OverDrive - OverDrive - September 2, 2025 - Hour 2 - Dan Patrick

Episode Date: September 2, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 2 on OverDrive! Host of the Dan Patrick Show, Dan Patrick joins to discuss the lead up to the NFL season, Bill Belichick's rough start with North Carolina and Arch Manning's views with Texas. The guys play Confirm or Deny diving into Blue Jays' bullpen challenges, Anthony Stolarz's outlook with the Maple Leafs and Europe's team at the Ryder Cup and Bryan hands out his FanDuel Best Bets.

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Visit bell.ca for more details and to check availability. Bell, Internet, just got better. Hour 2 Overdrive continues, powered by Fanduel, bringing you everything from the opening line of the final score. Brian Hayes, the O'Dug, Jeff O'Neill, Jamie Noodles, McClendon. We've got Dan Patrick coming up here in a few moments. An annual visit from Dan ahead of the NFL season. Get his take on the Cowboys, Michael Parsons, the Packers.

Is this a year for the bills? I think it's the year for the bills. I think so, too. I believe in the bills Although they're Listen they got tough company man Sunday night or week one They got Baltimore

Like right off the bat Big litmus test Immediately Baltimore is so good Kansas City's not going anywhere Denver's so good Getting some shade though There's some

Just from watching the NFL stuff In the States throughout the summer They're like I don't know For the first time They're getting some shade Where it's not going to be Fatigue that's what it is

Not everybody's like These guys are going to walk away And like they're not favorites Well, even, like, it's interesting, Mahomes, the conversation about Mahomes is kind of a microcosm of that where now you see rankings. And again, it's everyone's subjective opinion, but people have Lamar ahead of them, Alan ahead of them, which I find crazy. So do I. Because he's still Mahomes. I get the stats are not as gaudy.

They're not, he's still, he beats those guys every time he has to beat those guys. Yeah. Every single time, he has to beat them. He beats them. Yeah. And, yes, he lost in the Super Bowl. it wasn't good and his numbers were not they were not video game numbers

like Allen's were and Lamar's were last year and I'm not sure they will be this year because Kelsey's close to the end and Rishi Rice is suspended now and they have a decent run game but not explosive that kind of keeps the flies off him. Right. But he's going to find a way to win and he's still 29

and yet Andy Reid is still there and Spagnola's still there and they still have a great defense and I don't know I get the fatigue because it's some point, you know it's going to come to an end. No different than, like, the Panthers are not winning the next five Stanley Cubs. That's not the way it

works. It will not happen. They will at some point, stop. And you'll look, it could be this year. Like it chucks out until January or February. Maybe Marchand shows up. He's like, I gave you everything I had last year. And now, I can't do it anymore. You know? And

Bennett, now he's got his deal. I don't know. I mean, these are all hypotheticals. I'm not betting against Florida right now. Like, I'm not betting against Kansas City. But they're not winning every single year for eternity. That's not reality. That's not the way sports works. Is there a team that we're not talking about

that could be really good? In the NFL? Yeah. Nobody liked the way the Eagles dominated last year, nobody's giving them love or it's like... That's another good point. As soon as a team wins, I'm like, they're my automatic favorite, man. They're my automatic favorite. The Eagles... The way they crushed... Crushed everybody.

Crush the cheese. kept everyone for the most part. You know? Tush push is still alive. Pushes. They tried to... They tried to kill it. My boy, Matt LaFleur and the Packers, they did everything they could to kill it. Dangerous. It's dangerous. Exactly. They started citing like medical plans. Couldn't kill it.

But I, like, is Joe Burrow have a year? Good. You know, somebody? In a year last year, their defense stunk and it wasn't good enough. Yes, he could. Here's a question. Can Dallas have a year? That's the story. Do you think it would be in the best interest? If the NFL

could pick, you think if Roger Goodell could pick one team to win the Super Bowl, do you think he would pick Dallas. I think so. I think because it's they're called America's team he would, but I think deep down inside he'd know that they're trash and they're not going to do it. What do you expect from Dallas this year? I don't expect them to be very good. I think they could be okay. I think the offense could be okay. You know, they got a rookie head coach. I don't know what to expect. That's asking a lot. The Eagles are really good.

Did they have a window where they were very special? Special is strong, but they They won 12 games in a, I think three years in a row, they had 12 plus wins, I believe. Certainly double-digit wins. Went to the playoffs every year. But I guess the counter to it, it's kind of like the Leafs, like do you need Dallas to, they're going to make money anyway, they're going to create so much content for you. Like if you handpick a winner, is it, are you wasting it on Dallas? Because Dallas is going to pop for you anyway.

That was like some poll question on Twitter a couple days ago. Are the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League just for content, like for a America's team content, or are they there to be a contender? Because a lot of people are saying they're not even close to being a contender. No, and Jerry Jones, the way he operates, it's more about the clicks and the follows and the mics and the cameras as opposed to winning. But it doesn't matter. They print cash there.

Exactly. But that's what I'm saying. Like, do they deserve is a strong word, but do they deserve to win with the way that he runs that operation? Are they a 12-win team? No, I don't believe they are this year. No. 10? Can they get the 10?

