Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Gregory Strong: Toronto Mike'd #374

Episode Date: September 7, 2018

Mike chats with The Canadian Press's Gregory Strong about his experiences as a sports reporter before kicking out the jams.

Welcome to episode 374 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery located here in Etobicoke. Did you know that 99.99% of all Great Lakes beer remains here in Ontario? GLB, brewed for you, Ontario. And propertyinthesix.com, Toronto real estate done right. And Paytm, an app designed to manage all of your bills in one spot.

Download the app today from paytm.ca. And our newest sponsor, Census Design and Builds, providing architectural design, interior design, and turnkey construction services across the GTA. I'm Mike from torontomike.com and joining me is the Canadian press sports reporter, Gregory Strong. Welcome, Gregory. Thanks. Great to be here. How are you, Mike? I'm jealous of your last name. Imagine you could be having Strong in your name. That's cool. I was teased relentlessly as a child at Stornoway Public School.

Greg Week was a popular one, but I'm down with Greg Strong at the moment. That's great. Now here. So you're off to cover the Blue Jays today. Yes, that's right. They've got an evening game against the Indians. And there's a pregame, well, mid-afternoon availability with the team president, Mark Shapiro. There's been some developments. He's going to chime in on recent media reports. So we'll see what he has to say.

Is he going to tell you that the decision to keep Vlad Guerrero Jr. is strictly business? Is this what he's going to chime in on recent media reports. So we'll see what he has to say. Is he going to tell you that the decision to keep Vlad Guerrero Jr. is strictly business? Is this what he's going to tell you? He already said that. I think Vladdy will be topic A, B, and C at today's avail. So we'll see what he says. So because of that, I promised you that by the 30-minute mark of this podcast, we'll start kicking out the jams. So I'm going to talk extra fast, and we're going to cover a lot of ground in a very short period of time. So I'm going to kick this off by asking you, how did you end up at the Canadian Press?

Well, I went to University at Wilfrid Laurier, graduated in 96, went to Humber College for a radio broadcasting diploma the next year. I interned for a couple months at CHML Radio in Hamilton, AM 900, and then was hired on at Broadcast News that winter, which is the radio television arm of the Canadian press. I want to say early 98 and have been there since. BN and CP, BN was a division of CP at that time and has since integrated. So it's all, you know, Canadian press and has been since the early 2000s. And here I am. How many sports reporters are at the Canadian press? are at the Canadian Press? Well, in our Toronto head office, we have maybe nine or 10 in our department.

And then we have sports reporters in bureaus around the country. So we have a dedicated sports staffer in Vancouver, one in Calgary, one in Montreal. So they're spread around the country. And then, yeah, the bulk of them are in Toronto. So when there's a cool assignment, there's always those assignments everybody wants or whatever. Like, so how is it decided who gets to cover some of these like marquee sporting events? Yeah, I mean, as far as cool assignments goes, I think people, you know, some people get up for different sports and different events and some people have beats.

And so, you know, you would send, for example laura ewing does track and she does basketball for us so if the if there's a you know some kind of uh you know like barrett came by with duke a couple weeks ago yeah so you know that'd be a laura ewing assignment as the basketball reporter in our department so uh when it comes to other gigs, I mean... Like the French Open, okay? Yeah, French Open, yeah. That's one I would want to cover, the French Open. Well, the thing with CP is we cover everything in Canada

quite intensely, but when it comes to, say, a French Open, obviously there's a lot of Canadian interest with several top Canadian players now in the mix. We rely on the Associated Press for coverage outside of Canada. And we would, you know, something like that. We would probably write some Canadian stand up, you know, pieces that would stand up on their own, like a Milos Raonic story or a Chapo story or a Nestor story, whatever it might be, and rely on the AP for the... So they won't spring for the flight to Paris,

is what you're telling me. Well, it depends on the event. We did staff, you know, we staffed the US Open a few years back when Milos was on his rise. You know, we staffed the Rogers Cup here in Toronto. As far as other ATP, WTA events, you kind of, it would be a unique situation, I think, to go international.

So for the last few months, a few months already, maybe a last couple of months. Anyways, I've been, uh, sitting in on a new podcast by Mark Hebbshire called Hebbsy on Sports. So he, he's, he scripts his show. It's his show. I get to, I'm like a 15% of this show. This is what I'm thinking here. He's like 85%, as it should be. It's his show. And he scripts it. And, you know, he brings to the table, like, the big Toronto sports stories and other stories that would be of interest to a Toronto sports fan or whatever. So I've kind of, every Monday and Friday, like, it's already happened this morning.

At 9 a.m. this morning, he's at the door. He's got a couple of coffees and we do it. So I enjoy this like regular taste of like what, you know, I'm a sports fan, but it's just good to have somebody like Hebsey. He must have more time than I do. Like he's absorbing all sports. Like, you know, he'll tell me about, oh, did you see the darts championship or whatever? I don't know. So maybe give us a taste of some some of the sport sports stories that you personally have been covering lately uh gregory yeah it's it's a real wide mix of sports and it's you know i'll probably staff maybe 30 or 35 blue jay games a year uh but you know it really runs the gamut i was you know at the rogers cup tennis

uh i was just in reg for the CP Women's Open and Brooke Henderson's big wins. Well, let's, okay, yeah, maybe we'll pause there and then you can continue. Like, can you give me some sense of perspective here? Like, I heard people on the radio talking about the Brooke Henderson win. Like, it was bigger than Mike Weir winning the Masters.

Like, I heard, I know, I heard these sentiments on the Fan 590. I heard this because I was in my car that day and I heard it. And I don't, I don't understand. Can Fan 590. I heard this because I was in my car that day and I heard it. And I don't understand. Can you give me a true sense of how big this is, the Brooke Henderson win? Yeah, I mean, a huge win. I mean, it hasn't been done by a Canadian.

Like a Canadian hasn't won that tournament in 45 years. And Brooke, it was her seventh LPGA Tour victory. And she has a major already. She won it in 16, I want to say. So she's had some big wins herself, but this was the one she wanted. She wants to win all the majors, obviously, but the CP Women's Open was like her sixth major. They have five in the LPGA. So she said it was like her sixth, a huge deal for her.

And I mean, the fans in Regina just were excellent. They were, you know, the fairways were seven or eight deep on the weekend. It was really quite an event. And yeah, I mean, tough to compare to Mike Weir's Masters win. I mean, that's obviously that's a major tournament. You know, the green jacket was just... And it might be the biggest, right? Like that might be the biggest golf tournament in the world. Yeah. I mean, that was a huge Canadian

sporting moment. Canadian sporting moment. And Bruxwin was a big one too. And it will probably go down as one of the top Canadian sports moments of the year. Yeah. It was a huge, you know, big deal. It was great to be there. And she's only 20, right? Like... Yeah. I want to say 20. Yeah. Sounds about right. I think she turns 21 this month, I want to say. So that's exciting. I mean, I honestly hadn't paid any attention to the LPGA in the last forever. And so it's kind of like the fact that this is like out there in the zeitgeist that I mean, I'm seeing it on my Twitter stream and people are excited.

Like, that's a big deal, I'd say. Well, yeah, before Brooke, I mean, when you look at LPGA Tour victories and, you know, Canadians who have won, I mean, Laurie Kane obviously won a few events over her career. She's still playing. You know, going back over the years, it's not, this is a rarity where you have a Canadian athlete who's winning so often. And seven Tour victories, age 20, it's pretty ridiculous. So a real phenom.

It's just amazing. If you get a chance to see her live, it's incredible. Her frame and the way she contorts her body with that long driver and just smacks the living daylights out of the ball, like 260, 270 on the fly. It's really something to see live. I would strongly encourage, Mike, if you get a chance. Yeah, if they ever play the Scarlet course.

On Scarlet, they got that golf course. Maybe then I'll make a trip. Yeah, well, they'll be up at Magna in Aurora next year for the 2019 Women's Open. It's a little road trip. Sounds like a long bike ride. I don't know. Okay, please, I didn't mean to interrupt you.

