Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Jason Portuondo: Toronto Mike'd #1036

Episode Date: April 19, 2022

In this 1036th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike is joined by Jason Portuondo as they talk about his career in sports media, his love of horse racing, racism he's experienced on the job and co-hosting Donovan Bailey Running Things with the double gold medalist. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Canna Cabana, StickerYou, Ridley Funeral Home and Patrons like you.

Welcome to episode 1036 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. A fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. StickerU.com. Create custom stickers, labels, tattoos, and decals for your home and your business. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville.

Ridley Funeral Home. Pillars of the community since 1921. And Canna Cabana. The lowest prices on cannabis. Guaranteed. Over 100 stores across the country. Learn more at cannacabana.com. Joining me this week, live in the TMDS studio,

is Jason Portuando. Wow. What do you think of that, buddy? I feel like a prize boxer entering the ring. I appreciate that. Let's get ready for real talk. I love it. I love it. I love it.

Now, this is not technically, you have to be pedantic here, not technically your Toronto Mike debut. Right. Because you were a part of episode 1002, but you were sharing that episode with a one-time fastest man in the world and double gold medalist.

So I would say that's Donovan Bailey's episode more than it's Jason Portwondo's episode. I'm fine with that. You know, anytime you can rub shoulders, hang and just be alongside a living legend, you know, I'm fine with it. I don't mind being the wingman. You're beside a living legend right now, Jason.

I am, you're right. I appreciate the invite, Mike. Always, always appreciate it. Now, I did, so that episode, I knew it was going to be Donovan heavy because, again, double gold medalist. Right. I mean, I wanted to play the clips. It was really, I don't know, you were right beside him, but I thought it was cool. Like the Don Whitman calls of Donovan's gold medal that Saturday in Atlanta, like watching Donovan listen to the call and then having him kind of remember and share his memories.

Like that was pretty awesome. Every Michael Jordan has to have a Scottie Pippen, right? So for me, Wayne Gressi's got to have the Yari Curry. But for me, just the fact that I was able to share that experience, you're right. And Donovan and I have been friends, family, forever. So to me, sometimes I forget exactly who he is in terms of his athletic prowess because to me, he's just the family.

He's just friends. Now, I can't compare my relationship with Donovan to your relationship with Donovan, but now that 13 Tuesday mornings in a row I've been hanging with the man, I now know exactly what you mean. Because it was like, at first it was like, oh my God, that's the guy I watched,

you know, win the gold medal in Atlanta. And I was so proud. I'm still proud of him. But now it's like, oh, there's my buddy Donovan. You know what I mean? It kind of does a switch at some point. But again, I'm at risk now of making this the second Donovan Bailey episode.

But this is absolutely the Jason Porwando episode. Whatever's going to get you listeners, that's all that matters. You put Jason Porwando on the podcast. Who is that?

Donovan Bailey on the podcast. Oh, wow. Donovan's on. So yeah, hey, do what you got to do, my man. I am proudly just as excited,

if not more excited excited to talk to people whose names might not be as recognizable real quick case in point so i had a guest last week who raps by the name decisive do you know the rapper named decisive uh no no you're not alone okay i i've been a longtime fan but i know most people don't know decisive his real name is derek kristoff i have been telling people all weekend people who but I know most people don't know Decisive. His real name is Derek Kristoff. I have been telling people all weekend, people who sometimes skip episodes when they don't know the name, and I've been telling them, don't make that mistake.

And people like Steve Paikin, for example, I'm like, no. I know you're a Frank Sinatra fan, and you probably don't love hip-hop the way I do, but don't skip the Decis decisive episode because it's amazing. The quality of these episodes has very little to do with the name recognition of a guest. I think you're a fantastic guest and I'm just very honored you're back. I appreciate that. And you know what? You're right. We all have to start somewhere. At one point, the name Donovan Bailey didn't mean much, right? Until you get a chance to get on that platform, on that stage and do your thing.

Quick story. Yeah. Magic Johnson back in the day, I remember from watching this new Lakers series. Which I'm going to get into, don't spoil it. Okay. He had a chance to buy into Nike. Nike guy said, I can give you like a dollar or whatever,

but buy into it and who knows? And Magic said, no. And now that money translated to today is what, billions? I don't even want to think about it. Exactly. And how many, you know, you're a GTA guy, which we'll get into your life in times, but how many people do you hear stories,

something to the effect of, I had an opportunity to invest in Trivial Pursuit. This is the one I hear the most from Toronto people. Trivial Pursuit must've come out in this area of the world. And a lot of people were given an opportunity. I don't know. Let's make it up.

