The Ben Mulroney Show - The wild card is coming up aces at National Tennis tournament

Episode Date: August 7, 2025

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You are listeners of the Ben Mulroney show, but some of you are. Some of you are watching us on YouTube and you're watching us on social media and you may be somebody if you're watching the show who notices I've been wearing a baseball hat and that um and some of you are not happy about that let's let's call a spade a spade we'll get like the worst is listen the worst is people say I I'm the worst is that um uh people say I'm I've got no talent and and is reflected in the hat. And others say, no, we like what you do, but we don't like the hat. And I rarely hear anybody saying they actually like that.

Okay, here's the thing with the hat. I use a very specific hair gel. I do. I have, I don't know what it is. This is what looks like without. And very specific hair gel. It's called KMS hair paste, I think. I'm sorry, hair paste.

Yeah, hey, listen, I didn't name it. I just have benefited from it. And I was running low, and I ordered it off of Amazon. And I actually said, I want to make sure I don't run out again. So I ordered twice. I clicked twice, two orders. And a guy shows up at my house on the day he was supposed to. I got an alert on my phone, and there he shows up.

And he hands me the package. And I actually, I open it while he's, oh, he leaves. And then he comes back. I open it. and I've got two bottles in there, which means I'm now going to have four, which means I'll be stupid with hair paste. And molding, molding play?

Molding gel? It's out, whatever. You're asking me? You're looking at me? Hold on. I just remember because my kids have one. Anyway, so I was going to have four. But I only have the two, and I was like,

oh, that's okay. I guess the other one's coming tomorrow. He knocks on the door again, and I open the door. He said, I've got to take that back. And I said, why? And he holds up another box. and he says because because I have two boxes

and they're the same I said yeah oh you've got the second one great that's the other order he goes no this doesn't make any sense they're the same and I said I know they're the same because I ordered two he said I got to call my manager

and he calls his manager and as he's on the phone he looks at me he's like you're going to have to you're going to have to box that back up and I said, I've literally, the deal is done as we say. Les just encompleis, like it's over. Just hand me my stuff. That's why you're here.

Your entire reason for being is to give me that package. He said then, and he says, no, the manager doesn't get it either, man. I got to bring it back, and I'll come back tomorrow. And I said to him, I said, if I hand this back to you, I will never see you again. I will never get these packages. And he says, no, no, I'll be back tomorrow. And I don't know why I didn't put up a bigger fight. I think I just wanted to prove to the universe that I knew what I was talking about.

So I handed it back and I looked at my son and said, and that was the last time we saw that driver from Amazon. And sure enough, he never came back. And so I have now been without the hair product that I so desperately need. But I figured it's summer. It's not like we got Mark Carney chomping. at the bit to sit opposite me right now? I'd like it to be so.

Heck, I'd take Stephen Gilboe at this point. I'll take any liberal who stood across from me. I haven't had one yet. Not one. And we offered, right? We've asked. We've asked pretty much everyone. And we've asked every second.

I don't know. Maybe that's the sign that I do my job too well, that I want to hold people to account. I promise a respectful interview. I promise that anybody who sits on this show will get a fair shake and they will have space to say what they need to say. But anyway, I figured it's the summer I can do without, but apparently there is a groundswell of opposition to the hats. So I'm working on it. Okay, I'm working on it. I'm going to get. How many times has their video producer, Amy said, hey, Ben, turn your hat. Yeah.

Okay. Here's my commitment to Amy because she's very precious about this. and some of you who are overly concerned with my hat. And, yes, I'm judging you just a little bit. If you're going to judge me on the hat, I'm going to judge you for being just a little too sensitive. I will have this settled by Monday. When did this Amazon debacle happen? It happened.

It was either like the last couple of days of June or first couple of days of July. Okay, and you couldn't reorder it? I've been busy. I've been busy. And also, I haven't really cared. I haven't cared. You know, I got into radio so I wouldn't have to do. deal with stuff like this. You have such nice hair. I got into radio. I was like,

this is going to be fantastic. I get to be myself and I could show up in pajamas if I want. Okay, let's stop talking about hair. I'm getting triggered here as the one guy who doesn't have hair here. Do you moisturize up there? My wife tells me to do it all the time. Yeah, I mean, I'm assuming. For sure. Yeah. Otherwise, I go outside. It's not pretty. Let's talk some tennis. Yes, indeed. So a very good. day yesterday. It's all going according to plan. It's all going according to the script. Victoria Mboko is now in the finals of the National Bank Open. She's only the third wildcard player to reach the Canadian semifinals. First is Bianca Andrescu during her title