But you mentioned Brooke Henderson. That's a big deal. You Sounds like a long bike ride. I don't know. Okay, please. I didn't mean to interrupt you. But you mentioned Brooke Henderson. That's a big deal. You covered that in Regina, Glorious Regina. What else have you been covering? Because I do follow your tweets and I do, like you did touch on the,

you wrote a piece about the controversial Kelly Gruber moment, right? Yes, Kelly Gruber was in the news a couple months ago. So remind us briefly about that story. And did you ever get a chance to talk to Kelly or no? I did not talk to Kelly despite repeated requests with his people. I don't know if it was like he uses a Toronto agent when he is north of the border.

I'm not sure. But someone handles his media appearances and stuff. And he gave me a statement from Kelly. It was like a one-paragraph statement the day after that situation where he, you know, appeared at a, he was at a downtown eatery, one of the pitch talks, I want to say.

Yeah, pitch talks, yes. And had some comments that made the news for sure. And so he wrote us something on it the next day and never did hear back from Kelly. I followed up a few times and no dice. Now, shortly thereafter, there was an edict from

Rogers Media Management or something like Rogers personnel banned from pitch talks and puck talks. And I personally didn't think they were related. Like the Kelly Gruber event and the banning of the Rogers Sportsnet people, I personally don't believe that they're related, but do you have any insight into why Rogers told their people to stop going to pitch talks? Yeah, I was told it wasn't, you know,

it was just the timing. They weren't related. They were planning on making that switch anyway. I've got a feeling we'll probably see, you know, the personalities from these various networks doing their own thing in that kind of format. I think it's a cool format where you sit down and chat with three or four reporters and I suspect, you know, they can keep it in-house instead of having their personalities appear elsewhere.

Now, my top secret sources tell me, good sources tell me that Pitch Talks was deemed basically competition. I put air quotes so that secret sources tell me, good sources tell me that Pitch Talks was deemed basically competition. I put air quotes so that people could see me, but this is a podcast. No one saw my air quotes. But because this was, you pay, you know, Pitch Talks would sell tickets for this event. Like you had to pay money to go to these things. And then they would stream them live.

Like, I don't know what it was on Periscope, wherever it was, Facebook, wherever it was. They were streaming this live. So now you have sort of a paid ticket and a live broadcast with sponsors and stuff. And the personalities are like Arash Madani, Stephen Brunt, Mike Wilner. These are Rogers personnel. Most of these personalities were Rogers Sportsnet people. So it makes sense that if Rogers is probably going to roll their own, at the very least, they don't want their people on competitor products, properties.

While Rogers has so many baseball personalities, they certainly have enough talent, if you will, to get their own roundtable together, whoever they want to do it, and have them chime in on Blue Jays and baseball and the sport. I certainly think that's something they're probably looking at. But yeah, that Pitch Talks crew, I haven't seen it live myself. I've just seen some clips and stuff, but they've been able to bring in some top-shelf talent.

I think Buster Olney's been up from the States and a few other top personalities south of the border. So it's an interesting format. I think it's pretty cool. I like that idea. I'm a big fan of that idea. And so it's an interesting format. I think it's pretty cool. I like that idea. Like, I mean, I'm a big fan of that idea to get them kind of, yeah, sort of like, kind of like what we're doing here, except for the masses, like people can come and contribute and engage. Yeah, for sure. And it's, you know, it's loosey goosey. They may have a

pint or two, you know, very casual. I think for me, Mike, whenever I'm out on the road, one of the best parts is catching up with other reporters and such and just chiming in. And to me, that's one of the best parts of the job is that banter and such. And if you can kind of duplicate that in a stage-like setting, and obviously it's not going to be the same, but kind of similar, I think sports fans would get a real charge out of that. Now, the question I want to ask you is so unfair, I'll ask you the opposite question. So the story, what I want to ask you is so unfair, I'll ask you the opposite question. What I want to ask you is, who are the sports

media jerks out there? That's what I want to ask you. But you've got to work with these people, and you'll be in the press room beside the guy I heard on Toronto Mike, you called me a jerk, you asshole. So I don't want to cause your trouble in your career, but could you tell me, perhaps, some of the super nice or super helpful mentoring.

Who are the sports journalists you want to give props to? Is there anyone in particular that you encounter in the press room who goes above and beyond in this? Yeah, I mean, I can't think of any jerks who, you know. Is that the truth? No, that's the truth, honestly. As far as mentors over the years, I always remember Pierre Lebrun in 2004. He was then with the Canadian press.

He's our, one of the hockey writers. And I got the assignment to join him in Tampa Bay for the Stanley Cup final that year. It was a big, big deal across Canada. Of course, the Calgary Flames, you might remember playing the lightning in that, in that final and Jerome McGinley and Craig Conroy. And that was quite a, it was a seven gamer, I want to say. Anyway, Pierre, you know, made a point of, you

know, showing me the ropes and showing me, because it was my first NHL assignment. And he was, he was just great, you know, and invited me out and had dinner and, you know, all the crew there. It was a real, a contingent of canadian reporters who made the trip down to florida that year and so pierre is a great example shy davidi uh was our blue jays baseball writer longtime sports reporter at cp as well before he moved to

sports net i want to say in 2010 or 2011 but same thing we covered the world baseball classic together at the rogers Centre and it was also very helpful. I mean, it's a great vibe at CP with the sports crew there. You know, the Neil Davidsons, Laura Ewing, Dan Ralph. You know, great vibe, great crew. And

you know, it's a real community feeling in the sports media world, not only in Toronto but in Canada. You know, It's always great to see everyone. Now, Shai Davidi is an example of... So he's at Canadian Press and now he's one of the main baseball guys at

Rogers. So for yourself, personally... And by the way, does anyone ever call you Greg or is that not allowed? Most people I'd say call me Greg. Family usually sticks with Gregory, but it's about 70-30, Mike. Go with whatever you want. Gregory sounds so formal, I feel like.

Yeah, let's go with Greg. I'm going with Greg. So what was I going to ask? Oh, yeah, so for yourself, so how long have you been at Canadian Press now? Let's see, around 20 years almost. Is that right? Yeah.

You look, maybe it's the haircut because you look young. I'm doing the math in my head unless my masks are weak, possibly, but that's pretty amazing. 20 years? It's a bit of an illusion,

the haircut right now. I just, I go with a half on the clipper and it gets rid of all the gray on the wings because if I let it grow out, Mike, it looks like...

I need these tips. I'm listening. It looks like Polly Walnuts from The Sopranos. You know what I mean? Of course I do because for a while I had a similar thing going on. I think I'm due for a haircut myself, but now my salt and pepper is all over

my head now where it used to be. It starts in the sides. I had a tube. Sides were white. Now it's all over the place. But Polly Walnuts, that's fantastic. So 20 years, is that something like, do you have aspirations to be like, I don't know, I'm going to make it up,

an ex-Bob McKenzie? Or are you just happy with this variety of sports you seem to be able to cover at CP? Yeah, I love the variety. You know, get out and cover curling, Pan Am Games, Olympic Games, you know, Grey Cups, Toronto SC, MLS Cup, whatever it might be, a real mix. Could be 10-pin bowling at the Pan Am Games, you know, a real anything and

everything type vibe. And that allows you to really flex some different muscles, I think, when it comes to writing and reporting and getting stories and talking to different people. And yeah, I really enjoy it. Does Pierre, you mentioned Pierre Lerun, is he at The Athletic now? I believe Pierre is at TSN and writes for The Athletic in addition to his work with TSN.

Right, because ESPN made a bunch of cuts and he was a part of that. And then, yes, I remember him, somehow I remember him announcing he was at The Athletic, but I've been reading a lot. Like lately, there's a lot of, a lot of sports media people that seem to be showing up. Down Goes Brown, of all people. Okay. I was reading, I was reading Down Goes Brown when he was, he was on Twitter, pretending to be Brian Burke and he was hilarious.