$10,000 investment in this game, Trivial Pursuit. And I mean, I don't know. I always wonder, like if someone came to me and had this idea for a game and they said $10,000 investment or whatever,

I could see myself passing on that. Like I'll keep my 10K. But meanwhile, everyone who invested in Trivial Pursuit laughed all the way to the bank. Yeah. Well, and that's the thing, right? There's no right or wrong answer. But for me, yeah, I don't know if I would have done it either. It just seems like such a risky proposition and you got to weigh the risk versus reward scenario. So I understand, but yeah. Can you ask me that again now no because hindsight's 2020

somebody told me that once okay uh are you familiar with spider jones 100 yeah so how do you know do you just know him the way i know him as a personality on the radio exactly you actually know the guy exactly i mean our paths have crossed just because of the broadcasting thing but to say spider and i go way back no but. But okay, can you do a Spider Jones impression? Awful, no. Wouldn't even try. Spider Jones. There you go. That's awful too, by the way. Okay, I'm just, okay, so

on the weekend I spoke with Mitch Chiavallo, who is the lone surviving son of George Chiavallo. One of Canada's greatest heavyweight fighters of all time. And, uh,

anyway, there at the end of the episodes, we did like 90 minutes and it was beautiful. It was really wonderful. We talked about the, the, the trauma in the Chivalo family because three boys and, you know,

the mom, George's wife, Lynn, uh, took their own lives way too. It's just tragic story. And we were very honest and we chatted about all that. Of course,

we talked about George and his fights of Muhammad Ali and his heavyweight prowess. But then at the end, Mitch has a bone to pick with Spider. So I'm here. It's like if you had a bone to pick with Peter Gross. Right, which I don't. He's one of the reasons why I'm doing what I'm doing today. We're going to get into that. I heard the same story, by the way, from Mike Wilner.

So you were going to get into that. Oh, Wills. Yeah, we go way back too. 680 days. Yeah. Exactly. We're going to get into all this. But so Mitch had a,

it was personal between Mitch and Spider and Mitch wanted to air his thoughts on some things Spider has said over the years about his relationship with Muhammad Ali. And I was sitting there as a host, not very comfortable with this because I like Spider, first of all. Spider's not there to defend himself,

even though we had recorded two weeks prior. And we had just had this great episode on George Cavallo and then suddenly it's like, okay. And I don't edit these episodes. I'm going to warn you about that right now, Jason. But it was, for me, I found myself almost like softening the blows by kind of taking the case of Spider Jones to soften these remarks from Mitch.

And I just want listeners to know I phoned Spider Jones. I phoned him right after that episode. You do that so well. The lovable one, Spider Jones. I phoned him right after that episode. You do that so well. The lovable one, Spider Jones. I phoned him right after that episode to tell him exactly what was said by Mitch and gave Spider the opportunity to retort, and I

was going to attach that to the episode so listeners would hear. And then Spider decided not to do that, but I just want listeners to know Spider had an opportunity to respond to what Mitch was saying. And that's what happened on the weekend. You're pretty good.

That's strong journalism right there because you're caught in the middle. You don't want to tell one side. Every coin's got a head, has a tail. We get that. So you're just kind of like, hmm, this doesn't feel right. So I appreciate what you did there. And you're a journalist. I feel like this is high praise.

No, no. That's the way you got to do it, right? You got to be subjective. You can't lean either way. I mean, back in the day when I was at Sportsnet and we're covering the Blue Jays, it's tough because, you know, the Blue Jays owned by Rogers. Sportsnet owned by Rogers. You can't bite the hands that are feeding.

Did you ever pull any punches because you knew who was signing your check? 100%. Yeah. Okay. We're going to get into your media career. People probably aren't even as aware of all the places you've been. You have enough time for that? It's true.

You do have a hard out, but we're going to be fine. Last point before we get into why you chose this profession, because there's lots of other great professions out there, you chose you know media but i want to just say we all receive these sad news that uh buck martinez has to step down because he's fighting cancer um i we got i got the news when i was actually at the dome with my daughter just before i entered the gates i went on twitter and i saw it and i'm like oh that's terrible so did you ever ever bump into Buck personally? Like other than, you know, did you ever know Buck Martinez? Not on a personal level, working relationship type level,

for sure here and there, but obviously tough news and we all wish him the best of all reports from people that have worked with him and currently work with him. Good guy, right? Yeah, exactly, exactly. I mean, that's tossed around so much, but it truly is. I mean, there are so many great things about him.

And as a player, I still remember that double play. Oh, yeah, I know. Broke his leg in Seattle. And just like, yeah, just phenomenal. So whether it be as a player, whether it be as a broadcaster or best of all, just as a person, you know, really good guys. So we wish him the best in that fight. I reiterate and echo your sentiments there. Go Buck, go. I hear he's a great guy. His son went to my primary school.

So I remember being very excited. And Rance Mullenix's son too. This is St. Pius at Jane and Bloor. And it was exciting to have a Blue Jays son in the school. But okay. So Buck, one quick note about Buck though, is on Friday, I co-hosted a sports podcast called Hebsey on Sports of Mark Hebbshire.

Do you know Mark Hebbshire? 1,000%. Good guy. Oh, way back. Oh my, I remember the Hebseys all the time watching on Sportsline. And maybe that'll be part of why you got into media. Maybe you were inspired by Jim Taddy and Markty and my capture but last note on this is to

say uh i actually and this is all recorded it's on youtube on hebsey's youtube it's on the episode of hebsey on sports on friday but i remarked that i could hear in buck martinez's delivery that he was mumbling more than ever and i actually actually, in hindsight, I wish I hadn't done this because of the news that came out on Sunday. But I did an impression of Buck, sort of like my Spider Jones. I did a Buck Martini impression of how mumbly he had become. And I said, because I listened back after I got home from the Blue Jay game that Sunday, and I listened back, and I said,

I'm legit concerned for the man. I love him, and he sounds unwell this is what i said friday oh wow yeah you picked up on that well i and i don't know what kind of cancer he has or what's going on but he sounded unwell in his delivery and i was worried he was unwell and that was the friday and then we got that terrible news on sunday so go bucko yeah jay's in port wando what the heck inspired you to become a member of the media it's uh it's a story that um had quite a few twists and turns but you know originally you come out of uh post-secondary education well you go into post-secondary education because you you have to right so you're

in high school right you know the system says you've got to go on your friends go on your family your parents say you've got to go on so you go on but to be honest i had no idea what i wanted to do when i came out of um now to even back it up a little bit further yeah i went to uft first taking commerce okay and uh i just did because one of my friends was taking that. Best friend at the time. Michael Sartor was taking the same thing. So we were going down the same path. He is of Russian and Italian descent.