run in 2019. Also the youngest woman to reach the semis since 2015. She started the year outside of the top 300. If she wins tomorrow, she will be. in the top 30 or yeah top 30 or close to it and then this is uh this like i said the beginning of a tremendous story here is a little bit of eric sorenson from global national talking about imboko's rise mboco began the year ranked 333rd in women's tennis by june she had cracked the top 100 and with her success in montreal is projected to move into the top 50 even higher if she wins again. Born in the U.S., Mbocco's family moved to Toronto. Pierre Lamarge trained her older sisters. He saw a determination in Victoria when she started playing at age four. She just

hated losing. I think she hated losing more than winning. She's so solid mentally that I think that's one of her greatest gifts. Mboko joins other young tennis stars who've put Canada on the world stage in the last decade, a golden era that Jeannie Bouchard helped to launch. She's just retired. Her advice to M. Boko, the next star under intense scrutiny. To really not listen too much to the noise around right now, it's very positive, of course. But if she does, you know, become a really good player and then ends up having some

losses, as we all do, because we're all human, it can turn negative. And you just don't want to, you know, pay any attention to that. So that's a heck of a, like I said, heck of a beginning to the story. But a couple of things, I think we have to. to talk about. And this is, I want her to be the number one player in the world. She's my new favorite tennis player. I will be supporting her and cheering her on and championing her on. But as somebody who's been on this earth for 49 years and a Canadian for every single one of those days and years, here are a couple of things I know. You know, Eric Sorensen referred to

the golden era of Canadian tennis launched by Jeannie Bouchard. Not a whole lot of win. for any of Canada's top talent over the course of this quote-unquote golden era. And remember we had Vassik Pospis salon a couple of weeks ago announcing his retirement. And he spoke about that. Yeah, and he did. He spoke about that. And if we go back to Milosh and Chapo and Oji Aliasim and Bianca, and there's a half a dozen other names of people who followed a very similar early script,

which is to say coming out of the gate strong and capturing Canada's attention and then for whatever reason they reach a certain point and maybe it's injury maybe it is mental health maybe it's a family issue or maybe it's just that the level of talent when they get to that point smacks them in the face

and how they react when they get smacked is not the reaction that gets them to the next level I know that every person is different I know that every but we've seen other players from other countries have this moment and because we

we want her to be in the conversation for player of the year we want to look back at her career 20 years from now and say she was a dominant force in tennis for 15, 20 years and this is what we said about Jeannie Bouchard these are all the things we want

and of course I want those things I just what I want is I hope to God we break from tradition and if we were in a golden era then I hope to God that we are we're not trying to emulate that I want this I want this to be the Victorian era oh well played sir you like that you just thought of that one too I saw the light bulb go up I should have played it cooler yeah I should have played it cooler yeah I should have played it cool all right hey we've got a lot to get to coming up next all the things Doug Ford has ticked off about what could it be what could it be stick around it's the Ben Morroney show welcome back to the Ben Mulroney show and we've got a couple of things we want to talk about

right now um I knew this was coming right I knew that Doug Ford's reaction to uh the courts claiming that his plan to get rid of the bike lanes was a charter violation Oh, I love that one. That is a catch-all these days for anything that people don't. It's a charter violation. You don't like, you know, people smoke and crack at a park. Well, they have a right to. It's a charter violation to suggest they don't.

Okay, so Ontario Premier Doug Ford teed off on Wednesday on the court decision declaring his law to remove three Toronto bike lanes, unconstitutional, calling it the most ridiculous ruling he has ever seen. Ford has also said his government plans to appeal, even as it works on a compromise with the city to keep the bike lanes and add extra lanes for vehicle traffic. Let's listen to Doug Ford versus the bike lane proponents. This is the most ridiculous decision I've ever seen. This judge has been attacked by every single person right across the country for this ridiculous decision.

But I've never seen a decision like this that a judge overrules the people of Ontario because of ideology. Is that a ridiculous decision? No. Not at all. It's a well-grounded decision entirely located in the law and the facts. If they get rid of it completely, I don't think that'd be a good idea. Exactly why not I use this thing. On the other streets, when I'm scheduling with other people, other cars, I don't feel as safe. You know my opinion on this. I think that the data that was put before the court, it was bad faith.

I think it was massaged. I think it was fudged. I think it's a lie. I think, at least, I can't speak about the bluer one, but they're all, you're in for one, you're in for all three. The Youngstreet bike lane, anybody who tells you that it is used the way it was intended is lying. And if they go so far as to present a document to you, well, then they've involved more people in their lie. It is not used. On a good day, it is not used in any way that would justify it, let alone in the middle of winter, let alone on a rainy day. If there are any bicycles in it to any large stress, it's e-bikes and its delivery services.

And I do not want my tax dollars subsidizing Uber Eats. Don't want to do it. Sorry, call me crazy. Call that a hot take. It is an absolute fiction to suggest that that was. the right way, the appropriate way to use that square footage on the road. It is also a lie that bike lanes do not cause congestion. Now, there is perhaps a way to wordsmith your way into saying that the bike lane

itself doesn't cause congestion, but the effects on the bike lanes on traffic is congestion. And I've broken that down chapter and verse. I've given you my case. I dare anybody to tell me I'm wrong that when you have a couch that seats two, you can put two people on that couch. If you remove that couch and replace it with a chair,

you can no longer seat two people. So perhaps the chair isn't causing that guy to sit on the ground, but the absence of the couch is. So anyway, I'm glad that he is going to, I'm glad that he's going to appeal this. It's nonsense. Oh, by the way,

If I were the liberals, I would want him to do this. You know why? Because there is this idea crystallizing in certain people's minds that single issue activists and complicit judges are taking the power away from the people. I'm not saying it's accurate. I mean, it is accurate in this moment. I'm not saying it's a trend. It is crystallizing. And one of the planks of the next election, whoever is running the progressive conservative, is you don't need an added level of complicity by hiring our opponents. That's not what you want. You want the will of the people, and we are an expression of the will of the people. You are helping him in the next election, I promise you. One thing that is not helping him, I got to say, is the tunnel under the 401. The Ford government's work to say, he promised, Doug Ford promised, that before any work would be done a feasibility study would happen.

And the work to study the tunnel happened almost four years ago. But they halted that study, partly because the province's internal analysis concluded a, quote, potential for roadway collapse. An internal assessment of the plan completed in 2021, but never revealed to the public, also determined that burrowing a tunnel under an active highway would face a sluble. of technical and financial problems and could pose a, quote, risk to public safety. So I don't understand. This is a little confusing to me because Doug Ford put this idea forth just a few months ago.

But this plan was planned in 2021. So what was it actually studying? Was it studying the plan that Doug Ford has been enthusiastically endorsing or a different one? I've told you, I'm a fan of big project. I like the idea of them. I want to live in a world where we can do this. I really do. I want to live in a world where we have a tunnel that is 20 meters wide

and three stories high with traffic going east in one direction and traffic going west in the other and trains on the third sub-level. I want to live in that world. But in order for me to live in that world as a responsible person, I need the data that tells me we can do it. and that it's cost effective. And I don't care about the people who say, this is not a long-term solution.

Of course it is. If we live in a world where any solution is not a long-term solution, then we wouldn't have a 401. Oh, well, it creates induced to demand. Okay? So that happens when you have a growing province. More people are going to use what they can avail themselves of.

But doubling the capacity of the 401 will double the capacity of the 401. Doesn't matter if it's underground or not. So I want to see the data. I don't know if this is that data or if it is an assessment that was done on a different plan. So that's what I want to see. I don't, I think, again, if we're talking about what's crystallizing, my sense is what is crystallizing in people's minds is that this is dangerous. It is expensive. it probably, and it'll get more expensive. We know that. If they say it's going to cost 30 bill, it's going to cost twice that.

So if challenging the bike lanes in court is a good idea for Doug Ford, I think allowing this to Peter out is probably a good idea too. Is it realistic? Considering he even said, by the time it's done, he'll be pushing up daisies. Meaning this is not something you're going to get done in five. 10 years. Think about how long it took for Boston to do the big dig. Yeah.

And this is even more ambitious, it seems. Well, this is, and also, look, someone makes a good point. It's like, okay, the act of digging a straight line and a straight line, that's been done. Elon Musk has a company called the Boring Company, and they can dig pretty fast. Okay. So even if they do that and there is no issue with what's happening above ground, where do you put all the dirt? Right? Because it's so densely populated around those areas. Where does the dirt go? Where does all the extra equipment go? It can't all live in the tunnels. And then when it's time to start burrowing up, then you have to, don't forget, you've got to make sure that there's no flooding. You've got to make sure that it is electrified. You've got to make sure that there's enough air coming down there for the safety of the workers. And once you're done, then you have to have exit points. What's going to happen? Like, where are these tunnels going to exit?

You're going to have to clear an area around wherever that hole is going to be for, I guess, I mean, it's going to feel like six months to a year. You know, when you start asking these questions, the timelines get longer in your own head. And the math that you did on the back of the napkin, you know, you got to start attacking extra zeros onto that. And realistically, do you see this happening without a massive amount of land, including homes, being expropriated? Yeah, it's a problem. And meanwhile, you know, we got the 407 that's just sitting there. And I know that we've already taken some steps to make, to make it free for what, certain areas of it. Yeah, only parts in the east. Yeah, only parts. It's misleading to say that

it's, it's, it's right there. We paid for it. We were idiots to sell it, but there it is. So if it were up to me, my humble recommendation to the, it just feels like, I know he wants it, but this got boondogle written all over it. This has got boondoggle written all over it. And it's also like if we do it, then 15 years from now, somebody's going to say, if we only knew then what we know now, it feels like we already know it. we kind of do and at this point why spend good money throw good money after bad

but the point is we haven't spent any money yet so let's not it's going to take two years to even just do look at the feasibility of it I know I know and like I said I want to live in a world where we have a tunnel I really do I'm the guy I'm the guy

and if I'm telling you right now I'm getting cold feet you know focus all your attention on the bike lanes man that's like I said I will pick up a shovel myself I think you'll find people across Toronto who will give you their time to help get rid of these friggin bike lanes.

They're not anti-constitutional, and it's not a frigging charter violation. It's a charter violation of my rights and I've got to sit in that traffic day in and day out. All right, a Winnipeg Man blast his dentist online. Now that clinic is suing him for defamation. Our online reviews fair game or do someone across the line. Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney's show.

The internet has empowered people, right? It gives everybody a voice. It is the most democratic thing that has ever come into society because of the internet. Every person has a voice. That's not necessarily and always a good thing. I can promise you, I've experienced it myself. I'm just going through my Twitter feed right now. And there are some useless takes out there, some terrible.

takes, but people have the right to say it, right? Not necessarily. A Winnipeg Dental Clinic targeted by several negative online reviews is now suing the man behind the posts for defamation. The dental clinic says the man posted, quote, false, inaccurate, misleading, and defamatory information about the clinic in a series of online reviews earlier this summer, according to the statement that the claim filed at the Manitoba Court of King's Bench on July 29th. So, the I posted on Facebook, Google Yelp, and the Better Business Bureau. I mean, he went to town, and he detailed his terrible experience. In the review, the man claimed a dentist at the clinic was not equipped to provide oral sedation.

He also claimed to have accidentally ripped out new stitches from his mouth as he tried to replace gauze after the appointment. And this is one of the parts that's quoted in the lawsuit. Quote, go find a homeless individual in a back alley, give them $50 and tell them which teeth you need out. It will hurt less in the long run. So I want to hear from you, 416-8-6400 or 1-8-2-25 talk. Have you ever written a terrible review? What would compel you to do so? And do you worry about the impact on a business? I mean, 416-8-6-0-6400, 1-3-2-2-5 talk. I've actually never written an online review. I've been asked to. I just, I can't be bothered. But, I know myself.

I know the way I behave. I know how I'm built. I would only take time out of my day to write a positive review, right? Like the world that I live in right now. I mean, I think I've written about bad customer service on Twitter before. I mean, the chain of events that when I had some issues with my internet. home and I pointed out on Twitter that it was resolved to my satisfaction and I thank the person but because I highlighted something negative and I worked for that company I had to have about

five different meetings with five different people. It was a headache upon a headache upon a headache. But even when I had a negative interaction I tried to couch it in the resolution was positive. And that was not good for my employer. And so here's the problem I have with online reviews. If you are going to write something that you don't have the constitution to say to their face, you probably are not in a position where you should be posting it. Like I wonder if this guy actually brought all of this stuff to the attention to the dentist. If I were a betting man and I'm not if I were a betting man

I would bet he paid his bill said thank you and went home and he didn't pick up the phone when he had the problem with the gauze because maybe the dentist would have said to him you know what that's not supposed to happen come on back in and we're going to take care of that

but that's the beauty thing about the internet and in writing a review the anonymity because people they love that as long as they can be and I think they should get away with that. They should get rid of the anonymity because own up to your own words.

There is a great, there's a great show that did not get the attention to deserve. It was called Superstore. It was on NBC and it was a workplace comedy set in a big box store. And Mark McKinney was one of the stars of it. And he played this

doe-eyed, innocent store manager. When he discovered Yelp, he couldn't believe it. And his store, what, got a two-star review, and he didn't like that. And so he invited the guy who complained on Yelp to the store to get to know him and get a tour of the store. And the guy was super nice to him, and he very much appreciated the tour. And then when Mark McKinney's character goes back to Yelp, the guy doubles down and says terrible stuff now about Mark McKinney.

And it's pointed out to him as like, that's what these guys do. They're going to be nice and polite to your face, but they are, they are outraged farmers. They, that's, that's, that's their identity. And there's nothing you can do that they will not turn into something negative. And so the best thing you can do is ignore them. But in the case of these online reviews, that can affect your business. And by the way, we know, we've seen it many times. If you run a foul of the mob online, if there is a,

a particular, if there is a movement online and you are deemed to be offending that movement, they will come for you and they will carpet bomb certain websites with one-star reviews so that they can run you into the ground. We have had people on our show who are talking about important issues in this city. And they say, please, don't identify me because they're going to go after my business. Yeah. Yeah. It's the stock and trade of keyboard warriors. And some keyboard warriors are righteous. They are pursuing a laudable goal. But it's the easiest and laziest way to achieve your goals to do so from the comfort of your home. If you really cared about people not having the experience that you had at the dentist, you would go to the dentist you would talk to the dentist

the dentist doesn't want you to be in pain they certainly care about their reputation and they would be guided by that right so it would be incumbent like if you really cared about that that's what you would do but my sense is most people love posting because they love the reaction

that it gets they get a charge out of that for a moment they are a celebrity For a moment, they are special. For a moment, they are the tip of the sword of change. And that's what they care about far more than improving what they complained about. Hey, Arthur, you're the first caller on the Ben Mulroney show today. I hope that makes you feel special. Definitely when I'm talking to you.

So as I was telling the screener, I had a dental implant done in the border town in Mexico. that's famous for dentistry. And I told them in advance because it happened to me once before that make sure they apply enough PTSD when they place the crown so it doesn't come off. And sure enough, in two, three weeks, it did come off. Oh, God, that's got to be annoying. And I told them, you know, I said I wanted some type of recompense

because I'm not going to go travel all the way back to Mexico to get this done. Yeah. And they said, no, we'll do it if you come here. We'll put it back on. I said no. And I applied them. I gave him the most skisible.

of reviews and I always fear for my life every time I go back to that city that maybe they'll send the cartel option and I was just there two three weeks ago did did they did you go there and have them fix it I had no because I had a done two years ago basically so would you do you got you had it fixed here yeah I had to pay money to get it done here I mean what wait so I got to ask did you did you choose this place in Mexico because it was a cost effective alternative to doing it here? Well, I've used Mexico maybe now for six, seven years already

for two implants. I've already on my fifth implants already. But I use this patient this one specifically in Mexico. First of all, it's got a unique name because it's called Alberta Dental, but that's the bad point. But the thing is is that I had an implant done in Jordan when I was

visiting Israel during the war. And when I came to when I requested a follow-up in Mexico to get a crown on it, my normal dentist couldn't do it because he didn't deal with that. Well, there you got to see. That's sort of like you got to take the good with the bad. If you throw out of gun professionally, you don't want something.

No, no, I understand. But it's sort of like, okay, if I'm going to go down to Mexico because it fits my budget and I hear good things, then you have to recognize if something goes wrong. You're kind of stuck. Anyway, thanks so much for the call. I appreciate it. They come from Survivor, they come from Big Brother. They know what they're doing.

These vets wrote the playbook, and they have all had to earn their stripes. How did you win Survivor? Manipulating people. Same thing I'm going to do here. And now new threats will enter the game. Hungry to forge a new legacy. Once we train them, it's going to be hard to contain. This really truly is the most even matchup that I've seen in a long time.

The challenge, vets, and new threats. All new Wednesday on Slice and stream on Stack TV.