Okay. It's way back now. I don't know. It's very, the beginnings of Down Goes Brown. I was there writing about this guy and I'm like, you guys got to follow this. It's hilarious. And now he's, I heard, I just read last week or maybe this week that he's at The Athletic too. But what are your thoughts on this model? Like, is this the future of sports media, this subscription-based model like The Athletic? Do you have any thoughts on The Athletic? Yeah. I mean, I like some things about The Athletic. Some of the writers there are obviously very talented and I enjoy reading. John Lott's a great example, Caitlin McGrath, Pierre, many others. I do see that as an excellent new model and part of the future. I'm no expert on the ins and outs

of where we're going in the next 5, 10, 20 years. But it's great to me that people are digging that content, that people are able to write and produce and generate that material that you may not be finding elsewhere. And I think it's a great addition to the national and international media landscape. And the more sports journalists employ, the better, right? It's good for everybody if there's more jobs, right? And for sure. I mean, the person who's taking that in wants variety,

whether you read something on Sportsnet, read something in the paper, read The Athletic on your laptop, whatever it might be. So in 20 years, you've covered a lot of pretty cool events and a wide variety of events. By the way, do you guys ever cover, does anyone at CP cover the Wolfpack? Yes,

Neil Davidson, our senior sports writer. Oh, you're right. You know what? I read his CP piece in the Toronto Star. That's the weird thing about, like,

CP shows up in, like, newspapers subscribe, I guess, to the CP, and then they can just publish the CP things. You know what? Now that you mention that,

because I was at the Wolfpack match last Saturday, and I was reading about it, because, you know, I'm new to this sport, because I was at the Wolfpack match last Saturday, and I was reading about it, because, you know, I'm new to this sport. You know, I needed to find out, like, how did they get four points on that play? Like, these are the questions I still have. And you're right, the CP piece was in there, so I asked a stupid question.

But, all right, cool. Of all the events in these 20 years that you've covered, what is your favorite? Like, do you have a favorite? Well, from time to time, when you're out covering something, you kind of get jarred a little bit by, you know, wow, like there's the Olympic flame

or there's the, you know, the Mounties are carrying the Grey Cup down, you know, by the sidelines or whatever. Those moments are always cool. For me personally, a big squash fan, squash player. So my pick is not going to be, you know, a Toronto Maple Leafs game or whatever. It's going to be Jonathan Power, Peter Nickel

at an event that they used to play down at BCE Place. At the time, it was called the YMG Capital Classic. This is an event that was played in Toronto for maybe seven or eight years. But Power, former world number one, had a longstanding rivalry with Nickel and they went toe-to-toe in toronto and it was something to see i'll say this if you had put a gun to my head and said

you got to guess this right i was gonna i was gonna blow that one man holy smoke squash that's amazing yeah i mean if you're into it so you play squash yeah not as much anymore but i used to play in my 20s and i was right into it it at the time, and it was great to be able to cover that. One of the many sports I need to brush up on, that and cricket and rugby, I think. But I'm still working on it. But TFC is missing the playoffs this year. Chances are high, yeah.

I was at that game too on Saturday. It doesn't look good. Yeah, I'd say, yeah, slim chance. I think they're still mathematically right. Are they going to run the table now? I'm not sure. I'd have to look. Close, like close enough.

Like we really needed the points on Saturday and it wasn't in the cards, as they say. Although I don't know, I guess you weren't covering that match, but Jovinko did a bicycle kick thing. It was a great save. I think the ball actually would have gone in. Is it goaltender?

My soccer is another one. The keeper. The keeper. The keeper. Yeah, the... The keeper didn't make a stop, I think. I know, I sound like a hockey guy. But anyway, it would have been. It had have gone in, which is a big if,

because, you know, it doesn't count if it doesn't win. But it would have been like the greatest soccer goal I've ever witnessed. Mike, what have you made of the TFC season as a whole? I mean, were you into the Champions League and those Mexico games? I was following closely, yeah. And I wanted to win that.

And that's as close as you get, right? I went to penalty kicks. Is that right? The game in Mexico? So my thought is, I guess, that, you know, soccer's weird. Like in hockey, there's one goal, okay? We're going to win the Stanley Cup.

So everyone's focused on one thing, Stanley Cup. Same with all of our Toronto sports, actually, although I don't know much about the Wolfpack. Everybody else is focused on one thing, Stanley Cup. Same with all of our Toronto sports, actually, although I don't know much about the Wolfpack. Everybody else is focused on one thing, essentially. And then TFC is all up about this something else, like this other thing. And I think it takes you away from the MLS Cup goal. And I think that was a big part of this season.

There's a lot of things going on with Toronto FC this season, most notably injuries, I'd say. I mean, they were hammered by injuries earlier in the summer and late spring. But man, it was a pretty riveting run to the CONCACAF Champions League final and coming up just short. But then they won the Canadian Championship again. Yet they've struggled mightily in the MLS scene. It's weird, right? Because on paper, I mean, there's no reason my buddy Elvis has supporters section seats. I was in his seat

on Saturday and he tells me on paper we should be repeating. Like, everybody and all the supporters think we were primed to repeat as MLS Cup champions.

Again, I'm down at TFC a couple times a year, but I would say that, man, when you've got key players

who are playing out of position for large chunks of the season, Michael Bradley, a great example, man, when you've got key players who are playing out of position for large chunks of the season, Michael Bradley, a great example, spent, you know, a good chunk of time on the back line instead of midfield. And, you know, Altidore has been hit and miss due to injuries and cards. So it's, you know, a challenging season. One that I guess, you know, they'll look

back on with mixed feelings, having won the Canadian championship, but looks like coming up short on the playoff race. I have one more sports question before we kick off the jams, but it's tennis-related, and I'm going to save it for when I play. Brian Gerstein is a sponsor. He's at propertyinthesix.com, and he has a question for you. But before I get to the question, had we had more time,

I was going to kick out the strong jam so like i just was thinking about it's a great name strong okay and i don't mean stronger like there's a lot of music with stronger in the title sure like kanye yeah kanye for sure and there's a lot actually but i was thinking what about just strong so i won't play much because we are time constrained okay but i was thinking what are some great strong songs, right? So I was going to play this Canadian classic. This is Ian and Sylvia, Four Strong Winds.

See what you're missing out on because you have to get to this. And what's he going to say, Shapiro? Nothing exciting, nothing interesting. Listen to that. Nice choice there, nice choice. Thank you very much. Seven seas that run high. Oops, going to fade that guy down. Listen to that. Nice choice there. Nice choice. Thank you very much.

Oops, going to fade that guy down. I like the Neil Young version better anyways. Do you play guitar much? No, do you? A little bit. So Crowded House, Something So Strong. All right. I love it.

Another nice choice. Now, this is not a cool choice, but who said I'm cool? Can you name that tune, Gregory Strong? Give me a few seconds Oh man, tough call No, who is it? This is Cher We'll let it kick in and then I'll kill it Where did you sleep last night?

And was she worth it? Was she worth it? I'm strong enough to live my life. Strong enough. This could be your theme song. Strong enough. I love it. Mike, I love this song.

Well, you're kicking up the jams. And I noticed when I was building your list here, you gave me your list and I'm building it up, and I realized we must be similar ages. And because our jams, like, you love a lot of the stuff I love. And there was no share on your list, I noticed. But here, we're going to get through the next couple real quick here. Valuable time I'm wasting here.

Not at all. I don't want you to feel rushed. Let's feel settled in here. I've got some questions for you too. Damn. Maybe during your jam so somebody kicked this out actually i wish i had done my proper research to tell you who somebody kicked out the jams and chose this otis redding song i think it's that's how strong my love is i believe That's How Strong My Love Is, I believe. Great, great choice.

Oh, you can't go wrong with Otis. And one more from our youth. I'm now saying our because I've decided we're the same age. I'll confirm that maybe later here. I'm here to say this gentleman is often referred to as a one-hit wonder, but he is most definitely not a one-hit wonder. He had several hits. Is this Rick Astley?

Yes, it is. I'll let you go. I keep thinking maybe tomorrow I'm gonna let you know. But when I think about leaving I think about losing you There's no Rick Astley on your list either. My goal for the list, Mike,

is to come up with 10 fresh jams that you have not had to play during your Kick Out the Jams run. So I think I got it. I checked your list the other day. Take a strong, strong man So it would take a strong, strong man I think I got it. I checked your list the other day. So It Would Take a Strong, Strong Man is this jam. I'm actually shocked.

Now, this is a teaser, not a spoiler. But one of your jams, when Gord passed away, and maybe it is a bit of a spoiler, but I won't name the jam. But when Gord Downie passed away, I recorded that morning, like a little tiny little episode. It is my favorite band of all time, the Tragically Hip.