I don't think they're going to get to 10. I think they get to eight wins. I think they can be a respectable, decent team. Yeah. I don't think they'll be a powerhouse team. I expect the Eagles to win the NFC East and be very good, and we'll see what Washington is with year two. I think Detroit could maybe tell us.

They'll take a step back. Yeah, I think they lost both coordiners. Really tough schedule. Man, oh, man. But there's a team, like, I wonder if Goodell could pick would he say Detroit. Like a great sports city. Why would he pick the team? Who would he pick, hypothetically?

The bills, but maybe the bills, but again, such a small market. I know, but it's nice for a small market that's got a superstar quarterback who's grounded. And a new stadium coming next year. I love Josh. I was teeing off on that today. He was saying it pisses them off, still how people look at Buffalo in the city. Yeah. But, I mean, they got to own it.

Buffalo, it is, you know, it's not New York. It's not L.A., Chicago. Buffalo, but that's what makes it endearing. There's a lot of character that comes with that town, and they got a new stadium coming. I betcha Dan likes the Buffalo Bills. I bet she does too. Yeah. All right here he is.

You hear him every day right here on TSM Radio, the host of the Dan Patrick show, joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. How you doing, Dan? I'm great. So the question is, do I like Buffalo to be representing the AFC in the Super Bowl? Sure, yeah. Start there.

Go ahead. Probably not. Is it a good story, yes? But if I was this script writer, I would have Detroit in there. I think that's... Now, Buffalo is one of the last great stories to be told in a successful way,

but so is Detroit. Buffalo's at least gotten there. Detroit has thought about it, and they've hosted the Super Bowl, but I still think the Kansas City Chiefs until proven otherwise. I just they've got my homes and you don't. And I truly believe

he graduated to that Tom Brady level of, I don't don't care what he does during the regular season. Come postseason, he's got the ball, and the game is on the line, you're going to lose. And I don't, I've learned the hard way. Same thing with Brady. You just got to the point where he go, okay, I surrender. He's going to win these games.

And I think Mahomes, and I don't think he's even thought of as one of the top three quarterbacks, maybe four quarterbacks. But if I said, let's have rankings in the postseason, as opposed to the regular season, and I think Mahomes is the best quarterback in football. You think he bounces back right away, Dan? Like Brady had some tough playoff performances where people were like, is this guy done? And then the guy won like three or four more Super Bowls.

Do you think Mahomes, after what happened in the Super Bowl last year, just bounces right back? Yeah, but, you know, keep in mind with Brady. Brady had two Hall of Fame careers. He had one at the beginning, and then he had one at the end. And even the middle wasn't bad. He just didn't get to Super Bowls. but Mahomes, I don't, I mean, I think they're a dynasty in today's definition.

That doesn't mean you have to win like two, three in a row. I think if you go to four or five in a span of, you know, six or seven years, that would be probably our modern day definition for a dynasty. But I just, you still have the best coach. I don't expect a lot out of Kelsey, but, you know, Mahomes, brings out the best in whatever receivers they give him. They always, Steve Spagnola, does a wonderful job with the defense, and Chris Jones is still there.

It's just a weird feeling that we hope for somebody new. We hope for something different. It's just the same thing with the Patriots. There are people who were just saying anybody but the Patriots, and then they would be there at the end. Well, we stumbled across this conversation talking originally about Dallas and proposing the question, like if the Cowboys won the Super Bowl,

is that good for the NFL? Would Roger Goodell, if he could handpick one team in the NFL to win this year, do you think it would be Dallas? I think he would probably prefer sharing the wealth with a city that's never won before. I mean, Dallas wins. Even when they lose, they still win.

People watch the, you know, the franchise is worth $10 or $11 billion. You know, Detroit, I think, would still be a better story. Like if the Cleveland Browns somehow won, Buffalo.

Yeah, I think there's a lot of nominees there. I don't know if Dallas is going to bring a big audience no matter what. But I don't think that changes something. But if you said Detroit's going to win a Super Bowl or Buffalo is going to win the Super Bowl, I just think you'll get casual

fans in there to watch something like that happen. A hundred million are watching anyway, but then if you get that great storyline, then that's where it goes up to 120, you know, 125. You get the curiosity people.

And where are you at with the Parsons trade? You think Green Bay is a better team and how do you think that'll unfold? Well, as long as he's healthy, because I think when we go back a week or so ago, and they said, oh, he's got a tender back, and we all thought, well, he's just doing this to have an excuse so he doesn't get

fined, and he's not going to be participating. And when I hear the word epidural, which I've only heard when my wife was going to deliver our last child, and then you're going, okay, now that got my attention a little bit, because this is the only way Green Bay doesn't win this trade, is if Micah Parsons doesn't play a full season, he's not healthy. If he's there, then obviously they're a better team. He makes both sides of the ball better. And I don't know how Dallas comes away. I don't know how Jerry says that we're a better team

because Kenny Clark is 30 years of age. And by the time you get, you know, your draft, he's going to be 32, 33. He's not the future. Micah was the future and he was the present. And then you bring in these draft picks that if Green Bay is good, it's at the end of the first round. And then what are you searching for?

another Micah Parsons. It just, it didn't make sense. I understand if Jerry doesn't want to spend that money, but if Jerry was smarter spending the money earlier, then he would have gotten a bargain. He could have gotten Micah Parsons a year ago, maybe for $34 million, maybe a little more than that.