He took Italian as his elective in terms of language. I said, give me French because I've spoken French since like grade one. Went there and I just realized, yeah, this is not for me. And then you have to have that conversation with your parents. And they're just like, seriously? So I was lucky enough while I was at the Mississauga campus of University of Toronto. Did you call it Arendale back then? No.

Why do I remember calling it Arendale? Well, there's an Arendale high school. But didn't, see now I see it's called University of Toronto, Mississauga. Now I went to the downtown campus. Okay. So I was at downtown. The main one, yeah. The main one.

I remember that we referred to the Mississauga campus as Arendale. Really? That's what we called it even within the internal mechanisms of U of T. But you're telling me,

no, you knew it as University of Toronto, Yeah, I've always called it U of T, yeah. See, maybe I'm out to lunch. Maybe this is a trip. Please continue. But I always thought this was the Arendale Toronto. Yeah, I've always called it U of C. Maybe I'm out to lunch. Maybe this is a trip. Please continue. But I always thought this was the Arendale campus.

Oh, man. So, Gordana. I used to work back at Miracle Food Mart. Hey. And yeah, that was my first job. Okay, because I'm a Food City guy. Are you really? Yeah.

Oh, wow. $4.55 an hour. Okay. I will not forget my first job. But anyways. Okay. I ran into her and she said, well, geez, we have a sports show called SportsGab and we're looking for a host.

We had a guy just leave. And I'm like, okay, no problem. Well, I love to talk and I love sports. So let's try this. And that was my first step into the broadcasting path. But where was this? Is this like part of the university station or something? Where is this sports gap?

C-I-U-T. Okay. So back in the day, you know, just kind of your underground, put two styrofoam cups and a string together. So no, it was on. This is on St. George, right? Yeah. So this was 89.5.

So we would tape it in Mississauga and send it down there and they would air it. And it's called sports gap. It was called sports gap. Okay. And it's just, it's all fresh in my mind because I produce a show for a gentleman named Andrew Applebaum

and the show's called Toronto Legends and just yesterday, his guest was Mike Wilner. So, the joke was after, so Wilner went long on his origin story.

Hopefully, you don't have this kind of time, okay? But afterwards, Wilner said to me, I think we were off the record, he goes, you know,

I was once asked this at a thing and he goes, an hour and 16 minutes later, think we were off the record. He goes, you know, I was once asked this at a thing. And he goes, an hour and 16 minutes later, he had finished his origin story. And he says, he doesn't know. He goes, I don't know how to tell my origin story shorter than that. And I was thinking, I can help you with this. You can't take an hour to tell your origin story. But that's Wilner.

I love him. I love the guy. Him and I go back to the days of 680 News. But yeah, so. But he was also on the air at CIUT. This was the origin of his radio career as well. Oh, see, I didn't even know that. The only other person I know that had any type of broadcasting sort of coupling would

have been Greg Sansoni. Okay. Greg Sansoni and I worked together. And look at him now. Exactly. So Greg Sansoni and I were together at U of T. And I remember I would have exams before he would. And instead of him asking me, hey, Jay Porty, what was on the exam?

He'd say, oh, what did you guys talk about today on the show? He was more concerned about sports gab than he was his actual scholastic. So I was like, all right, I get it. No problem. But he, of course, went on to a great on on-air career at the score and now a great offer yeah now he's in management right so i gotta just i'm on the live stream we have a pirate stream live.torontomic.com yyz gourd says it used to be called the erindale campus mike is right okay it's not a trippy uh because he graduated high school in 89 and that's what it was called and that's

around my era too like i'm a little bit but. So maybe I'm just not remembering it being called for that. Okay. Cause that's, I remember being surprised as an adult when I saw it rebranded as University of Toronto, Mississauga thinking, oh, I guess it's not Arendelle anymore, but we digress. Okay. Arendelle campus it is. Okay. So you're on the air at CIUT.

And then how do you parlay that into a mainstream media career? It was tough. It's very tough because- You're still working on it. Exactly. Unlike most industries, it's hard to get that first step. I mean, no one wants to give you that first opportunity if you don't have the experience. So it's kind of- One man would, but please continue. I know one man, our mutual friend would do that. Okay. So basically to fast track, I kept my electives from U of T. Arendale campus,

by the way, in case you don't remember. And what I did was I ended up going to a quick two-year program at Seneca. Okay. Back in the day,

I'm pretty sure it was a four-year program at Ryerson. I'm like, four more years, I'm getting up there in age and this is the industry where you don't want to,

you know, try to be breaking in when you're in your 30s. So anyways, took a two-year program at Seneca, used my electives, kind of fast-tracked. And I also was volunteering at Rogers, which was the best thing ever. This is like Cable 10, right? Oh, yeah.

