had so many thoughts, you know, I saw Jeff O'Neill down here, not, I didn't see him actually there. He'd be down there, it wouldn't surprise any of us if he was. Do you know what, in all seriousness, it's a really good question, is I think that momentum is moving towards that reunification of the game that everybody wants to see in all these incredible positive stories we're having about golf. The growth, we've had this incredible growth in the game around the world, but particularly in Canada.

And this is the one area that people sort of have been focusing is they wanna see best on best. They wanna see the best players together. I think the PJ Tour players are pretty unified in their voice, particularly Rory in saying like, we want them together, it'sory in saying like, we want them together. It's coming. And I know we've all been hearing that for a while, but I feel energy from Jay. I feel energy from his team. I love the fact that some of these new names

and new faces in the competitive tension that still exists on the PGA Tour is what's driving the sport and we've got you know new talents and new guys like like you know Ludwig Aberg and you know obviously Russell Henrle played very well over the weekend but I really like the health of the game and I'm in particularly obviously looking really forward to seeing all these stars come up to the RBC Canadian Open and play a track that they are so curious about, guys. Every sort of the Canadian players asking lots of questions. Most of them have played it, but their colleagues are really trying to get some insight information

about what TPC Toronto will play like and this great location that we're having the RBC Canadian Open in early June. You just mentioned Rory. That wasn't you heckling him and he took your phone, obviously, because what do you make of that? I mean, it's just such a weird moment and I don't know if it's been turned into a joke because we saw the video of it online, but has anything else come out of it? I would be disappointed if we were at your event, Lawrence, and somebody started heckling

the guys. It's so unbecoming. I don't like it. I wanted to joke. I've got this phone. Rory handed me this phone on 18th. It's so weird. But you know what, Noodles, it's like, it's that feeling and fan involvement that we so much love. We just don't want it to cross the line. You know, when we had our rink hole

or you see what's going on like this year at 16 at Waste Management, it's like we want people to be boisterous. We want them to have fun. I Just caught a snippet of the video. It was a bit odd But you know, we've had a real nice chance to get to know Rory in his you know It's two-time wins and his time with us up in Canada and he's honestly as good as as he seems to be he's he's candid and as he seems to be. He's candid and direct and thoughtful and fun and to see him hit the ball is like a sight. And so, you know, they're having a little more fun at the players and we like that. You know, our event is modeled in many ways after that. It's about a great golf course, it's about food, fun, a little music, a few drinks, and, you know, everything from families being very comfortable to having all your friends

and couples and boys and girls coming out. So we like that mix. And I think it reflects what people want to see. You know, you guys were talking about it a little bit at the beginning of the show about this, you know, they had this creator classic going on today. And I was standing on number 10 and there was, there literally was, they were 10 deep down number 10. And you know, it made me think about, you know, maybe we have an overdrive creator classic,

you know, maybe we get some teams together. I like that idea. I like that idea. I see, I see Noodles captaining a team. I see hazy captaining a team. Dave will probably pick uh there's this guy Oscar Feschuk who can stripe a ball. He'll probably pick his own guy. Yeah. But you know this creator this creator overdrive classic maybe it's got some legs hazy. I like this idea. I like this idea because and we'd need I mean the

handicaps would have to be locked in. yeah that's my concern Lawrence is that Oh shows up and he's always like well play off a three you know like nonchalant I'm like here we go this guy's gonna shoot 68 he's claiming he's a three and he complains that everyone else is a sandbagger right but I need Oh's cap dialed in you mentioned Oscar your boy Dave like his cap will be dialed. So if he were to be a part of it, we would, how many strokes would I be getting off your kit? At least 10, 12, 14 strokes minimum I would think. But I think there's some legs there because you're right, like it's been really nice in Toronto the last couple of days today,

it got cold, but before you know it TPC Toronto, man, it's go time Lawrence and Rory will be up there. The Canadians will be up there. Corey Connors, how good was he last week at the Arnie Palmer? And do you have a read on any of the Canadians this week because I'm gonna make my picks here in a moment. Can you give me maybe one or two in particular that you think are gonna really match up well with Sawgrass at TPC?

Yeah, I think I foreshadowed this question coming. I thought you were going to do your picks before my hit. No, I'm waiting for them. You're taking such an unfair advantage over the old dog. It was him not being there. That's his problem, not mine. New phone. Who dis? It's an honest mistake. So I talked to our national team coach, Derek Ingram, and he does some great work with our team. He works with Corey and Taylor Pendrith really closely. But the two guys probably are playing really great would be Corey coming off a third, a really solid place, third place at Arnold Palmer you talked about. And he really, all the guys collectively say he's a top 10 ball striker in the, in

the planet and this place values straight driving, long driving, and it's going to be pretty fast. It's been sunny and warm out here, so it's going to roll pretty good. So I would say Corey is probably our lead dog, but the guy who has played just sensational golf all year and was striping it in the practice rounds was your guy, Nick Taylor. Yes. And he, I laugh because he always asks about you. He wants to make sure that the lefty putting the righty swing is going okay. But I think Nick is, Nick is, he won earlier this year at the Sony Open and

He has been played phenomenal today. So if you get if you get the if you get the bird's-eye choice I take those first two guys. Okay, those will be exactly who I plan on taking It's gonna be a great week. We're getting close to major season We're getting close to the RBC Canadian Open again up at TPC Toronto we can't wait for that and maybe we have the overdrive classic like we have some sort of connection because we're gonna be up there like we are every single year and we we got across some T's here and dot some I's Lawrence we've got to put some things together but before you know it it's go time we can't wait for it. Well I'll tell you this this rink hole that will be on number 14 at

the newly renovated TPC Toronto North course it's gonna be electric I know Noodles is planning his outfits already. So many people talk about how exciting it's been on the rink and what you guys bring to the table so big shout out to the whole crew there for executing on that. Looking forward to it and thanks guys, looking forward to some good weather coming soon. Absolutely, enjoy it down there, we'll chat soon. Thank you Lawrence. Thanks Lawrence.

Got you. There he is, Lawrence Applebaum, the CEO of golf Canada down at the players and Perfect segue into our picks. So I think I remember who he wanted. Okay. Oh, alright So the overdrive PJ picks are brought to you by tailor-made introducing the all-new Qi 35 drivers for more distance from more of the face unlock another level for your game a tailor-made golf dot CA unlock another level for your game at tailor-madegolf.ca that's another thing, I was sending me pics of him with the QI 35 and talking about how well he's striping the ball, it's very nice of him to do that now that it was minus five again today, this weather's so stupid

it is weird, like the last two days were brilliant and now it's just, it's stupid setback, setback, alright, I'm gonna run off his pics he's taking McElroy, Shofley, Spieth, Figuola, Morikawa, and Corey Connors. Connors is his Canadian. Okay. All right. So he's got a five pack and a Canadian. How about Morikawa taking off and not doing media? I didn't know that story until earlier today. I didn't realize that he had taken off. Neither did I. Like he, I wouldn't know that story until earlier today. I didn't realize that he had taken off. But like he, I wouldn't say he melted down. Henley went out and won that tournament.

Like he birdied 15, eagled 16, and then par par coming home. That's a brilliant way to close. But Markawa has not been winning for a couple of years. So he's looking flustered. But at the same time, I guess McElroy set the tone at the US Open, he took off too, right? Like when he got through that tournament away, he left and didn't get media. But it's not a good look, especially when the players are always like, it's our sport,

it's our tour, you know, we're invested in it. Well then go out there and speak and talk about it. I mean, you're making a ton of money anyways. The agony of defeat is a good angle and people want to see the human side. Exactly. And it's Arnold Palmer's place. Like go out there and speak to people. All right my five pack I got to take Scheffler like he's standing right there I'm gonna take Scheffler I'm gonna

take Ludwig as well. Oberg is now living in that area like in the Jacksonville area he said he's played this course a ton he is a pure ball striker I love his game I think he wins I wouldn't be shocked if he won the Masters this year. He's that good. Yeah he was in in the final pairing, I believe last year. Oh, it was Amorakawa and Scheffler. He was in the second last, I believe. He was right there. He's right there with DeChambeau and he had himself a great run. So I will start with those two. I'm going to take Shane Lowry, who's been playing very well

recently, loves to play a tough course. I will take Lowry and take Wyndham Clark, who almost won the tournament last year. Remember, he lipped out on the 72nd hole and he was right there with Scotty. That's four. I need a fifth. I'm going to take a guy who I won here a couple years ago who has been playing much better recently. I'm going to take Justin Thomas. I'll take JT.

I think JT's been in the hunt. He's going to get back in the winner's circle at some point. He's too good of a player. Last year was a complete write off for him. Hutting better. Hutting a lot better and he likes this course. He's had success get back in the winner's circle at some point. He's too good of a player. Last year was a complete write-off for him. He's putting better. Putting a lot better. And he likes this course. He's had success with this course.

I will take Justin Thomas. And then Mike. He can slow play, by the way. Yeah, JT. Yeah. And my Canadian's Nick Taylor. You know, I got to take Nick Taylor. That's your guy.

That's your guy. You made Nick Taylor what he is. I really did. You got to take him. At St. George's. Yeah. What a nine-hole stretch. What an incredible run. That's your, like, go- them. At St. George's. Yeah. What a nine hole stretch. What an incredible run.

That's your go-to. Exactly. You had a nine hole stretch that was right there with the pros. Yep. Me and Nick Taylor at St. George's. Incredible. Back nine.

No one's ever seen anything like it. Legendary stuff. Yep, with the grappler cruising around and taking pictures and videos. I hope I didn't lose those pictures and videos That's a good point. You better have those videos Yeah, if there is no proof, I will be I'll fly to Apple if I have to I don't care We're like I'm in the clouds some those pics and videos clouds or whatever it is Yeah, all the pictures of my my kids and all that kind of stuff

Whatever, but Nick Taylor and me at St. G's, I need those. Yeah, I need that. The Overdrive PJ picks brought to you by Taylor made introducing the all new QI 35 drivers for more distance from more of the face. Unlock another level for your game at Taylor made golf dot C.A. All right, we'll come back with our best bets. Overdrive continues to send 1050N on the TSN app.

And you're all set. Enjoy your new phone on Bell. Thanks. Whoa, what is happening? What is this feeling? Are you feeling giddy and bouncing with energy? Yes. Yeah, I like to call that new phone vibes.

It's that time of year at Bell. It's so good. Get in on those new phone vibes. Switch to Bell, Canada's fastest 5G plus network and save over a thousand dollars on amazing phones with eligible trade-in. Visit a Bell store or Bell.ca slash spring for details. Bell, getting a new phone just got better. All right, today's best bets are powered by FanDuel. Make your picks and assemble a same game parlay in seconds on the FanDuel sportsbook app. The line is now down to three.

The Scotty Barnes is out tonight. Raptors have nine guys. Raptors have nine guys. I still feel like they're going to win tonight. Probably. Like I laid the points the other day. It was a great bet. Like they blew the doors off Washington.

Maybe Darko will play. Maybe Darko can get out there against Nick Nurse. Well, Nick is going to play, play hard. That's the thing. Especially a game like this in Toronto, I guess you're right, Nick is going to try. But who do they have that's playing? They have nobody.

Philly's got nothing. They never win. A bunch of two-way, 10-day nobodies against a bunch of two-way, 10-day nobodies. That's the thing. It's almost like a field goal for home field is kind of the differentiator there And and I'm gonna I'm gonna lay the points Darko needs to win more Darko need he doesn't have a ring

Nick nurses got that ring Darko's trying to you know put forth a culture here. Well Messiah might be mad at him if he wins That's the amazing thing Today's best bets powered by fan to a live same game parlay's are now available for every NBA game on the FanDuel Sportsbook app. Please play responsibly 19 plus. Physically located in Ontario. All right. Well, we'll see what comes out of that game tonight.

What a difference that building is going to have. Raptors Sixers tonight, Leafs Panthers tomorrow. That is a totally night and day vibe that's the one you can say for the age on the rules at least the guy shop in freaking play hard yet come to play and they i will yet will say that tomorrow night of the an awesome that's really good game yet once again zinni and chill tonight nba get ok c cell fix tonight that's me great

by boys it's in you guys as always uh... dave thank you for doing this. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out we appreciate that everyone for tuning in today. TV radio podcast web we appreciate it we're out of here enjoy your evenings. Enjoy the games tonight we're back tomorrow at 4 p.m. we'll chat then. For your best chance to win, enter daily at iHeartRadio.ca. Kane Brown's new album, The High Road, is available now.