Why didn't he do it though, Dan? He got it done with DAC at the last minute and CD Lamb. They always seemed to like, it was like every training camp, there was a guy, but they always seemed a way to get it done. And why did this one not get done? Well, I think he pissed off Michael Parsons' agent. And Jerry's not allowed to be negotiating contracts with a player with no agent in the room.

And nobody's called him on this. The commissioner hasn't said a word. You're not allowed to do this. Because Jerry thinks, I bought the Cowboys in a handshake agreement. I should be able to sign Micah Parsons on a handshake agreement. now if it was the other way around and you know somebody had a handshake agreement with jerry do you think jerry's honoring that if it's not a good deal probably not you have to have the agent in there and the fact that he thought that that was binding and then i think this agent was like

wait what are you doing and then he didn't know his name even though he had negotiated deals with this other agent i think the agent just basically said all right you know what and then they said well we're going to have you play out your fifth year option i was talking about told they were ready to go fifth-year option, franchise, franchise. And then they would have moved on from it. But I think they put him in a corner where it's like, hey, you reneged on a deal. And, okay, now we're going to spend it. It was like he got put in time out.

And Jerry is never, you know, billionaires are never told what to do or they're wrong. And I think Jerry likes to, you know, hey, I'm going to sit here at Micah and we're going to get a deal. And then you don't get the deal done. And then, you know, Jerry's not going to be the bad guy. You know, Mike had in his age, oh, they're greedy. And we had a deal. And I'm curious in a month when he comes back with the Packers, how he's treated by the cowboy fans, because they might go, you know what, we understand why you want it out

or why you were pissed off. But I'm curious about that reaction because that team is just sort of, you know, if you're a fan of the Cowboys, you can't be surprised at anything anymore, unless they're going to the Super Bowl, that'd be the only thing you'd be surprised at. Anything else, you go, yeah, okay. Jerry being Jerry, or, you know, that's just, I would have traded Dak Prescott. If I'm getting rid of Micah Parsons, I would have said, okay, let's go all in on this. Like, let's truly start over. Well, Jerry, at his age, doesn't really want to start over. And I think as much as he gave you that, well, these draft picks are for the future. Well, the future is now.

Dax 32, you brought in George Pickens, Steedy Lamb, you'd have Micah Parsons, you'd have really talented players at some skilled positions, and granted, you're in the east, you're not better than the commanders or the Eagles, but, you know, when are you going to be better than them? So I think Dallas kind of puts themselves in their own purgatory, but it's, you know, If Jerry wasn't the GM, Jerry would have fired the GM a long time ago. He would have had numerous general managers in there, but he can't fire himself. With Dan Patrick, what do you think is running through the mind of Bill Belichick today? Well, I don't think like a genius, so I'm just going to have to, I'm going to have to try to think like a genius.

Dumb it down for us, Dan. Yeah, I'm going to hold on. My 24-year-old girlfriend is trying to get my attention here. I don't know how you could come away from that going, hey, we're kind of close. Or it's not as bad. I don't know how you go in and talk to those kids after that. Because normally a coach, you know, when you have one of those games, you can rally. the troops or you can yell at him.

And I don't know if he's really capable of doing either. And I just wonder, how do you motivate? Because it felt like those kids quit in the third quarter. And when you're coaching professionals, they're getting paid. I mean, they're professionals. They're older. These are 18, 19, 20-year-old kids. And I still wonder how he connects with them.

And I think that's going to be the big challenge is, what is the message I can send to these kids? We play Charlotte. You know, we've got Charlotte coming up, and we've got to have a good performance. And I don't know how he, I can't imagine a rah-rah speech with him. And I think that's what kids kind of respond to. Professionals roll their eyes. But if you're 19 years of age and you go, okay, here it comes.

And Bill gives you the, you know, we got to. just tackle better and block better and, uh, and, uh, we'll be better. Okay. All right. Let's go out and get them. These kids are going to go, what? Like, that's my leader? That's the guy I wanted to play for. And I, I would be curious if he can hold their attention for an entire season. I don't know about you, but I got kids a little older than that, and it's hard to keep their attention. And I think that'll be Bill's biggest challenge.

Yeah. I mean, that's embarrassing. They got pumped. That's pumped. Yeah. It's really ugly. Really ugly. Michael Jordan's there, Lawrence Taylor.

You're on ESPN. It's the only game going, right? Like, they, it was a huge platform. All the focusing on is the girl. I know, but were they supposed to win that game, though? There was something said of, like, during the telecast, where if they win the games they were supposed to, they might be okay. Was that one of the games, really, they were supposed to win?

I don't think so. No, because TCU is a solid program. They were favored in the game, although you would never know that from ESPN's coverage. It was 98% Belichick in North Carolina. And I kept watching, I watched an hour pregame, and I kept going, please say something about TCU. Please say something about TCU. Because they were setting themselves up for what exactly happened last night, is you made it seem like this is a foregone conclusion that Bill's going to win this game.

and TCU's probably going nobody interviewed us nobody cares all right we'll go out and show them and they did they you know they they humiliated them

and I just I was wondering about that approach it was all Belichick all the time and then you look up and somebody's down the sidelines for 75 yards yeah it was really ugly

like really ugly and he's larger than life you know it's Bill Belichick in college and he's trying to wear he's one of the same clothes and he's trying to do the same stuff and it's not going to translate when you don't have talent

and you're like you said Dan you're dealing with kids and now these other programs like they are we always hear bulletin board material like that was the definition of it last night take a run on him yes going there and embarrass this guy and it's going to be on Hulu and it's going to you know ESPN's going to be

there every single week and at some point that's going to come to an end because if the team isn't good enough Bill Belichick on his own is not compelling enough we saw that after Brady left and the path stunk Bill, no one really cared what Bill was up to. Like, you got to win to be Bill Belich. Yeah, I mean, that applies to everyone, right, Dan?

I mean, if you don't win, you got to be, there's got to be more to it. 70 new kids, 70 transfers, you know, recruit. That's impossible to gather all of them together. And you have a short amount of time in the off-season and have them kind of galvanized and then go out. there. But I think the bigger issue was Delichick's famous for his adjustments, right?

Oh, man, he'll make half-time adjustments. He didn't make any adjustments. And that was what was really surprising because I kept thinking, all right, third quarter, he'll fix this, he'll shore this up a little bit. And then he didn't, it got worse. And that's what I, that was probably the biggest surprise. This isn't the NFL. You have to factor in, you know, the hash marks. There's so much more space out there, whereas in the pros, the hash marks are closer,

and you don't get exposed if you're guys not the fastest team on the field. In college, if you're not, you know, sideline to sideline fast, then these teams take advantage of you. And the way Bill plays, Bill played like he was coaching in the NFL with his defense. and TCU built to, you know, play college offense, took advantage of that. Dan, is Arch Manning the only Manning quarterback that stinks or what?

Man, he was just getting the business the next day. They showed him before the game walking in, and he got the full treatment. Deservedly so, he's Arch Manning, but man, he got trashed after that game in the next day. Was it appropriate or over the top for you? Well, we're the ones that did this to him. He didn't walk in. He thought, you know, LeBron James and saying,

hey, I'm King James. Art came in. He sat for two years. He did what, you know, you would want somebody who's learning, experience, no matter what his name is. I just think,

you know, Peyton won his opener against East Carolina at home. Eli won his home opener against Murray State. Arch went on the road to play Ohio State defending National Champs.

Degree of difficulty through the roof. And did he look nervous? Yes. Did he play poorly? Yes. But I don't know what people expected because he really had limited sample size last year, but he showed glimpses. And it was just we kept thinking, well, he's Peyton with, you know, wheels, Peyton with speed.

Okay. But he didn't proclaim himself that. So I blame the media that we built all of this up. Um, Belichick, meanwhile, and Mike Lombardi, his GM, they kind of set themselves up that they were going to change college football. Archmanning never proclaimed anything. He's a very humble kid. And I just think, you know, he got humbled by a really good team at home. And he acted like a kid who had only played a couple of games.

And keep in mind that, you know, the competition he has in high school, it's not great competition. it's a good school locally in New Orleans but I mean they're not they're not playing a Texas schedule or Florida schedule or California schedule and I think he he's going to be good the question is how long does it take him to be good and I didn't think his coach helped him either I thought you know the play calling was a little suspect as well and you know maybe they're trying to ease him in and not throw too much at him but I think his debut was better than Belichick. How about that?

Yes, exactly. He can hang us out on that at a minimum. Arch at a better weekend than Bill Belichick. And that is something that you can definitely take home if you're Arch Manning. Dan Patrick's show heard every morning right here on TSM Radio. Always great catching up with you, Dan. We'll do it again down the road. Are the Packers going to the Super Bowl?

Yes. I think it's Packers, Bill's Super Bowl. That is mine. Do you have your picks out yet or when are you going to reveal? Not yet. Okay. Probably on Thursday, but if, and I don't root. I know you love the Packers, but I don't root, but I do root for storylines because

that's easier to sell when, you know, you're just going, this team is going to be playing that team and interesting matchups, but if Green Bay's there, I think it's awesome, and And if it's Buffalo, awesome murder. Yep. Now, you can't beat it, man. I'm with you. Thank you.

Great catching up with you, Dan. Thank you. Okay. There's Dan Patrick. I don't know if you just walked into a cellar right at the end there. His phone just completely cratered. But great to catch up with him.

And, yeah, Arch Manning, I watched pretty much that whole game. He was very jittery. His first throw of the game was a terrible throw. You got better, though. Didn't he? You got better in the second half. You know, they had a goal line.

Stan, like great, great, you know, credit to Ohio State, it almost felt, and it's strange to say this because they were the number one ranked team in the country, it felt like a scheduled loss almost, like Texas kind of knew they were in one. You go into Ohio State, that type of atmosphere, and it was a low-scoring, one-score game. They still could have won the game. They didn't get blown out. You got Manning on the back of your jersey. It's just, there's an expectation there that's going to be unrealistic regard. Absolutely. Because it goes both ways. He's going to get way more hype and build-up than he should. should, but he's also going to get crushed

way more than he should, because people can't wait to get him, right? They want to see him fail. They want to see Bronny James fail. They want to see Shador Sanders. These are royalty families in sports. You know, the Mannings and the James and the Sanders and, you know, the next generation's coming up and people

are like, well, look at the standard, the previous one placed on it. It's very difficult to even get close to it. Did you see the reaction of Peyton and Eli watching? When he threw the interception. Because you could sniff that one coming. There was like a meme out there of Peyton and Eli together saying he's adopted.

I know. Like I will say online, like there were some harsh memes, but some of them were like really, really good. It's wrong to put you on the spot. But you just mentioned some, you know, royalty in sports. Who do you think has the best chance to be successful? out of who you just mentioned. Sanders, Bronny James or Arch Manning?

All day long. I think you got to say, actually, I think you got to go Bronny because he's there and he's played already. Arch's not, Arch has played, he started one game,

he started two games last year, he's a junior, he's not coming out. Yeah. Like I trust what the evaluators are saying. You just said it yourself, dude. They went into a hostile environment with an incredible team.

You don't think he's going to find his form and round into form. I think so. You have to trust the evaluation that he's a great player, great talent, and he's going to be great. So maybe it should be arched. The NBA players were punking on brawny all year long. I know that.

I know that. Giving it to LeBron. I know. But he was tearing up the lower league. Yeah, the G league he played very well. Pretty good in the summer league. I don't know if you can give an appropriate answer. Like right now you're throwing a dart at the board because all three of them are wild cards.

Maybe the Sanders kid. Maybe. Like, but it's Flacco and it's Gabriel. He's the third stringer right now in Cleveland. You know, like he's got a long way to go. He's not ready to play either. So, I don't know. I'm not sure any of them turn into superstars.

Manning, I think, at least, there's a lot of cashé there and a lot of time for him. Yeah, see, I guess maybe that would be why the answer is Manning, because the other guys have reached the pros, and we know where they are at the pro level. Right now. Ronnie's still kind of the minors or a tweener. Jeter Sanders is like a practice squad slash third ranked or, you know, third string starter. and Manning still has the ability to keep growing. So maybe it is Arch, but that was not, it was not a good first impression.

He made some really terrible throws. All right. Come back with some confirm or deny. Best but still to come. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN2. I can neither confirm or deny that this is in fact a segment. Austin trades Andrew Raycroft to Toronto in exchange for the rights to Tuka Rass.

It's been my honor and a privilege to serve as the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club. It's time for confirm or deny. Do you regret giving all those gentlemen the no trades or no movement clauses? I can either confirm or deny that. I can't confirm or deny it. All right, confirm or deny. It is a Tuesday after all. And statements are made and we either confirm them or we deny them.

It's very simple stuff. It's not overly complicated. Let's begin with this. If the Blue Jays fall out of the top spot in the American League East, it will be considered a choke job. That's a good one. And I'm going to confirm it. The mojo you had and the way Hoffman was performing, all things were looking like they were going to seize this opportunity. But you can't just say it because it was unexpected.

It's not a choke job. They round into form and everything came together and they choked it away if they don't get it done. It's got to be considered a choke job. I'm denying it because where were they two months ago? Like, I think they were, and remember how awful the Yankees were? The Yankees won like 11 out of 30 or 11 out of 35. Yeah, it was ugly. Now, they're red hot now.

They are. They're red hot. What was the biggest lead? Was it five and a half? Yeah, they had at least a five game lead on both teams. Five and a half on both, Boston and the Yankees. That's a, it's a long season. It is.

But that's a pretty substantial. I don't think it's a choke job. I think it's a long season, but I've been happy with where they're at. If they drop out the second place or whatever, they're still... Going to the wild card, you're still in the playoffs? You're still, and you're a good team. But it's a sour taste. I'm going to confirm this because of how, listen, they have not completely fallen off.

They saw a winning record in August. You're going to confirm it because of how jacked up you've got about the season. Well, listen, they were, they're in the driver's seat. They still are. That's another important element here. They're still two and a half games up on the Yankees and the Red Sox. They're at Yankee Stadium this week. Go in there and win two at a three, and you're still in the driver's seat.

Then I think they're at Fenway the week after that. Maybe Boston's in town. But they play Boston again. Take care of that. They have the tie break on both those teams. So they're really like three games up. So September 2nd, you get a three-game lead. And if this falls off, it's very isolated as to why, your bullpen is choking it away.

Like that's what's happened here. It's not like you're playing great. Just the Yankees are going to win, you know, go on this miraculous run and win 17 of 20 and steal it from you. The Js have kicked away some games recently. It happens over the course of a season. It happens. But last night, that was crushing, man. You get heroics from Bichette and Varshal for that matter.

Like you get spotted two runs going into the ninth inning. You got to close that. You have to win that game. You have to. The week before it gets Minnesota, they're done. They're finished. They're not playing for anything. Hoffman comes in and blows another save.

Team sport, but when you're Bichette, you're like, really, guys? Totally. You took away a moment for me. He was four for four yesterday with a... Yeah, and you guys can't steal the deal for me. He was fantastic. He had the air early, right? Was that Bichet that had the air early?

That was way early. But he had... Early in the game. But then he was unbelievable. Yes, he was phenomenal. Yeah, I just... Bichette did basically everything he could. It is a team sport.

You win as a team, you lose as a team. And it's gone. everyone has helped them win and helped them lose at different times but I think you've got to keep the motor down is my point. Like you still got to look at this like guys you've got to seize this opportunity well it's still

their destiny is in their own palms like go out there and win just take care of business the rest of the way. I'm going to confirm then. Oh you're flipping. You won me over. Well you won me over. I like that idea. First flip of the year. A flip flip flip flip flip. But I mean I like me over. I just

I remember where I sat at this mic two months ago. Yes. No, I get it. You were talking about them winning 80 games. Forget two months ago.

Maybe we had a wrinkle where if somebody goes to deny, somebody can hit the buzzer and say, give me the chance to flip you. Okay. I just flipped myself. You flipped yourself, but based on what I were talking about. You guys run me over with you.

And yes, if you play the six months ago game, like forget two months ago in March, no one saw this coming. Yeah. So I get the perspective, but once you start playing, you start playing.

Exactly. And you're in the driver's, so you've got to close it. When the, Win the American League East. Agreed. Do yourself that favor. All right.

All right. Let's move on. We've done a lot of McDavid today. Let's get to this. Confirm with tonight. Anthony Stollars will be a Maple Leaf beyond this season. The reason we bring this up is Dennis Hildaby signed a contract today, a two-way deal. But you know that Joseph Wall is on term.

Hilderby is now within the organization. They have other young goalies. And Stollars is going into his final season. I'm going to confirm it. I think the year he had, he established himself as the go-to guy come playoff time. He was the starter in the net. You've got to get it done. But he is an interesting case study because he's not the typical number one guy.

But I do confirm that he does get signed, but it's going to be fascinating to where his salary starts out because it's like, you're a unique guy. He was the starter come playoff time, but you weren't a traditional guy. It cannot be a long-term deal. It can't. He can't give him like a six-year deal or something. You can't.

But he's 30, he'll be 32 in January. Okay. So he's playing, I don't know if you play a 31 or 32-year-old. depending on how you view it. But if you give him a three-year deal, at decent money. He's getting a bump for sure. He's earned that based on how he played last year.

What did he make last year? 2.5 million or 2.8, whatever it was. Yeah, something in that room. He has to get a bump, for sure. But what is Joseph Wall naked? He's a 6.5. 3.7, 3.8. And that kicks in this year on three years.

He might get something with a four in it. But point being is that's a nice tandem. Hildebee is on a two-way, that I believe converts to a one way. Not a huge one way. Keep in mind, that could be buried in the minors if he makes it through waivers. I think you sign Stolars, you give him term, not crazy term, but term beyond a couple years. And you see if one can push through to be your number one.

Is Joseph Wall still a guy that you believe could be one in this league? From a talent perspective, I believe he has it. from a durability. He hasn't shown that yet. And he missed the first game of the season last year? Yeah, he did. He remember he was supposed to play. He was supposed to start.

In Montreal. Right? Like day of, he can't go. Right. And it was game seven or whatever the year before. Like, Wool has answers for himself as far as durability, as far as what is he at the National Hockey League level.

Can he be a 55 game starter? Can he be a 50 game starter? I'll believe that when I see it. Stollars had never played. played more than 29 games in a season, played 34 last year plus playoffs. I'll believe it when I see it for either one of them, to be honest with you. Yeah, I'm not, I don't think you're going to. It's like they need each other to get over the hump of having some stuff.

Maybe they're just tandem guys. That's what I think it is. Nothing wrong with that. They're good goaltenders, but you need that tandem to be intact. So I think you sign them, so I'm. Yeah, I confirm it too. I mean, he had a really good year last year. Yeah. Like he, yes, only quote unquote 31 starts or whatever, but still, that's, he played great in those 31 starts. He was the goalie of record that beat.

Ottawa. They've won two series in 20 years. He's one of the two goal that's done it. You know, I mean, he played really well. And if Bennett didn't knock him out. Samsonoff, the one... Yeah, it was Samsonoff against Tampa. He doesn't have a contract. I thought I read that he might be on a PTO to Abington.

I wouldn't surprise me. I have not heard anything on him, but he's still out there. He didn't, it didn't go that well for him in Vegas last year, right? His numbers were decent, but I mean, you know, Hill's the guy there, and if they didn't want to bring him back, like, obviously they see something.