Okay. You have the same story as Wilner. He was at Newtonbrook Cable 10 with a show called Let's Talk Sports. Oh, see, I was in Mississauga. Okay. So what were you doing for Cable 10? You name it. I started out just kind of learning everything.

I mean, floor directing. And this is gone now, right? This does not exist anymore. Yeah, there's a lot of things that aren't existing anymore, which is a shame because I often tell people if they want to get into broadcasting, get to your local TV station. It's gone.

That experience. I mean, there's nothing like it. I mean, there's nothing like it. I mean, there's nothing that I learned in school that I didn't know already through volunteering at Rogers, except for reel-to-reel, which doesn't exist anymore. Right. So that experience, it was, yeah, it was unbelievable. But you're putting in your reps on Cable 10.

You've got the CIUT thing. Then at some point you go to Seneca, and you're learning there, I suppose. But then what is your very first opportunity that you got actual money for? First opportunity to get money for. Are you still waiting for that too? Yeah, exactly. That would be 680 News.

That would be 680 News because I remember auditioning and sending tapes all across Canada. I sent out like 40 resumes and tapes. You mean cassette tapes, right? These are actual cassettes. VHS. Oh, VHS. Yeah, so back then I was working part-time at FedEx. So I used that to send it out.

Makes it look professional. Oh, this kid's serious. He's using a lot of money to send out these. Employee discount or was it a five-finger discount? 100% employee discount. No, no, no. I ain't into that five-finger thing. No, no.

Mama brought me up to be honest. I got asked a tough question. Yeah, it wasn't that. But anyways, sent it out and 40 tapes sent out. Only three people replied. One guy, ITV in Edmonton, was just nice enough to give me some criticism. And then I got two job offers. One was Victoria, BC.

One was Kingston, Ontario. I chose Kingston, Ontario. I chose Kingston, CBC just because I could drive there instead of fly there, thinking that if you go somewhere where you got to fly, you're going to come home like twice a year. Okay, no, this is,

but you know what? This speaks to like the numbers game of it all. Like you were going to have a three and 40 hit rate. One was a polite reply. So let's make it two and 40, okay? Perfect, yeah. One out of every 20 was going to get a reply, but some people might only send out five, six, seven,

and they'll never get the one. The fact you got two job offers, it speaks to your persistence here in trying to get a gig. It's funny you mentioned that word because I quite often go to schools and talk to kids pre-COVID, obviously, and they like to pick my brain,

and I always say to them, there's a fine line between being persistent and being a pain in the ass right i say the same because i've been told i'm persistent and sometimes at least you get an answer right but sometimes i have the thought oh you're being annoying and then i it's razor thin and you'll speak to this right now, razor thin between persistence and annoyance. And tiptoeing on that line, that's an innate skill unto itself. And I'm not saying I'm good at it, but it sounds like you were able to toe the line there.

For me, it just shows that you really want it. So either a producer is going to look at it and say, executive producers, let's just get this guy in here. I'm sick of hearing from him. Because I would often tell kids, you know what? Send in your resume. And then a couple weeks later, just follow up. Oh, did you get the tape?

Oh, did you get a chance to look at it? Oh, what do you think? And eventually they're going to say, okay, you know what? Stop calling me. If there's anything, I'll call you. Or they'll say, just come in for an interview or come in for a while. So you're going to get an answer. For me,

the worst thing is not knowing. I always put things in relationship terms and my wife laughs. It's like asking a girl out and she doesn't respond. It's like, okay, if you're not interested,

I can deal with that. There are a million other girls out there. But when the girl says no, do you ask again or do you say, no, she said no, leave her alone.

No, no, no. I'm not into that. You know what? No means no for me. Right. I wouldn't ask again unless it's like Selma hayek or something well that's a different story you get a hall pass for that one okay so you're in kingston because i want to get you to 680 so how long are you in kingston okay so 680 was it was crazy because i was actually on the air while i was in the final portion of my um scholastic, so it's 680 before Kingston?

Yes. Okay, okay, okay. So 680 was while I was at the end. Is that like an unpaid internship? Basically. Okay. And then, you know, they'd throw me a few bones here and there.

But did you get to know Peter Gross? That's how I got the job. That's not, okay. Because your origin story is fucking identical to Mike Wilner's. Yeah. Identical. I can guarantee you this though.

Wilner did not meet up with Peter in the ATM line at the rac Identical. I can guarantee you this, though. Wilner did not meet up with Peter in the ATM line at the racetrack. I can guarantee you that. That's where I saw Peter. Ran out of bullets, went back to refuel, and I was like, oh, Mr. Gross,

big fan of yours. Obviously, those have been back in his, you know, obviously 680 days, but he's also been on City TV. Of course. Peter's done it all. Great, great guy.

And I told him of my interest and, you know, we kept in touch and he brought me in as an intern and it was kind of cool because I was the only kid in class that was actually on air. And also part of my graduating class, Rick Ralph, who, you know, was also part of it. Sure, he's out west now, right? Yeah, Winnipeg, I think, was doing stuff with TSN before.