And I played my favorite Tragically Hip song of all time. So you're right. It wasn't in any kick-out of the jams, but one of your jams, super spoiler, not really, except to say that it's a cover that you have on your list. A cover of my favorite Tragically Hip song of all the time, I know.

Because I've got a hip tune and then I've got a band covering it. Yeah, and I love your hip song. Your hip tune, I engaged Jake Gold. Oh, yeah. Because I had a question about your hip. Because you and I,

you had that hip song, which is Inspired Choice. I can't wait to play it. How's that for a teaser? I had to ask Jake why it didn't appear on Road Apples, I guess, was what it was supposed to be on.

Anyway, we're going to get to this later. In front of you, Gregory, there's a six-pack of Great Lakes beer. In front of you. No joke. That's yours. That's great. You're taking that home with you. Thanks, Mike.

Enjoy responsibly. And if you're not covering any sporting event, I invite you to come to Great Lakes Brewery on September 12th from 6 to 9 p.m. because we're having the second Toronto Mic'd listener experience. And a lot, I mean, Keegan Matheson will be there and Lil' Hebsey will be there. Mike Wilner is going to try to be there. He wants to be there. David Schultz and Gare Joyce are going to do 10 minutes of stand-up comedy each.

I think Gare might be funny. I need to see David Schultz doing stand-up to find out if this guy's funny. I've interacted with Schultz a few times over the years. Longtime Globe and Mail scribe and pretty funny every time I'm hanging around with him. I don't know Gare that well.

It's a dry sense of humor, right? Yeah, that's right. Gare, yeah, well here. So I'm holding, again, a podcast. No one can see me. But I just received a copy of David Schultz's new book called Hockey Fight in Canada. The big media face-off over the NHL and I can't wait to dive in.

But I'm going to get him in soon to chat about this. It's all about kind of the Rodgers big deal with NHL. It should be interesting. Very much so. Strombo, I guess. That would be featured prominently in that. I hope so. I've got to find out what's going on there.

Okay, so yes, everybody listening and yourself, Gregory, should come to Great Lakes Brewery on September 12th from 6 to 9 p.m. One of the bands. So Splashin' Boots, do you have kids? Yeah. How old? 14, 12, 3. Okay, the 3-year-old.

Okay, those first two are too old for Splashin' Boots. But the 3-year-old might be familiar with Splashin' Boots. I don't know. But they are popular of three-year-olds. I have a two-year-old and a four-year-old, and they both dig Splashin' Boots. So they're going to be performing like 90s songs.

They're going to cover 90s songs for us, but also the Royal Pains are back. They performed at the first Toronto Mic Listener Experience, and anyone listening who wants to book a band, live music, book the Royal Pains band, and you can go to theroyalpainsband.com to find out how to contact Al book a band, live music, book the Royal Pains Band, and you can go to theroyalpainsband.com

to find out how to contact Al and the band. But also, you can see them, like, see how they sound. You can hear how they sound if you come to this event on September 12th because they're playing. So the Royal Pains Band will be there. Lots of excitement.

Your first beer is on the house, and there's no cover or anything. So just show up, have a beer. Don't shake my hand, though, because my pinky's broken. We're going to do a fist bump. I'm doing a lot of fists. You're the first guest who came over, and I realized I made this rule yesterday because I shook a guy's hand yesterday, and it rebroke, I think.

I don't know. So it's fist bump only for the next month or so. So that's what I'm going to do on September 12th. So you got your six pack. I have a question for you from Brian. And here's Brian. Property in the six dot com. Hi, Gregory.

Brian Gerstein here, sales representative with PSR Brokerage and proud sponsor of Toronto Mic'd. representative with PSR Brokerage and proud sponsor of Toronto Mic'd. I can be reached by call or text at 416-873-0292 for all of your real estate needs. The fall market is upon us. Now is the time to reach out to me so I can properly prepare your home for sale. Gregory, couple of questions for you. First, I'm coming off a U.S. Open high, having personally witnessed Nadal's epic fifth set tiebreaker win over Thiem in the quarterfinals. Do you think Rafa has anything left in the tank?

Personally, I'm picking Djokovic to win it. Who do you like? Secondly, I was able to meet Andrew Wiggins, and I really wanted to beg him to play on the Canadian national team, but played it straight up. Canada could use his help to qualify for the Olympics, but seemingly a rift with head coach Jay Triano has prevented Wiggins from participating.

Do you think that fences will be mended and Wiggins will play, or will it be up to R.J. Barrett on his own to lead Canada? That's a twofer. A twofer. So the first was the U.S.J. Barrett on his own to lead Canada? That's a twofer. A twofer. So the first was the U.S. Open. He was there. I saw all the photos on social. And yeah, who's going to win on the men's side?

Yeah, you know, it's so hard to say with tennis who's going to win. I've been actually following the women's draw a little bit closer with Serena back in the final. I've noticed, I think she's playing Osaka. Osaka. Yes. So that'll be, that'll be excellent. And you know, it's amazing with tennis. The, these veterans seem to be lasting like, you know, just for years and years.

I thought Federer was done like seven, eight years ago. I know. I mean, like we're not used to this. They're usually done at like 32 years old. Like a male tennis player is like an old man, right? I mean, you look at the rankings. I haven't looked at them in a week or two, but Federer was number one last time I looked,

and Nadal, Djokovic, these guys are still up there. So I think the thing with Grand Slams, it's really so hard to predict. You can't go wrong. If I had to pick which guy out of those three, I would say, I would say the Joker. I would go with the Joker. Nadal is something to see though. He's just such range. And I remember from the Rogers Cup there, he's really, you know, he still has it. And as for the basketball. Yeah. So Wiggins, if I understand, Wiggins is having a rift with Triano.

Wiggins won't play for Canada right now or something like that? Am I catching all that? Yeah, I'm not too sure on the specifics of Wiggins and if there's a rift or what. But it'll be really interesting to see, not only when you look ahead to Tokyo 2020, but what kind of Canadian team

will be on the court 2024. As you say, Barrett is looking like the real deal. And anyone, I think, who caught that Duke-Ryerson game a few weeks back will be happy to know he'll be wearing the red and white. So yeah, it'll be interesting to see what happens with Wiggins. Now, my question, I promised you we'd start kicking out jams at the 30-minute mark, and I already am a liar. It's already 35-minute mark. But the Canadian tennis side,

particularly the men's Canadian tennis, seems like this is the, in my lifetime anyways, maybe ever, this is the brightest it's ever seen because we have Milos, and even though Milos has injury issues and hasn't been able to, I don't think he has reached the potential we kind of had hope for him but it's

fair to say he's a top 10 guy I don't even know if that's talking out if that's still accurate but he's regardless there's a youngsters up and coming that uh we you know Chapo and uh who's the uh Felix? Felix Auger Alassiem and Denis Shapovalov, Milos Raonic. So, you know, when you look at the rankings, that's kind of the, the first thing a lot of people look at. It's tough though, because you know, you go back a year with, you know, rankings points and such. So right now it's, it's hard to know what you get with Milos. Yes, he's been injured over the last few months from time to time or over the last season, I should say. Uh, I think he's been injured over the last few months from time to time or over the last season i should say uh i think he's around 25th i think chapo's around 28 right now and felix a rising star he got a big he had a big win in toronto i think he beat a top 20 player um he got his birthday or something

18th birthday yeah yeah i think i think right now he's around 115 but as far as that next gen set he's he's right in that mix along with his good friend, Dennis. So you're right. I think, you know, Milos, 27 years old, I want to say. Dennis is 19, I think, maybe 20. Felix, 17, 18.

18, I think. Yeah, the future looks bright. And Davis Cup will be very interesting to see what happens over the next couple of years. I think there's a Davis Cup tie coming up interesting to see what happens over the next couple of years. I think there's a Davis Cup tie coming up in a week, maybe, right down the road at the old Rico Coliseum. Now the Coca-Cola Coliseum. I need a whiteboard to track the name changes of all of our venues because this is in the past year, the ACC changed, the Budweiser stage showed up instead of the Molson Amphitheater.

This Coliseum changed. The only two that I guess haven't changed very recently is Rogers Centre and BMO Field. They're still got those names, but everything else has changed. Yeah, a lot of change. Paytm Canada. Let me briefly tell you about, to get back on my time schedule, I'll briefly tell you Paytm Canada. There was just an episode with Nakia from Paytm.

She kicked out the jams. She had great stories of her jams, great jams. She started off of a Guns N' Roses track, so I was in. I said, this is great. And she explained, did a much better job of explaining Paytm than I do, except I'm here to tell you I use it to pay every single one of my bills, every single one. I'm here to tell you I use it to pay every single one of my bills, every single one. And I love that I can put all of my bills on my MasterCard and I can get points that way. But I still get points from Paytm.

So there's points both ways. I'm double dipping. It costs you nothing to use this. It's free. It's convenient. I personally love it. And if you use the promo code Toronto Mike when you make your first bill payment, Toronto Mike, all one word, they give you $10 in Paytm cash that you could use towards any other bill. So it's free money just for using my promo code. And it lets them know you heard about it on my show, which helps the show. So if you're not going to become a patron by going to patreon.com slash Toronto Mike,

use the promo code Toronto Mike with Paytm and let them know advertising on this podcast works. Do it, people. Do it. Pause this podcast. Come on. Do it. Gregory, one more. I love Pearl Jam, by the way.

I wonder if you love Pearl Jam. We'll find out soon, people. Census Design and Build provide architectural design, interior design, and turnkey construction services across the GTA. So to learn more about the possibilities for your home, you can call them right now, 416-931-1422, Visit censusdesignbuild.ca today to schedule your zoning and cost project feasibility study. The Fixer. So you said you had questions for me? Do you want to ask now or do you want to do it while we listen to jams? I can go either way.

I don't care. When you look back at your long list of guests, Mike, who have been in this chair, who's your, you know, the guy, the woman who you were most surprised made it into your basement here in West End, Toronto? It might be Dan Schulman. It might be.

Because that's a fresh recent one where I didn't think I would get Dan Schulman. And I just tweeted him one day, like, what do you got to lose, right? And it was just a public tweet. It's still out there. It wasn't a DM or anything because he doesn't follow me, believe it or not.

I tweeted him and I'm like, hey, do you want to come on my podcast? And I guess the timing was right that he was just starting his own podcast. So maybe I think that might, maybe he had this idea of like, hey, you should fish where the fish are. You know what I mean?

So if you're listening to Toronto Mike, we know, you know what a podcast is. You know what I mean? Like, so I think the timing was pretty right. Cause he's like, yeah,

I'll come over next week and bam, I still can't believe it. So maybe it's Dan Shulman. Uh, that's most surprising to me. And just a quick part, a quick follow up. Yes. I don't mind.

We can do more of this while the tunes are going, but I'm sure you've got a list of people you want. Who's number one on that list? Let me take a guess. Is it Don Cherry? You know, it's not.

Maybe because I never really... It's actually the guy I want because I have a lot of questions for him and I think it would be an interesting discussion is Bob McCowan. And I've asked him a couple of times over the last six years.

And I have a rule, like, if I ask you once and you say no thank you, I go away for a long time. And then at some point, I'll see if things have changed. And I'll be like, hey, is it a better time now? But when I get that second no thank you, like, that's it. Like, you'll have to contact me to come on

because, like, that's it. And I think I got my two no thank yous from bob so uh him and bookie there's a few guys who got you made the two no thank yous and i no longer harass but uh don sherry be great i just don't i don't know for some reason i never really felt like don would go into my basement and do this i just never felt like where if ron mclean like i felt like he might do it, and he did do it. And that's another one that's still kind of amazing that he came down and did that. But Don, I just, for some reason, maybe because he's in his 80s,

maybe that's part of it. Maybe an old guy, but I did, I just installed this railing, okay? I had no railing for most of my guests. They were risking their well-being by coming down the stairs, but now I have a railing, so maybe Don will come on. Don, if you're listening, I'd love to have you on.

We should do some real talk. And I love your first jam because it's so appropriate for what we're doing. So let me ask you this, Gregory. Are you ready to kick out the jams? I'm ready, Mike. Let's do it. do it. And I guess that I could get crazy now, baby We all got this too When a dressing room got hazy I know how you want it when you're fine and tired The girl can't stand it when you do it right

When you're up on the stand Let me kick out the chairs Rage Against the Machine. Kick out the jams. Motherfuckers! Sorry. I don't do that anymore. Tell us why. I like the MC5 version that you use, Mike, regularly.

It's a classic tune. And Rage Against the Machine, I always thought, I wonder if Mike would go with that tune. And having the opportunity now to kick out the jams by kicking out the jams, Rage Against the Machine style, is, I mean, I'm adjusting the Sennheisers. The audio thump right now is intense.

Seriously, my heart rate, like, it's palpable. I can feel it. Like, I could run through this wall right now, okay? Now, I got to say this about Rage. Again, I feel like we're similar ages. Like, when I was in high school, the self-titled, the one with the monk on fire, right? What's it called? I guess it was called Rage Against the Machine was in high school the self-titled the one with the uh the monk on fire right what's it called i guess it was called rage against the machine right self-titled right i spun it that whole thing like so many times i mean killing in the name of is on that track okay and talk about my heart rate going up like i i just loved that album and it's just

like so it's like politically charged but it it's but it's got a nice marriage between hard rock, but there's a hip-hop influence. It was just fucking perfect. Love that band. I'm not a huge Rage guy, I have to say, but I love this album, the album they did with the covers. I like that first album and the second album.

I only went and caught them one time, and it was at maple leaf gardens in the late 90s i want to say 99 just before concerts stopped being a thing at mlg and there are very few guitarists like who once you hear them you're like wow i can't believe that somebody took a guitar and essentially created his or her own sound and tom morello once you experience him live it's like man and that was uh some kind of show my first tom morello experience i actually listened to him on the way down with bruce springsteen goes to tom joe yeah and so it's amazing to me the the variety of uh you know I guess his guitar skill set is really off the chart. So I thought starting today with a little rage would just be sweet. I love it, man. That's a great start. Again, because normally I go through the list and sometimes, you know, I like that jam, but

sometimes a person will kick all the jams and I'm like, I'm indifferent to all 10 of these songs. And it's fine. Your jams are your jams. It's very subjective. But the first piece of vinyl I ever bought in my entire life had this song on it. And this is your second jam. Telegram force, lady And if this was a big mistake There's a fine line drawing my senses together And I think it's about to break If I listen close I can hear them singers Voices in your body coming through on the radio The union

of the snake is on the climb Moving on it's gonna race it's gonna break through the borderline I can't go wrong

with the rag around No you can't go wrong with Duran Duran. No, you can't. They were the Beatles of the 80s, okay? No, I got to say, what a task. What a challenge coming up with 10 tunes for this Kick Out the Jams. I went back and forth on that 10th tune for days. So many tough cuts. And I thought, you know,

this isn't going to be like a Desert Islands thing where I've got like my 10 must-have songs. This is more of a wide-ranging, you know, pick-your-spots kind of thing. You know, Duran Duran is not my favorite band. But good Lord, in 1984, when Seven and the Ragged Tiger came out, I was on board.

I choreographed a breakdancing routine to The Reflex. True story. That's a true story. I always remember, I don't know why I remember this, but around that time, 83, 84, I was in line at a public swimming pool in Thornhill waiting to go on the diving board. And this guy's like, hey, what kind of music do you like? I like Duran Duran. He's like, well, I like Motley Crue.

Great. And the guy behind me was like, it's either Crue or Duran. It's one or the other. There's no in-between. That conversation has always stuck with me. I think of that every time I hear Duran Duran or Crue. It's funny because there's a deleted scene in Pulp Fiction, which is my favorite movie. I think of that every time I hear Duran Duran or Crew. It's funny because there's a deleted scene in Pulp Fiction,

which is my favorite movie. I think you're either a Beatles guy or an Elvis guy. I think that's the discussion. And I think it's really you're either a Duran Duran guy or a Botley Crew guy. That's it. Girls, girls, girls. That was great.

The Rio was a great album too, like a playthrough. Rio was great. The Rio was a great album, too, like a playthrough. Rio was great. And then Seven, the Ragged Tiger was a fantastic follow-up to Rio. Like, holy smokes. It's so funny you mentioned Rio. I listened to that this morning. And I would say underrated bass as far as Duran Duran. Is it Nick Taylor I want to say?

Yeah, it's Nick Taylor. I mean, the bass, especially on Rio, Planet Earth, I want to say. Just some classic tracks. Do you know what other sports media personality kicked out a Duran Duran song? I'm going to guess Brady. That's an excellent guess. In fact, now I need to confirm he might have also done it because she has a good guess. It's definitely, though, it definitely is Mike Wilner for sure.

He's a big... Brady and Wilner have some overlap. Brady will tell you Wilner has cheesier tastes, but there's more overlap than... I was with Brady at that Wolfpack match on Saturday actually. You're the only two Greggs I think I really, you know, I'm hanging with these days. Hard to believe this is what, 35 years old now? I'm hanging with these days. Hard to believe this is 35 years old. I remember when they broke up and then there was Arcadia and Power Station, right? It was a big thing. You had to choose a side, I think.

So this next jam we're going to play is the jam that inspired my engagement with Jake Gold. We'll play it and then we'll talk about it as I fade it down. What's the deal with your dad? He don't even know my name Didn't know he'd be back Didn't know he'd be back

Didn't know it'd been bad No one stayed to share the blame I didn't mean to do that She won't even come around Every time I look back Didn't realize that I was better off then Now

Mothers came and cried forever Brother came, survived the centuries in All the time that I thought was my friend Be alright till we get back again The tragically hip Get Back Again. Inspired choice because I don't think this has ever appeared on a, even a greatest hits package or anything. It's never appeared on a hip album.

As far as I know, unreleased. And I, when I first picked up guitar in 94, 95, I had a couple of buddies, roommates at university who were showing me a few chords, and this was a popular one, and always stunned that this wasn't released. I mean, just a killer acoustic track. So I can't wait to hear about your Jake Gold interactions.

Yeah, so, okay, so this was recorded for the Road Apples album. And I mean, you're listening. This is not a demo. This is not a live version. This is a fully produced studio version. And it was left off of Road Apples, obviously. And my simple question for Jake, and you're going to be disappointed when you hear, I don't have a conclusion yet. But I asked Jake why was get

get back again left on the cutting room floor why didn't it appear on road apples and he needs to think about it and get back to me so you know I caught him he's not so sure so maybe I'll ask Rob Baker maybe he's

pretty accessible on Twitter actually but it's a great ditty. It's probably the best of the unreleased hip stuff. And why not throw it on the CD? You had room? Just listening to it right there. I mean, I can't say enough about

Paul Langlois' backing vocals. Just so good and so underrated. I mean, an incredible guitarist. They've been incredible guitars. I could always dream that I'd be better off far away. It makes that tune, takes it to that just slightly higher level.

came and cried forever. Brother Cain survived the century's end. All the time that I thought was my friend Be alright till we get back again Be alright till we get back again. I can picture it now, Mike.

Maple Leaf Gardens, 1996, I want to say. And I went with a couple buddies. We had a pop or two at the Thornhill Festival and then took the TTC down to the gardens for this Pearl Jam show. At the time, and I know you're a big Pearl Jam guy. You remember that whole Ticketmaster battle. Of course. And when they finally got back out on tour, it was like there was a buzz building in Toronto about Pearl Jam finally coming to town after a few years away.

And we were in the end blues. To me, an underrated spot as far as, you know, the seat location at the arena there to take in a concert. And they opened with this track, but that intro seemed to go on for like two or three minutes. And people were so jacked, you know, that Eddie and the boys were finally in town this is a popular opener because it's got that uh slow burn that uh I know exactly the other one I

like to open just because I've seen a lot of hip shows Corduroy is a very good opening track hip concert but this one's fantastic too absolutely and you, the thing with Pearl Jam, I think is that, you know, you may feel the same way. I'm not sure, but this album, 10, has that three or four tracks on it that have just been played to death. Yeah. Alive. Yeah. Jeremy. Yeah. Even Float. Yeah. I guess those are the big three, right? Yeah. So this. Well, Black, except Black. Oh, and Black. But Black, I'm not sick of Black the way I am the other three that you're talking about. But yeah. I have to turn the station if those songs come on. Same with Better Man.

They have like seven or eight tunes that I just can't handle anymore just because of 90s rock radio just killed them. So nice, I think, to have release as something different off that key album in my younger days and yours too. There's so many great tracks like Once, Deep, Where to Go with Ten.

What a stack. Ten is a playthrough and I at least my, I mean I'm sure we all have a common history here, but I picked up nevermind first okay so nevermind so 102 started playing uh this song called smells like teen spirit okay and i heard it i'm like what the fuck is that like i went straight downtown i don't know if i went to hmv or sam's wherever it was cheaper or whatever and i pick up nevermind and then i'm watching

much music and the even flow video i saw the video and I go, what the fuck is that? And I went out and bought that. And then the rest is history. Then like we're in an age where like when the new album was coming out, it's like, okay, this album is being, is coming out tomorrow. I would, in the mornings I would get, I wanted to get a copy of the new CD like so for like in utero and for, not versus, yeah, versus. Those two two albums like those were like I was at the store when it opened to get a copy of those albums well we're showing our age

here Mike but speaking of that when an album is released do you remember like HMV or Sam's or whatever would stay open until midnight for you illusion they did that use your illusion I want to say the Oasis Morning Glory album. Black album, maybe, by Metallica? Yeah, could be. Remember Day for Night? Yeah, yeah, yeah. A similar setup.

Yeah. And, you know, can you imagine today's youth, like, you know, waiting out on the 333 Young at midnight to pick up an album? I mean, they'd find that ridiculous. Will you tell today's youth about when we would line up for Saturday at 10 a.m. to get a wristband, okay, to get the concert tickets. Like, that was a ritual. Like, and you, what was it? Not bass outlets. That was, it was, I remember you'd have to have your favorite Ticketmaster outlet.

And, like, I had one near, like, Islington and Bloor. There was this, like, mail, like was this mail... The shop had... You could rent mailboxes there. And they would answer the phone on your behalf. They could pretend to be your secretary or whatever. And they were a Ticketmaster outlet. And that was my go-to spot. But it was all to get a wristband.

So they would do a lottery to say who's first in line. You know what I mean? Remember this? This was how we got tickets. Stunning. I remember I used to call Winnipeg Ticketmaster because tickets on sale

in Toronto would be 10 a.m., right? But you could call Winnipeg at 9 a.m. They were still in the office and could access the 10 a.m. tickets. It worked once for

Dave Matthews Band at Maple Leaf Gardens and they scored somehow seventh row floors, which is just unheard of with a Ticketmaster phone in or whatever. Don't listen to the Jeff Woods jam kicking we just did. I think he trashed the Dave Matthews band in that one.

But, by the way, so you were at the 96... You know, the 98 show at Molson Park in Barrie, it's still one of my five favorite concerts of all time, the 98 Pearl Jam show. Yeah, I think I was at that one. Who opened up? Okay, they had two stages, right? The small stage, and I still remember,

the small stage had Hayden, All Systems Go, and... Cracker? Cracker, for sure. Yes, for sure. I was definitely there. And Cracker played at the Opera House the night before. Okay. Just a killer show.

And Cracker was one of the tough cuts, man. Oh, I was going to put on I Hate My Generation or Sweet Thistle Pie. And it was like the 11th or 12th. 11th or 12th pick out of my 10s.

Do you remember that album? The one with the kerosene hat. How the numbering system worked on the boom box. Like it was messed up. Like, so there'd be a bunch of numbers had no music to it.

And then I think it would be like whatever. I don't know what song. 69 or whatever would be like Euro trash girl or something. That's right. And 77, 99. It was so messed up, but it was like, just, yeah, that's what they did. And all these albums back then, since we're in that era,

had the hidden tracks. Like even, I think release is the last song in 10, I think. And then I think, I think there's a couple minutes of silence. And then there's this like instrumental ambience thing, I think. And then I think there's a couple minutes of silence, and then there's this instrumental ambiance thing, I think, that comes out. Right. And that's how I remember it. So now if I had been playing the proper cut,

at some point, more music would just start trying. But this was commonplace, like the hidden track. I mean, Nevermind had a hidden track. Stone Temple Pilots had a hidden track on Purple. The 12... It was done like mind had a hidden track stone temple pilots had a hidden track on uh purple purple that's right the 12 uh it was like a done like um in the style of like uh big band kind of yes that's called 12 melodies or something yeah anyway i digress one more okay honestly every one of your jams

i have a memory for but but I quite enjoyed this. And I can't wait to play this jam. This or that Come on Who's the black sheep? What's the black sheep? Know not who I am or when I'm coming so you sleep Wasn't in my normal, wasn't in your sphere Knew not who I was but less than here

Dress the O.E.S. Guess I guess I could start If it's alright with you I'll rip this head when I want Back, middle, to the front, don't front Want a good time, only give you what you want Can I hear a hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey You got a hat, just for the house The styling is creative, black sheep of the native

Can be violated or even decepticated I got brothers in the jungle, cousins on a quest Devoted uncles in Bihar, which may they rest Guess which way, what, where, how Mr. Long Dress, black sheep slam now Know you heard the others, only still the lovers Then of course, the choice is yours Black Sheep The choice is yours I thought we were due for a little hip hop Mike

I looked at your list of previous KOTJ selections from your other guests, and I would say about a 1% hip-hop, if that. A lot of, I'd say, rather classic rock heavy. You know, because of all you, the sports journalists who are in their 50s, they all want the Bruce. That's right, that's right. You know, we often have a discussion in the press box at the Jays.

What would your walkout music be and a few guys would go with the black sheep I mean this was yeah just a huge so I mean as far as you know the words like I was I wanted to join in yeah this track is timeless buddy honestly it appeared on many a mix uh i put together many a cassette tape mix i put this jam on it it's a great time for hip-hop tribe called quest de la soul you could get brothers in the jungle and cousins on a quest that's right the jungle brothers oh yeah you're done with the native do you remember uh i mean speaking of uh tribe called quest uh low-end theory had the uh scenario okay which busts themes and everybody shows up.

I still do it. Like, I have four kids, and each kid has sort of had me. Oh, hold on. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back.

We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back.

We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back.

We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back.

We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come back. We'll come song. Oh, great question. Can you name a second Black Sheep song? Oh, great question.

I'll go with the Wolf and Sheep's Club. Maybe that was the album title. Yeah, you know what's funny? I bought that album for this song, and I still can't remember the rest of the album. It had like a second, not a hit, but like a mini hit. We'd have to Google it. And I've referenced this a few times.

I got the Public Enemy shirt, but I was a big fan of Public Enemy, and I like a lot of hip-hop. A lot of hip-hop. I miss the scratching, okay? Because my teenagers love modern hip-hop. There's no scratching anymore. I miss the scratching okay because my kid my teenagers love hip modern hip-hop there's no scratching anymore i miss the scratching you're a terminator x guy oh yeah now it's dj lord now but terminator x apparently he's uh operating a ostrich farm this is what terminator i even bought uh terminator x in the valley of the deep beats that. That's how deep I went. I loved Terminator X.

But what is it? Terminator X speaks with his hands. That's what they used to say. But thank you for that. Yeah, there's not enough hip-hop on the kick of the jams. Once in a while, you get a Kendrick Lamar. I noticed that he'll pop up. Or a little Drake sometimes, too.

Sofia Jurkovic did a... That's breaking news. Shapiro said something. His phone's going on. What did he say? We've got a little more hip-hop coming up later on the list, Mike. Yes, there is. Let's get on to the list.

Oh, I'm going to do that one again. I liked it so much. We'll be right back. I don't know what it is that makes me feel alive I don't know how to wake the things that sleep inside I only wanna see the light that shines behind your eyes I hope that I can say the things I wish I'd said To sing my song to sleep and take me back to bed Who wants to be alone when we can be alive instead Because we need each other We believe in one another

And I know we're gonna walk over We're sleeping in our sleep Oasis. We're sleeping in our song. We're sleeping in our song. Oasis. By the way, before I forget to tell you, Greg Brady did have a Duran Duran song on his list, and I decided to cheat and remind myself, Hold Back the Rain is on his jam list. You know, speaking of bands and their prime,

this track is on my list. That 1996 show, I think it was the Saturday night or Friday night of Labor Day weekend. Oasis opening up for Neil Young as part of like a day-long festival. I think the Gin Blossoms were on that bill. Jewel, Screaming Trees.

It was really something. We got there about, I don't know, five in the afternoon, just as Jewel was rapping. And I think the Gin Blossoms were coming on. Anyway, Oasis in their prime. And I remember the lead up to that show, are the Gallagher brothers not talking anymore? Is the band broken up? And this was just, I think,

just after Morning Glory was released, I want to say. And so, I mean, man, you talk about a one-two punch. Definitely maybe followed by Morning Glory. Amazing. Unreal. And this band live in their prime, you know, tough to match. And then Neil Young,

it's like a two-and-a-half, three-hour set, three-hour show to wrap up the evening. So, I mean, it's just killing me. I couldn't put Neil on this top ten list. But I like to think I've incorporated a little bit of Neil with this track. And there were two moments for me at that show. I don't want to ramble here. But when Oasis came on stage,

it was like, there were a ton of kids there who were keen to hear Wonderwall. It was a really strange crowd. There was like a lot of classic, old school, classic rock fans keen to hear Cinnamon Girl who came a little bit early for real. Yeah, those are the Rusties.

And then there were, you know, I don't know how old I was at the time. Let's see. 23. Something like that. And so we were like really know, I don't know how old I was at the time. Let's see, 23, something like that. And so we were like really big to see both bands. And Oasis started off, they came out on stage with just this presence. I think they started with the Swamp Song, which is like a real something.

It was like a 45 seconds thing. And then right into Acquiesce. And this is another one of those tracks, Mike. How is it not a big single? It kind of disappeared under the radar. And just a huge track. And that was the epic Britpop explosion when Blur and Oasis were going at each other

in the British press and everything. And then you had these stereophonics and Supergrass. Actually, I have a son named jarvis and uh and the origin of the name was actually the street in toronto my daughter picked it out but then i was thinking i don't need you oh jarvis cocker from pulp like that was my go-to jarvis is jarvis cocker from pulp but uh man great scene great music and that's a great band man that's a great choice too it. That's a great choice, too. It's a great choice. All right, here you go. This is finally, I was wondering when we get an artist that was also on Dave Hodge's list.

Did you listen to Dave Hodge kick out the jam? I did, yeah. Hodgey. Hodgey, man. He brought 100 songs, but I would only play 10. But here's your next jam. We've got South State technology We've got solid-state technology Tapes on the floor

Some songs we can't afford to play When we came here today All I wanted to say Is how much I miss you Alcohol Wilco, red-eyed in blue Cotton balls Drugs

Jeff Tweedy On the way On the way On the way On the way On the way On the way On the way On the way On the way report on Q107. Was it Mackowitz? Steve Warden. At the time. I want to say

90. Because Derringer did it for a while too, right? Yeah, they had a bunch of... I remember Bob Mackowitz Sr. and I remember Derringer. I do remember the 5 o'clock rock report. Was it 5 o'clock? Yeah, 5 or 6. I'm not sure. But I remember Steve Warden clearly and I want to say Joey Vendetta, I think. Yeah, maybe. On the cue at that time

and Warden was like, okay, Red Item, and he played this track which got next to zero radio play at that time and warden was like okay red item and he played this track which got next to zero radio play at that time uh same with the album but i mean just a an incredible album and wilco's been one of those bands that's like been in my top three for about 25 years now back then there was like a law like f FM stations had to have like this foreground programming or whatever. Like, that's why you had all these things like that. Like, I remember CFNY always had like Live in Toronto and you had these different like magazine shows. That's right.

It was regulated, like you had to have them. So they existed and they were fantastic. And then once you didn't have to have them, they all disappeared. It used to be a thing. You'd listen to Bookie, I want to say, had a show between six and seven, and then The Rock Report was around that time, maybe five, maybe six. But it used to be go-to listening

at that time, mid-nights. Bud Welko, yes. Amazing. If they come back and play The Horseshoe and you go to the show or something, you could be right there with Dave Hodge. He doesn't miss a show.

I haven't played this next band since the Molly Johnson episode, so let's hear your next jam. Sometimes I wonder Will I ever get back home? Sometimes I wonder Will I ever get back home? Well, I've been gone so long Will I ever get back up?

Sometimes I wonder What my baby think of me Sometimes I wonder What my baby think of me Well sometimes I wonder What she ever think of me Big Sugar, Ride Like Hell. I'm sure everyone has their top three, four, five concert moments when you look back. four or five concert moments when you look back.

And I won't forget seeing Gordy Johnson for the first time at the turret at Wilfrid Laurier University in 94, I want to say, maybe 95. And Ride Like Hell live was something else. And man, you talk about turning it up to 10 and then some. The Big Sugar live know left the ears ringing and it was just glorious and i remember seeing them a few years later in 97 or 8 and i was in london ontario and a band you may remember powder finger yes who were up from australia i want to say we're opening up for Big Sugar on a few shows. And the guys from Powderfinger,

as they were going back to their van through this gymnasium at the college, Big Sugar's playing Ride Like Hell at the time. And they just dropped their bags, stopped, and their jaws dropped. They're like, what is this guy doing with a guitar? Unbelievable. Like in full peak Gordy mode with the long hair flailing.

Did he have the double neck guitar going? I remember he did Canada the anthem a few times. That's right. And looking solid in the Hugo Boss suits they used to wear all the time. Yeah. One of Canada's great gourds. Canada produces great gourds. I was thinking about some gourd light for this afternoon, Mike.

You should just name great Canadian gourds. You want to keep going? Let's do 10 more songs. That'll be part two. When you find Oshapiro had nothing to say of substance, then you can come back and do more jam-picking with me.

Do you think Big Sugar is one of those bands that is still kind of highly underrated? I find Big Sugar is still kind of beneath, under the radar a little bit when it comes to the big Canadian rock bands. Yeah, I think the thing with Big sugar i mean they had those you know kind of not top 40 hits like turn the lights on turn the lights on uh better get used to it yeah yeah remember those videos in the late 90s and they kind of had that nice little run where they're playing the warehouse at the time i want to say like two three thousand seat venues and then I want to say that Gordy went to Texas, moved to Texas and started a new band down there. I think it's called Grady. And they were down there for five or six years

and then got Big Sugar rolling again recently. Maybe late 2000s, I want to say. So I think he's been back at it with Big Sugar for a while. I haven't seen them since the late 90s and I'm overdue for a live experience well apparently I think that's precisely it I think this is a band, you need to see them live

this is a like the trues or something where it's like you gotta see them live to get the full experience it's a must We'll be right back. She don't want no rock and roll She want platinum or ice and gold She want a whole lot of sun to fold If you a obstacle she just drive you cold Cause one monkey don't stop the show Little Mary's bad In these streets she done ran Ever since when the heat began I told her girl look here, calm down I'ma hold your hand

To enable you to beat the plane Cause you was quick to learn And we can make money to burn If you allow me to lay this game I don't ask for much But but enough room to spread my wings And the world finna know my name I don't ask for much these days And I don't bitch and whine if I don't get my way I only wanna throw the lies and with her behind my lover's back I sit and watch at the roof, standing where I'm at

Girl, I'm livin' with her behind my lover's back And I'm keepin' my secrets behind I push my seat in her push for life. It's gonna work because I'm pushing it right. If parents dropped my baby girl tonight, I would name her Rock and Roll. The seat 2.0 with the roots. The Cody Chestnut.

Were you a Letterman guy or a Leno guy? No. Letterman by a mile, man. I have snapped by a mile. This song, Cody Chestnut and the Roots played it live. And you can always tell Letterman really loved a musical guest. When he would walk out after and he'd go say something like, that's all you need right there.

Yeah. You got it. You know, he was pumped up. And I remember watching this live on Letterman, and it was just a killer live performance. And then Dave went up, and Tally was a fan too. It was just one of those TV moments that I thought I would pop in here. It was like a real musical moment on the team.

And it's just a sweet, funky track. Like, great vocals great beats great vibe to it. A little dash of hip hop on the kick out the jams. The roots

are the house band for a late night talk show right. Am I right. Yeah. Which one. I know this. Fallon. The Fallon. The Roots are the house band for a late night talk show, right? Am I right? Yeah. Which one? Should I know this? Fallon.

The Fallon. You know, I was never in the Fallon fan club. I liked them on SNL. And I can't remember the last time I watched late night talk. I'm with you on that. But when I did watch, you're right, I don't watch any late night TV anymore either. But I was a big Conan fan I used to watch

a lot of Conan O'Brien and then I liked Kimmel's show yeah Kimmel I liked Kimmel in the early days I like him now still when I do

catch up a little soundbite on Twitter or whatever I liked Kimmel on Howard Stern this is the I was a big Howard Stern listener

and I liked Kimmel on that show. But Fallon never did it for me. But anyway. So we're about to hit your final jam, which I teased by telling the world that it's a cover of my favorite song by my favorite band.

That's amazing. So already everyone is excited. I would name her rock and roll. I would name her Rock and Roll I would name her Rock and Roll, yeah I would name it Rock and Roll September 17 For a girl I know it's Mother's Day Her son has gone and left And that's where he will stay

Wind on the weather vane Tearing blue eyes sailing me Blue eyes Sailor moon As false I've seen The sorrow For a friend For a boy

In Fiddler's Green Tiny Knotted heart This is the stereophonics. Fiddler's Green. Another big time, underrated band, in my opinion. Huge in the UK and in Wales. I think they're from Wales.

Over here, never really broke through in a significant way. Kind of play like 1,000 seaters, 1,500 seaters. But what a band, man. And what a voice. Yeah. They started out way back when in the late 80s, early 90s. I guess it was the early 90s. And they would cover ACDC tracks, cover Tragically Hip.

Can you imagine seeing a band in Cardiff, Wales, and they're doing Tragically Hip covers? But that's what the Stereophonics were doing way back when. They do New Orleans is Sinking and this song, of course, which I think was a B-side on one of their singles. But just a great band. And they actually came to...

They opened up for the hip. I saw them over for the hip at Molson Park. Molson Park, right? Late 90s. I really regret missing that show but man that might have been the last Bash and Barry was that, am I I hope I'm not mixing up my hip Molson Park

events but that might have been they called it last Bash and Barry it was like the final edge fest before it moved to Downsview Park or something like that, yeah I think so and Sloan was on there and I'm trying to remember that lineup. But The Hip were the headliners, and yeah, Stereophonics were on that bill.

The Phonics. I love their first three albums. Really solid. They're still around, still pumping out product. Part of that Britpop explosion we referred to in the 90s there. Saw them at the Opera House. Yeah, Supergrass. That's right. They're kind of in that mold, if you will. You Saw them at the Opera House. Supergrass. Yeah, Supergrass. That's right.

They're kind of in that mold, if you will. You saw them at the Opera House? Yeah, Opera House, late 90s, early 2000s, I think. Solid show. Just kind of one of those, you know,

three and a half, four star type bands, you know. Not in my top ten per se, although they are today. But solid, solid rock and roll. But you know, Mike, you didn't want to have two hip tracks on your ten,

so this was a good loophole you found here. You get in Fiddler's Green, and it's from one of your favorite bands. I hope you're digging the musical selections today, Mike. I think, as you say, we're around the same age. Well, you dropped a hint earlier on your age, and I think you've got maybe two or three years

on me, but no more than that. And I have more white hair than you, so unless you're using the Grecian formula there... You've got to use half on the clippers. Gets rid of all the gray. Beautiful selections.

Yeah, really, really great 10 jams today. This was amazing. I know you've got a presser to get to, and I hope I didn't keep you too long. But that was a pleasure. Freaking love that. We have to get you back to dive deeper into some of the sporting events you've covered for CP.

But that was great. Thanks, Mike. Really enjoyed it. Thanks for the beer. And that brings us to the end of our 374th show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Gregory, what are you again?

You're Gregory Strong CP? Yeah, Gregory Strong CP. Friends at Great Lakes Brewery, they're at Great Lakes Beer. Propertyinthe6.com is at Raptors Devotee. And Paytm is at Paytm Canada. And the Royal Pains are at the Royal Pains, sorry, at Royal Pains Band. See you all next week. I want to take a streetcar downtown.