But yeah, he doesn't have a deal. Samsonoff wanted... I guess, you know, I think he can find a role somewhere in the NHL, probably, but... It will be fascinating to see this goaltender shuffle. Like, the teams that have goaltenders should be thankful. Oh, my God, so thankful. If you're set in goal, then you should go, I sleep at night. And if you're looking elsewhere, you're begging and praying that some guy off a scrap heap turns it around.

Yeah. Yeah, you need a Tim Thomas scenario to just fall in your lap. Jordan Bennington many years ago, but he did. He's a year away from free agency. If St. Louis has stubs their toe. They might trade him at the deadline. You never know. That's an interesting thought that, hey, we'll get to the deadline.

Although St. Louis made the playoffs last year. And they were one second away from advancing. That's right. Yeah, that's right. That's right. One second. Perfetti. Perfetti.

Perfetti. Perfetti with a tip in. in the slot with literally a second to go to get to the overtime. And then Perfetti scored the O.T. winner, too, I think. I think he did. Didn't Perfetti score the O.T. No, Lowry.

It was Adam Lowry. Okay. But Perfetti had two goals in that game, though I believe. I think he scored earlier in the game, too. Yeah. Once we back, we got to get into, like, the teams at what we're thinking of the team. Oh, yeah. Because there's been a lot of, like, we forget.

Nothing happened in July and August, though. Like nothing in the league. But still some interesting stuff. I just saw a tweet where Jonathan Taze had his first picture with the Winnipeg gear on. That's a cool story. That's a really cool story. You're my color thing. I'm like, oh, yeah, this guy plays for that team now.

You start realizing like L.A. L.A. went and got Cody C.C. and Dumilland. Cory Perry. Cory Perry. I think Corey Perry signed a two-year deal. But like that's, there is some change in the league. We just have to go through it. And listen, the Leafs had some change.

I'm actually excited to see if this, now am I going to butcher his name? McAvelli. Chely. McAvelli. Mattias Micelli. Chely. Who is not from Woodbridge.

Yeah. I'm curious what he's, I'm, I am going to hold judgment to be fair to him. But like the amount of people penciling him in, like, oh, he'll just step in

and he'll be on the top line. Let's be careful there. Utah basically dumped him. So he's got to prove who he is in the league. Yeah. You know, the least are going to give him an opportunity, and they obviously saw something there with him.

Yeah. But I'm not jumping to a conclusion that Bichelli is the next Marty St. Louis. Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. We'll see what he's got. And if he does jump in on that top line for any duration, he'll be under the gun because you know why. Yeah.

And what an opportunity, though. I hope he relishes the opportunity. I'm pulling for it. It would be a great story. Yeah. Show up, you know, play great. Get an opportunity to play with whoever it is. if you're with Matthews or you're with Neelander, Tavares,

like that's more talent than he's ever played with before. Yeah. You know, and the ability to score, for sure. See if he can do it. And see what he's got. So I'm intrigued by it. I'm just, I'm waiting to see on that one. Yeah.

Like, I got a pretty good idea what Nicholas Waugh is going to be. Yes. You know, I got to, yeah, exactly. Joshua. I'm like, I know what they are. They're going to play 10, 12 minutes, third line, whatever, kill some penalties. Micelli is a great unknown.

Is he going to play 17, 18 minutes? Could he be on the power play? Is he a guy that 10 games into the year? He's in the press box. Didn't you have an argument with Jonas about Dakota Joshua? Probably. I don't remember, but probably. Like, guys never scored 15 goals or 17 goals.

Oh, yeah, Joshua. Well, yeah, I don't remember the, I don't remember it. It was a good one. I was sure it was. Yeah, it was funny. But, you know, just a summertime argument with Jonas. I love it. Jonas, just the two of us, we lock guys.

It's supposed to be nice and casual and light and just start screaming. They started yelling about Dakota Joshua on the third line. But, like, two years ago, he had a really good year. Last year, obviously, didn't go so well. Now, he had, you know, a testicular cancer, and he started a year late. Yeah. And he's got a decent cap hit just over $3 million. It's a commitment, the least have made to him.

No, they have, but I like him. I think he's a big, you know, can be mean. That's what he has to be. He's got to be mean. He's got to be mean. He's got to be mean. Like, kind of get back to what he had a couple years ago. And it's not like he's 35.

You're still a young kid. I think the jury's out on a lot of things, the moves the moves that tree made because you have to see how they fit. Yes. And who's going to play with who and that's what is difficult to project. Like you've got, there's, and Max Domey, where's he playing? Where's Bobby McMahon playing? Is Yarncrow still going to be here? Is camp going to be here?

If so, what are you doing with them? Right. And then there's the Easton Cowan conversation. What if he has a great camp? You've got to find a place for him, I would think. And you can push people out. Nick Robertson? Well, there's another guy.

Like, you know, it's a good problem to have, but they don't, it doesn't just fit easily. Right. Like you can fit a lot of them. You know Matthews and Nyes and Nealander and Tavaros and Joshua's going to play likely with Wawa. Still a lot of things need to be sorted out. But yeah, Scott Lotton, what is he in his first full year as a Maple Leaf? Yeah. He's got pressure on him.

He didn't play great during the regular season when he came over from Philly. Yeah. But he played better in the playoffs. Yeah. But he's got to find a role for him. What is he? Where does he fit? What's he going to be? It'll be interesting because, you know, second time around. Now Chief kind of knows

what he likes, what he doesn't like, what, where, you know, now he's got some players. He had Joshua and St. Louis. Got some guys. And it's all forward. It's like the defense are all back. And the two goalies are back. Like there's no competition in that. Unless they acquire someone between now and camp, I think who are, the six guys playing in the playoffs

are going to be the six guys playing opening night. I mean, I would assume. Maybe Benoit gets pushed out if someone shows up and has a great camp. I don't think so. He had a great playoff. Yeah. Unreal. Then I think Barubei likes them and I think I guess and truly even would like him too. Yeah. So it's more about you know what you do with the excess forward group

and who fits in, who's playing with Matthews and Nice. Like that's the biggest question in camp. Who's playing with those two guys? I still believe that team is a work in progress. I think they're sitting there waiting and going we'll wait to see who's sellers, how guys fit. Like, this team will look different. I still believe a guy like Tree will be looking for a top six guys, somebody like that.

Maybe even a little shake-up on the D, depending on how it lays out. But they got a little bit of cab space, and they might be able to maneuver stuff to add another player that's a significant player. Well, you have to give up something significant to get a significant player, and that's the ultimate question. Yeah.

Final one quickly. Confirm of the night. Team Europe should be favored over Team USA at the Ryder Cup. 100% confirmed. They're a better team. I hate the Europe. They're so good in the Ryder Cup. And I know what the home team is always dummied.

The Americans don't look great on paper, man. I don't like the American team at all. Is it a coin flip then when we do our... Yeah, it will be. Because it's very difficult to win on foreign soil. Yeah. But they're going to have... Dude, Luke Donald just ripped off.

his picks. I think it was yesterday. Yeah, it was. I was watching. I was like, that team is kind of shreds. They're, like, top the bottom. They're so good. The Americans are going to be running out. Well, they're hoping for Mojo. They're saying, you guys did it in Rome. Just same guys. There's only one change. It's the guy, the guy's twin brother. His twin brother. Yeah. Nicolai out. Rasmus, you're in.

What a kick in the teeth for Nikolai. We're making one change. You're out. Imagine I'm calling his brother, and it really stinks. I didn't make the Ryder Cup, and he goes, oh, yeah, well, I did. Guess what? Great news. I think they're going to smoke them, though. They're so dangerous, man, in the Ryder Cup. I know.

But you got Schaeffler, you got the Shambo. But after that, like, Schauffley hasn't played great this year. You got... Shambo is a fascinating guy in a Ryder Cup. Like, to find a partner for that guy, the way he plays golf? I'm in Gouge with who. I don't know. We've got a few weeks to figure that out.

All right. I'm confirming it, though, too. There you go. Confirm with the night. We'll come back with our best bets of power. by Fando. We'll do that next. All right. Today's best bets powered by Fando make your picks and assemble the same game. Parlay in seconds

on the Fando's Sportsbook app. I'm going to party. I think they're a good team. They're in these games. They're going to win games. Rios scares me, but they've allowed them to rest and adjust a little bit here. I'm on the Jays and an Alejandro Kirk

anytime hit tonight. Pretty good year by Al-A-Lanro. Kirk's been outstanding. Yeah. Outstanding. Yeah, but it's Isn't it a bullpen start for the Reds? Yeah, exactly. I feel very, very good about where things are at with Barrios and the Jays tonight. Best Betts powered by Fandrel.

The first inning means as much as the ninth when you bet baseball and the Fandall Sportsbook gap. Please play responsibly 19 plus physically located in Ontario. It's been a great, great show. Good to see you guys. Good to have all three of us back. Everyone, Dugie, JP, Joe from the Bridge. We're up everywhere.

We're up on YouTube live. We'll continue to hammer that. YouTube live on TSN's YouTube channel. You can find us every single show up there, podcast, TikTok, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, obviously TSM radio up on TSN TV. You find us everywhere. Can't miss it. Good job on your first day back.

Yeah, thank you. I felt pretty good, actually. I felt good about it. I felt pretty good about it. Yeah, I was a little nervous. I'll be honest. I was worried about his wing. I was worried about the LaBamba wing.

Yeah. He was not happy when JP threw the LaBomba song. Did that throw you off? Or were you expecting it? You know something stupid. was coming you should have told me though i would have brought the poncho that is on you that's a misstep you should have thought to possibly break that out for sure although you were you were a pretty big dude back in poncho times that thing would really look huge on you now exactly okay all right

boys good stuff how we feel about this right here at six switch it up switch it up switch it up let's switch it up good stuff thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out we appreciate it Everyone for tuning in today, TV radio podcast web, up on YouTube live on TSN's YouTube channel. We're out of here. Enjoy your evenings. Enjoy the games tonight. We're back tomorrow at 4 p.m. We'll chat then.

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