I get the odd email from him. Okay, shout out to Rick Ralph if he's listening. So, Peter Gross and you hook up at, where is that? Woodbine? Yep. Okay. It's amazing. It all comes back to the horses.

Okay. The ponies. So Peter gets you in the door at 680. Honestly, he gets, Wilner attributes his entire mainstream media career to Peter Gross giving him a chance at 680. Yep. It's wild to me.

There's a bunch of us. Who else? Damien Goddard. Oh, he got a little controversy. Every time I hear the name now, I think he didn't like same-sex marriage. Awesome guy. Opinions, up to him. I mean, but as an individual, really good guy.

So Michael Gosak, another one that was at 680 and then went on to the score to do some things. Andrea Goldstein, also part of broadcast. Brewers fan,

her and I I think are the only two north of the 49th. You're a Brewers fan? I'm a Brewers fan. How did it happen? You know what? Most of my teams,

I know we're going to go off topic here, but a lot of the teams I cheer for is because, that's right up my alley. Okay them play against toronto teams so back in the day not as far back as greg lazinski that's a little bit far i think of white socks when i think yeah yeah so maybe i'm giving you the wrong guy is it kill a brew anyway i'm gonna tell you

who you're thinking cecil cooper for sure for sure yeah there was a big guy they had maybe it was okay his name they called that was a good guy they had maybe it was I forget his name that was a good team I remember that that Brewers team gave Toronto a lot of right so that was a little bit before my time

yeah before pre-Molliter Robin Yount was a big guy that's the big one for me Robin Yount Paul Molliter those were the ones Rob Deere

yeah he was okay Deere was either going to home or strike out there was no other option yeah I think he wore 45 if I'm not mistaken but yeah he was a big guy but yeah Rob

well you're a typical home run hitter, right? Go deep or go sit back on the bench. But so, Boston Bruins, I know the Leafs were never part of that Adams division.

Leafs were Norris, I do believe, if I'm not mistaken. So we were Adams. We were like Hartford, Buffalo, Montreal. Which was the other conference? Because that was Wales, right?

That was Wales, yeah. So I mean, a lot of the teams I cheer for were against Toronto teams. Well, why? You're from Mississauga, right? I love, yes, I'm Mississauga, yeah. Born and raised. Born in Toronto. That's Toronto territory.

And the only excuse, like when I hear, to talk about Payton for a minute, like Payton's like, oh, I heard Mike Wilner in the backyard. I loved it. Even though I'm a Red Sox fan, I enjoyed it. And I was thinking, oh, yeah, but he's old enough. He's older than us. There were no Blue Jays when he was a kid.

Like Blue Jays show up in 77. But you, I know you've only got a couple on me. You should be a Blue Jays fan, not a Brewers fan. I love all Toronto teams just because of where I'm from. But I have no allegiance to one city. Brewers in baseball, obviously we're talking about Milwaukee. Bruins in hockey, Boston. Jazz and basketball, Utah.

Where does that, is it Stockton and Mailman? Stockton Malone, oh yeah. And that was one of the greatest moments for me, by the way. Peter called me, never forget this, lying in bed, Peter calls me, wakes me up, hey, Port Wando, what are you doing? I'm asleep, Peter. Get down to Skydomeome your boys are here i'm

like all right so that's a very poor peter gross impersonation but yeah so i went to go uh cover a shoot around at skydome yes skydome because that's where the rappers were back then and got a chance to meet greg ostertag and i saw carl malone and yeah it was the mailman always delivers yeah so for me carl malone john stockton those were the days. Wow. Karl Malone might be the only black man I know with a belt buckle and driving an 18-wheeler. Yeah. So Karl Malone, that was amazing.

I think Jeff Hornacek was also part of that team. So you got these strange allegiances that aren't based on geography. I do. And the final one, Eagles. But that one, I understand. We don't have a team. We don't have a horse in that race. Right. Okay. So some guys have said Bills, but really, I don't, you know, you can, and that's because of Randall Cunningham, right? Yeah, I know. Rand don't have a team. We don't have a horse in that race. Right, okay. So some guys have said Bills, but really, I don't, you know, you can, and that's because of Randall Cunningham, right?

Randall Cunningham. He was the best. My favorite two athletes of all time, Randall Cunningham and Cam Neely. But they're two good athletes. Two Cam, yeah. Cunningham and Cam. They rhyme, yeah.

Okay, all right. Well, shout out to Cam Neely and Ray Bork. But anyways, to answer your question from half an hour ago, yeah, Peter Gross first, 680 News, applied for that job in Kingston and Peter says to me, you know, did you apply for some job in Kingston?

I'm like, yeah, why? He goes, oh, because I put Peter down as my reference. They call the boss of the station John Hinnan and Hinnan wouldn't know me from Adam. So, yeah, he said, well, let me speak to the sports guy and I guess whatever they said was good enough because that was my first job in the industry. And then I've been a ton of places since.

Well, listen, did you listen? It's funny because I talked about I talked about Decisive and I talked about Mitch Chiavallo. But there was another episode last week with Peter Gross. And we're like doing our thing. Peter's always great. We're talking about the Sovereign Awards. Peter didn't win, but he was like an underdog against a couple of...

Yeah, that's kind of tough because he's doing a podcast, right? It's awesome. A TMDS production. Right. Much like running things of Donovan Bailey. There you go. But the production, you know, it's tough.

You're going up against TV shows, right? You're going up against a huge, yeah, big budget teams. And you're just like, dude, yeah. But good for him for being nominated. 100%. He went to the Sovereign Awards with Garnet Barnsdale, I believe. Awesome guy. You know what?

GB is a great guy. We didn't talk about this off the top, but that's where I first met you, right? Didn't you and Garnet visit me when we were doing Down the Stretch? It would have been three of us here on the mic. Who else was there? Jennifer Morrison? And Peter. What a team. Okay. That would have been so the four of us. How do the four of us fit here?

We made it work. I put somebody there. There's no camera. And then two there. Maybe three there. I don't know how I did it, but there was one time Jim McKinney was here. I don't know, but in Garnet's sign time Jim McKinney was here I don't know but Ian Garnett's son there's another good guy McKinney horse racing too

it's all about horse racing so let's get into your career here because there's a lot to cover but you what brings you back so you're in Kingston how long have you been

in Kingston for Kingston wasn't very long couple of years so it was a great spot to go somewhere make some mistakes get to know the craft and

quick story. Yeah. There one night, I like to have fun when I'm doing my sports, right? For me, sports is an escape from reality, right? So doing highlights one night and Leafs are playing whoever and Glenn Healy's in it

and he's flopping around. And I said, look at Glenn Healy flopping around in the crease trying to find the puck looking more like Jeff. At the time, not realizing Jeff is blind. Wait, I thought that was the joke. No, I would never do that. I would never do that.

Honestly, I thought- Glenn Healy's flopping around looking like a fish trying to find the puck. Well, firstly, I don't know where they get into this. How do you not know Jeff Healy's blind? I know of Jeff Healy. Not your genre. Well, it wasn't-

Yeah, but I mean, I'm well-rounded. I mean, I listen to Love & Rock. It's so alive. A punk group, right? I mean, I bought that album back in the day, right? So there you go. Super Cat. There you go.

All right. So there we go. So I am well-rounded. Love my reggae for sure. But I mean, Robert Plant now in Zen. I mean, there's a bunch of things I could throw at you. You'd be like, wow, how do you even know that? I remember when Confidence Man,

that was like the first big single, I think, from Jeff Healy and Q107 was playing in Confidence Man. The whole idea was he was playing the guitar in his lap because he was blind. This was a huge part of the Jeff He can breathe easy because the story becomes uh kind of full circle here so i go upstairs after the broadcast little old lady typical small market television station calls gets right through to me which would never happen here and she's like oh hi jason how are you i'm like oh i'm fine ma'am how are you she goes you weren't referring to the blind guitarist were you and i'm like oh no'm fine ma'am how are you she goes you weren't referring to the blind guitarist

were you and I'm like oh no ma'am not at all and then I went back downstairs I'm like guys you guys couldn't tell me

that you know they're like we thought you knew anyways I thought that was a joke no I would never make such a joke because that's actually

a fucking funny joke no well yeah I wouldn't do that that's awful and it's not disrespectful it's just he would be a poor goalie because he's visually impaired

so years later met Jeff at Woodbine, told him the joke. He laughed his ass off. It's funny. So at least I can, you know. Trust me, I know what's insensitive and what's inappropriate.

And that's actually a very funny joke. These days? Oh my goodness. Because you're not making fun of him for being blind. He is blind and it is de facto, therefore, inferred he would be a very poor goaltender. Right, but i would never go down that road i mean well i've had people say to me i think hebsey would have dropped that on sports speaking about how insensitive people are these days or sensitive things are

somebody said well can i call you black i said well yeah you can because that's what i am i said what's worse is if you call me colored because what am i am i pink am i blue am i green am i red because back in the day that was a thing calling somebody colored and to me that's more offensive way back in the day yes than it is to say black it's like saying you know i'm not afro-american because i'm not american because you're i don't have a jamaican right my background is cuban and jamaican yeah cuban first then jamaican okay okay and then obviously i was born here so portuando yes nice and super cat is your favorite artist yeah you know what he would be my favorite uh dance hall for sure artist yeah i mean i love shabba oh you see but you know when you do that

you're gonna lose me right because i'm gonna get up and start dancing yeah oh there we go. Girls, girls every day. There we go. From London, Canada and the USA. Girls, girls every... Oh, my gosh. Wow. Shabba.

Oh, my... Yeah, so Shabba for sure. I mean... But I have such a wide range of music. Love my fifties. Love my sixties, forties. That's a little bit,

a little bit for me, but my wife's often says to me like, the hell, how old are you? But I just love that type of music. Even my daughter's like, dad, it's so boring.

But, but that's me. I grew up as a CHFI kid. So. Really? Oh yeah. Candlelight and wine. Don Jackson. Yeah. Oh yeah. a CHFI kid, so. Really? Oh, yeah. Candlelight and Wine? Don Jackson?

Yeah. Oh, yeah. He just passed away, didn't he? I think he passed away a couple years ago. So, I mean, yeah. Wow. I mean, that's just the way it is. I mean, that's Double B, okay?

The Quiet Storm. I mean, Hooker and Don. I mean, that's. Because they never played Super Cat on CHFI. No, no. But they played Kim Carnes, Betty Davis Eyes. She's got Betty Davis Eyes. I love that jam.

Oh, you like your days. Yeah, that's right. All right, so let's get you to CHCH here, okay? Is that next on the... Yeah, so would have been no. So from CKWS in Kingston, the CBC affiliate,

which by the way, they said I was the first black man on TV there. Well, that's something. You broke the colour barrier. Yes, exactly. You're like the Jackie Robinson of Kingston television. Let's just say I stood out a little bit in Kingston.

Let's just say that. And then from there to Woodbine. Woodbine, I was doing the shows on Sportsnet. Scott Moore brought me over. Left Sportsnet. Had a non-compete in my contract saying i couldn't do sports that's where ch came in okay but wait a minute how long you had sports net for eight years right 2002 to 2010 yeah so i guess nine wait why did you leave sports net got down to a beef and i kind of whom

i need names here the boss of the time dave ac. Okay. And I actually thought that it was kind of a joke thing. But, you know, you kind of feel like the walls are closing in on you because it got to a point where I didn't have my own show. I started there doing weekends and mornings. Became where I got pushed to. Ivanka and I kind of flip-flopped. She's still there, Ivanka Oswego. Of course, yeah.

So she started out on mornings and I was on weekends. They flip-flopped. She's still there, Ivanka Osborne. Of course, yeah. So she started out on mornings and I was on weekends. They flip-flopped us. Oh yeah, we could talk a lot about sports. But anyways, long story short, I had gone in that day, put my makeup on, had gone through the whole regular routine.

I voiced headlines and whatever else. And then boss said to me, what are your plans? And I said, well, you know what? The way things have been going, I don't know if there's still a fit for me here. And he's like, well, we're hoping you resign for, you know, a couple more years or whatever. And I said, well, I don't want to be locked into. It basically came down to, it came to the point where people would say to me, hey, where are you at again?

And I was like, I don't know. When somebody's sick. You wanted a regular, like a regular shift. I had a regular spot, but I just kept getting bumped around. And, you know, it's such a subjective industry. But I could just feel the walls closing in. And, you know, when Scott Moore was there, life was fine. He was a big fan of mine.

He brought me over and then he left. He's a big fan of this podcast. He's listening right now. Oh, perfect. You know what? Awesome guy. Really awesome guy. And for me,

it's almost like being a player on a team and a new GM comes in. And because you weren't part of that GM's regime, it's like, okay, do we go with somebody new? Even the head coach these days gets a little bit nervous when a new GM comes in and you weren't hired by... This is not, by the way,

this is in every industry. Oh, yeah. Because I've been in software companies where the new marketing guys got his uh his people he worked he brings them all over and but long story short yeah we're you know expecting to sign long term i i didn't want to and he was like all right maybe we should cut terms and cut ties and i was like oh all right when effective immediately so i basically went back downstairs and be like all right guys see you later and they're like you're gonna pack your box or something he didn't even do that it was the weirdest breakup because i came back in afterwards to like put a demo tape together i still had

access to the building it was just kind of your card still worked yeah my card still working okay they forgot to they forgot no they left it open on purpose this was like the girlfriend you break up with that you guys are still going out. Was that in lieu of severance? Yeah, no, I still got my severance. I got my severance. It's just a very cutthroat industry. And it was good.

It was a great run. Everything happens for a reason. It's a lifestyle that I couldn't afford to have right now. Having my daughter and everything, it was just too much. I remember getting home one morning, it was like 5 o'clock after a playoff game on the West Coast with the Canucks. And it takes a while and you get home to unwind, right? Yeah. Yeah. You can't just go to sleep. You can't just go to sleep. And I remember finally getting tired and walking up the stairs

and seeing light shine through the window. And I'm like, oh, wow, my neighbor's going to work early. Oh no, that wasn't my neighbor's car lights. That was the sun rising. And I'm going to bed and it's like 5.30 in the morning. I know that feeling. You know, after I record an episode of Toast, I can't just go to bed. Like it takes hours to unwind. You're all jacked.

Yep. That's exactly what happens. But yeah, so then Sportsnet went through the door, went by the way, the Dodo bird. And then from there, like I said, CH had to do some news there before I got out of the way. So you went to hamilton was this was hebsey there hebsey was there yep what about bubba o'neill bubba was there

bubba's the man who uh opened the door for me well let's talk okay so bubba's great fotms are helping you out in this career because peter gross and then bubba o'neill yeah tell me about the legend bubba o'neill bubba's an awesome guy bubba and i go back to sportsnet too because bubba was on air at sportsnet doing updates. Right. And then he was one of the producers there. So yeah, Bubba and I go way, way back. And he was one that reached out to me and said,

oh, you know, well, how about coming over and trying to do some news there since you're in a sports jail? And I did that for a while and then ended up working on Sportsline with Bubba and then with Ebzy as well. Right. Became the weekend anchor doing sports, the backup for Bubba.

Were you at CHCH when the bankruptcy was declared? 100%. Okay. So can I get the story? Because the day after this happened, Hebsey came in and he actually crashed the David Schultz episode of Toronto Mike to tell the story. But so they had, this is what I understand. There was like, you got,

you were either going to be in this room or this other room. And everybody in one room was going to be like, you're let go, go away. And then everybody in this other room. Right. It was the weirdest thing. Given like a job offer. Yes.

Look, this company is gone, but there's a new channel zero or whatever. Right. That is going to like rise from the ashes and give you back your old job yes at a lower rate it was the craziest thing so what happened to jason portuando i went upstairs which was the room where you know you're not being terminated and we'd like to offer you something you'd be starting from scratch basically it was the weirdest thing so two different rooms two different floors. And those on the bottom floor

were done. And since they filed for bankruptcy, it was like the company never existed. Well, remember the story about Hebsey was he was in the wrong room. Yes, he was.

I remember that. I remember that. That was quite embarrassing. And he didn't even know that there was supposed to be two different rooms. He just saw people walking, started walking with them.

And then I guess his boss taps him on the shoulder yes you're in the wrong room yes i remember that because i remember seeing him get up and leave and i was like oh look i'm no labor like i'm no employment lawyer but uh if i may pretend to be one for a minute uh absolutely uh even in the good room which you were in you're still being fired like it's like you are now fired yes no severance but here's a job offer to do exactly what you were in, you're still being fired. Like, it's like, you are now fired. No severance. But here's a job offer to do exactly what you were doing before for the new version of this company.

Which became a numbered company. But, of course, not the same salary. Yeah. It was very weird. It's actually bullshit, Jason. It should have been illegal. Yeah. Well well when you mentioned that word law i'm not i'm not tapping out yeah yeah i'm just like you go ahead because

well shout out to lauren honickman i bet you this thing stinks to the high heavens and at the time i felt this i think it stinks because no severance meanwhile i can go on my tv upstairs right now and tune in chch they're still doing the news from CHCH. Brand new location now. They just opened up like last week. But no severance because you declared bankruptcy and then started a new numbered company that did the same thing. They're not the first, right?

I mean. They should have been the last. There are companies who've been able to use the system and use it to their benefit, right? So maybe blame the system. They did what they had the right to do but i mean you're in a point where you know you want a job so whatever you right have to do you so what did you do did you accept the new job except well i stuck it out there for not very

long and then actually a door was reopened at the racetrack and um actually went there and was warned about oh you sure you want to go back there? You never know. And I went back there and then the government took the money away from the slots program. So I was back at CH. So it was kind of like a ping pong. So this has not been, you know, all flowers and berries. It's, you know,

it's had its trials and tribulations. But, you know, for me, that just, you know, makes it that much sweeter when you persevere. Jason, you did something right because here you are now on Toronto Mic'd. Okay.

There you go. I have made it, damn it. It only took, what episode is it? 1,085? 1,036, I think. 1,036, all right. And remember, it's not your first appearance. That's right.

We can hear some Jason on the Donovan Bailey episode, 1,002. Yes, yeah. So the CH, by the way, so how much, you don't, I mean, you could give numbers, statute of limitations. You could give numbers. It's up to you.

But let's pretend if you were making, I'm making up numbers now, okay? If you were making $75,000 a year working at CHCH and then they fire you and say, oh, here's a job offer to do the same shit for the new numbered company. What would that salary have been related to the 75? That's a good question because back then we had time sheets so i don't know if we even got paid like a certain salary but it would be i don't think to be honest though i don't remember being significantly different if the number you said was 75 yeah the new number would be 70 65 i don't remember being and again you're asking a guy who doesn't remember

airdale so i mean i know that was a little further back because that was like early 90s but anyways for me yeah i don't know i do not remember the number being that far off and it wasn't like you're taking a a thirty thousand dollar pay cut okay so that's what i remembered that it was more a case of do you want a job it less, but it wasn't grossly, I'm sure the Peter, it wasn't ridiculously less. Right, exactly. But it was less. And you took it because you had nothing

because there was no severance, right? So it's not like you're choosing between severance and your job, right? You're choosing between nothing and the job and you could always look for other work while you're doing the job for less money. So you took a bird in the hand. Right, you're always more attractive when you're working than when you're not.

Right. And some people like Hebsey didn't get this opportunity. They were just told, get out of here. Yeah. Well, you know what? And pay, unfortunately, you know what? Sometimes making big money is not a good thing. I'm sure Hebsey made a lot more than I did. And a lot of the other people, Matt Hayes and Weather, a few other people, they're making significant. Dixon?

He was there, right? Dixon was there, but I think he survived. He was not one of the ones that go, and now obviously he's CP24. And Bubba's there still. Bubba's still there. Do you know how Bubba's doing?

Because he had a health... Yeah, he went through some COVID stuff, and Bubba's doing well, which is great. I mean, you know, community guy stuff and Bubba's doing well, which is great. I mean, you know, community guy, man. What he has done for Hamilton over the years. Man, oh man. But just Bubba the person. You don't like Bubba O'Neill and something's wrong with you.

You don't like him. Great guy. Great guy. Sort of like you. I don't know. I actually don't know anyone who has a bad word to say about George Orwell. Oh, you haven't dug deep enough. Who should I talk to? I don't know. Give me that list. There are a George Floyd. Oh, you haven't dug deep enough. Who should I talk to?

I don't know. Give me that list. There are a few out there, let me tell you. Not everybody is a fan. I could tell you some of the comments I heard back in the day. I didn't know they bought people on TV. