OverDrive - Scianitti on the experience of “Shai Day”, Rourke’s performance in the overtime win, and Tre Ford’s future in the CFL

Episode Date: August 8, 2025

TSN CFL reporter Matthew Scianitti joins us on a Mail it in Friday to discuss what it was like in Hamilton for “Shai Day”. Scianitti talks about Nathan Rourke’s performance in the Lions’ OT win over the Ti-Cats and shares his thoughts on Tre Ford’s future in the CFL.

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the more you save. Switch to Canada's fastest 5G-plus network today. For details and more great offers, visit a Bell store or bell.ca slash promotions. Bell, back to school, just got better. Whenever I am fortunate enough to be on these airways, I always find a way. There's always a reason to talk with my man, Mr. Football, Matthew Shinetti. And on a day like today, when we've got a Toronto FC star player on,

when we've got national team players to talk about in the World Cup coming up, oh so quick, 11 months away. And then a night in Hamilton like you had to celebrate, one of Canada's best athletes right now in Shaggildes Alexander, Matthew Cheney was right in the middle of it. What's up, Shooter? How are you, man? Boys, how's our Friday going? Going pretty good now. It's just got better. You're on the show, my man. Tell me about things last night in The Hammer. What was it like? The exchange there on the field as Jay Gilders Alexander thanked the crowd and lifted the Larry O'Brien trophy. That was pretty special. It looked good on camera. I must have been pretty special to be next to him.

Yeah, you know, it kind of reminds me, Brendan, a few years ago. And I give my own hometown of Vaughn a shout out here when Andrew Wiggins, who grew up literally just down the street from where I grew up. When he brought back the NBA title after winning it with the Golden State Warriors, the Duff and Clark Community Center on Dufferin Center there up there in Vaugh-Slaught-Hill and just kind of the reaction he got from the community, this is on another level. And I think it's for a couple of reasons. One, SGA is now the face of the NBA in a lot of ways. He's at the pinnacle of the sport. He is arguably next to Summer Macintosh. And, you know, certainly you can put Alfonso Davies in there.

You know, those are the most recognizable international Canadian athletes right now. But just to see the outpouring of emotion in Hamilton, I've been very lucky in my career to go to the hammer a lot. and beyond being as hard-nosed and hard-scrabbled and gritty a place as people might assume it to be, it is a very, very loyal town. And SGA is very loyal to the place that he comes from. He still trains, I hear, at the local YMCA every so often in the off-season. And to see him walk out in front of 24,500 fans,

to see them all stand and applaud a native son of their city, see, as I was asking him, just his earnest responses about what it means to be a Hamiltonian. Hamiltonian or not, Canadian all across this country, you can certainly be proud of a guy who has not only accomplished nearly everything, and he's not done yet by any measure, but everything that you could want to accomplish in a professional basketball career, but to also see how loyal he is to his hometown, really that's the Canadiana that fills everyone's hearts in terms of sports. I mean, they put

an absolute show on the grid iron in front of SGA and the sold out crowd there in Hamilton. Like, what a ball game we had. 41, 38 game went to overtime. There were 10 different lead changes. You know, like, where does that stand? Like, could that be

CFL game of the year territory? I think the last two, Mikey, when you look at two weeks ago and the 10-point comeback in the final four minutes that the Ticats had, over BC in Vancouver and then you certainly look at what happened last night and you peek over at the standings maybe we're getting either because of course there's that crossover rule that still exists in the CFL and given how poor so far the records have been beyond the Montreal

Alouettes and the Hamilton Tire Cats at the top of the east we could see this as a playoff matchup and it would be a hell of a playoff matchup because obviously all the credits of the Ticats are building, they had a couple short weeks dealing with a lot of injuries now. They're going to have to figure out because they go not to look too far ahead. They go into Regina to face the best team in the CFL right now with Saskatchew and Rough Riders. But facing the BC lines, it brings out the best in both teams. And you've got to tip your hat to Nathan Rourke.

A local boy, too, I mean, he's not from Hamilton. He's kind of the Oakville-Birlington area, but a local boy, too, like SGA. And he showed out, man, the tossness that he had. The tie cats were coming at them. That defensive line was playing downhill all game. There really wasn't anything BC's offensive line could do to protect Rourke. And yet, every time you thought the Ticats had him and we're going to bring them down, there's Rourke breaking contained, there's Rourke making a play.

And as much as, yeah, they win in overtime, he threw what looked like a backbreaking interception inside the final three minutes. But I think we're starting to see that old Nathan Rourke again, just the guy who is so locked in, so systematic. and he comes in not only the final minutes of the game but also too in overtime obviously was aided by a Ticat fumble

in their first overtime series but he just looks like he's near the top of his game again but so does Bo Levi Mitchell so I can only hope given the peculiarities of that crossover rule the two teams face each other again in playoffs I'd sign up for it I'd love to see them

to go against each other now save us some time to get to the soccer talk but is Nathan Rourke the best quarterback in the CFL right now? I think it's Bole Levi Mitchell. I think it's Moly by Mitchell simple because he's playing as confident as he has since 2016, 35 years old, got receivers all across the field. He used a full assortment of them last night. And again, yeah, to see the only, one of the reasons I think we saw the best out of Nathan

Rourke is because, and I saw them have an exchange after the game, when Bolivar Mitchell is playing the way he is. And, you know, frankly, this may be one of the last few years. We see him at the top of his games, just, you know, certainly professional sports and professional football in particular and playing quarterback into your late 30s. But he's, he is, he's good right now. He's as good as a guest in the CFO. But you can't discount what Nathan Bork has done, but also Trevor Harris, too. And how accurate and systematic he's been and consistent he's been in Saskatchewan. Those are my top three. But if Rourke continues to play like this, watch out the lines are going to be real tough to beat down the stretch.

Well, while we're on the topic of quarterbacks around the Canadian Football League, one that I'm kind of curious about, is Trey Ford, who has lost his starting job to Cody Fajardo. And coming into the year, there was a lot of hype around him. You know, he got that contract in Edmonton, and it was supposed to be him and Nathan Rourke, the two Canadian quarterbacks to set the league ablaze hasn't quite happened. What do you think his future is like in Emmington and in the Canadian Football League?

I think it's featuring the Canadian Football League is still having a Canadian quarterback is certainly, you know, you take a look at, you know, Brandon Bridge spent a lot of time in the CFL and certainly had some pretty good performances playing, especially for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. But I don't know if we all really know who Trey Ford is yet in this league. And I don't know, we're getting to a point where, as you rightly say, Mikey, he has had everything go his way. not only did he get the new contract and he got a new coach but he got his twin brother now Tyrell is there as well playing in defense and yet it hasn't clicked and this is not a criticism of him or his talent but it does take i've been around this league lucky enough to been around this league for a long long time there has to be a certain kind of buy-in as a quarterback when it comes to adversity and there's been a lot of adversity thrown at tray for

over the last few years. And certainly, you can see the dysfunction that has occurred within the Edmonton Elks organization for a long time. They changed ownership last year, trying to find a level there in really a city where it was a lot that you would get 25, close to 30,000 people every single game. And they struggle to really, at all, bring anybody out there to Commonwealth Stadium. And you're trying to build a franchise around someone like Trey Ford. and their general manager, Ed Hervey, certainly made a statement,

but it hasn't necessarily been met with, you know, a commensurate amount of execution from Trey Ford, and he's got to look himself in the mirror because he's got the wheels, he's got the arms, he's got the intelligence, but he hasn't executed, and right now that's on him. Tomorrow night, Nick Arbuckle, will be under center for the Argonauts, taking on the red flags, both teams desperately in need of a win. Like, how important is this tilt going to be for the boatman?

Massive. of course every game could be considered the game in the year and for the Argos going forward but I'll steal a quote from Ottawa head coach Bob that I spoke to him yesterday and he said to me you know myself and

our analyst Dwayne Ford and Rod Smith I'll play by play my show that we're coming to the point of the season where you start counting down the games instead of counting up the games and our right did what he mentioned it this morning that this is a team

now, the Argos, that is, that he knows the effort is there, he knows the buy-in is there, he can feel a culture in the locker room, but it hasn't translated on the field nearly enough. You can look at that win against Winnipeg a few weeks ago and certainly see ingredients for what this team can do, but was that

the Argos or was that the deficiency of the bombers? Because the bombers responded, especially Willie Jefferson last week, and as much as the Argos took them to the wire, Jefferson just broke their backs with the amount of passes that he knocked down and if the Argos can't overcome a team like Winnipeg

back to back and try to claw their way back in the east it makes tomorrow's game incredibly crucial but I think more so for Ottawa I certainly Ryan Dinwiddie can look at you and say I don't have Chad Kelly my offensive lines all over the place I don't have my outstanding offensive lineman Ryan Hunter I've had issues on my defensive line

I've had injuries kind of sprinkled throughout the field. They're dealing with an injury to one of their great receivers, Kevin Meetal, right now. And yet, he can say, look at my body of evidence. I've taken them to two Great Cup championships, always go to the East Final. This might be a Mulligan year. On the flip side with Ottawa, Bob Dice can't say that. I mean, Drew Brown is a great quarterback. Everyone loves them across the league.

But they haven't been able to build anything consistently. Sure, they get a win over Calgary last week, but was that Ottawa? or is that the fact that Calgary was playing a backup quarterback who clearly looked like a backup quarterback in the Canadian Football League? So it feels like a coin flip in terms of who it matters more to, but I lean more to Ottawa because their general manager, Sean Burke, has put a lot of work into revitalizing the lineup. They've had their injuries as well, but they don't have nearly as long a leash as Ryan Dean winning the Argos have. The Argos, I know it wouldn't be a proper TSN 1050 interview if we didn't ask you a Chad Kelly question So my question to you is like

It's mandatory now Are you anticipating The Argos just not being With Kelly the rest of the year At this point I'm getting close to it Because the one thing that Ryan And I don't say that

I'm not saying that to say I don't think you'll come back at all But the injury that he had Is far more significant Than I think we And meaning us in the media Not that we didn't realize it but that we really gave it credit for it because he broke his leg like vivia tibia it just shattered on

and well you're thinking about there's and i saw this injury you know you talk about football and football brandon i saw this injury at tajon buchanan as well but it wasn't nearly as severe as what happened to tajon buchanan uh certainly buchanan came back could sprint could could shift could change direction no problem that is the big issue with chack kelly it's the weight it's the resistance It's the ability to escape the pocket. It's the ability to rely on that right leg when he needs it. And if he can't, that's an issue. And I don't fault the Argos, and Dinwiddie has said this,

as much as they're paying attention to what's going to happen in this season. They're also very, very aware of the rest of Chad Kelly's career and certainly his life after football. And they don't want to put him in a situation where you break that again. That's no bueno. So you look at it whole cloth and think, well, when is he going to be able to come back? He's back on the six-game injured list right now

that kind of tracks to around Labor Day. That might be realistic. Kelly is splitting his time between Buffalo and Toronto. But we've had so many setbacks in this whole scenario, this whole soap opera, that it's hard not to expect another one. Believe me, I have been on the sidelines. I can tell you if Chad Kelly's chirping is any indication, he is raring to go and get to get back on the field,

but I know the Argos are being very, very cautious, one, because they have the investment in him, but two, if he gets injured with that leg and there's a break or there's a compound or something, you know, knock on wood happens bad again, it would be pretty devastating, not only to the Argos, but specifically to Jack Kelly. You mentioned Tejohn-Buchanan there as we switched to the other football,

to soccer, he made his move to Via Real, Ishmael Kone's made a move to Suswolo, Jonathan David, the next star next to Alfonso Davies. He's made a big move to Juventus. All of those are impressive, but none is more surprising than Thomas Mueller to the Vancouver white caps.

Put into perspective, Chenetti, for the Overdrive listeners, what it's like for the 2014 World Cup winner, the 2010 World Cup Golden Boot winner, 13-time Bundesliga champion and friends of Alfonso Davies to come to MLS and pull on the old shirt that Fonzie used to wear at BC Place.

the white caps are going all in and it's not an insignificant move and I let's compare to what Toronto FC did and you know certainly we I'm sure you're going to ask me to Jordan Mahalovich but I'll put that

I'll be on the show later we don't have the time Shenetti he'll be on the 6 o'clock out I'll put his arrival on the shelf and you can talk to him about that but the fact is Thomas Mueller is one of the great winners in the history of European football and I I was having debates with people on social media who's the bigger signing?

Is it Dragban what he did, or Nesta, what he did for the Montreal impact about a decade or so ago? Is it a 51-year-old Sir Stanley Matthews, who was one of the original legends of English football coming over and playing for Toronto? If that was a big deal. Was it Yussebio, you know, one of the big Ballandoor winners and, you know, Brendan, I'm sure your heart beat for a Portuguese icon like the great Yusaybio. But Thomas Mueller, everything he did, every time he stepped on the field for Germany or for Bayern, was about winning. And he plays a position on the field that allows him to be the most athletic,

to be the biggest facilitator, and to be a guy who could start a play and finish a play. And when you think about what the head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps, Esper Sorensen has built this season, and how tactically efficient, how fast, how just irresistible Vancouver has looked at times. their run, including the run all the way to the Concaf Champions Cup final.

He just adds a little bit of luster that's going to help Ali Ahmed. It's going to help Jaden Nelson. It'll even help Brian White. And I fully expect that when, you know, these things may not translate initially. Thomas Maler is in his mid-30s. He's going to be

getting used to the travel of Major League Soccer, which Wayne Rooney many years ago talked about being something that he didn't appreciate, having to travel from the West Coast as far west as they are in the northwest in Vancouver, all across the Major League Soccer map.

But when you see Thomas Miller and when you saw him in those World Cups where he scored 10 goals and he's the 10th all-time winning score in the tournament and he lifted the World Cup, he just exudes this confidence of I'm going to outwork everyone and win. And in terms of winners, he is one of the most likable winners

in European soccer. And I know for a fact, given the culture and some of the players who play for Vancouver White Caps, he's going to fit in perfectly there. And it is a notice of the whole league because they're in the race for the supporter shield. They're certainly in the race. They're facing Ford J.C. this week in the Canadian Championship. But the Vancouver White Caps want that MLS Cup.

And what it will do, not just for the White Caps, but for the city of Vancouver, as it prepares for the World Cup to have a World Cup winner there, it's priceless. In 30 seconds, your take on the $8 million that Toronto FC has spent to bring, George Mahalovich to Toronto to Bimo Field and now they have a designated player for the first time in 40 days. This is a huge, significant step for Jorda Mahalovich.

I watched him. He was a big piece of that CF Montreal team a few years ago that had Allison Johnson and had his smell, Connie, and had Kamal Miller in it that pushed, had a deep run in the MLS playoffs, and then he went over to Holland. It didn't really work for him there.

Then he went back to Colorado. This, as much as it's a big move for Toronto FC, from Mihailovich because if he's being listed now as a designated player that means they're going to build a team around him and in his midfield role or attacking midfield role he's going to be super

super influential but if this doesn't work wow I have no idea what Toronto City go from here because they have tried a new designated player they've gone ahead and let go Lorenzo and Sidney and Bernadowski and Keith Pelley has put a letter out to the fans and like I have no

we're now then looking at the situation with see if Montreal is it so So I'm not going to be that fatalistic, but this is a huge opportunity, but a huge test for Jordy Mahalovich. Whatever the move was, it had to work. That was the pressure they were feeling. It always works when I get you on the phone line when I'm in here in the studios, man. Appreciate you, as always, Matthew.

Enjoy the weekend, buddy. We'll talk soon. Have a great weekend, boys. Seasoned gamer or just video game curious, this weekend gaming is the podcast for you. We break down the latest in the world of video games from basics to beyond. the hottest gaming news, insight, and industry leaders, and more weekly. Join me, Naomi Kyle, and stay ahead of the game with all the latest updates. Even if you're a total newbie, stream this week in gaming on the free IHeart radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.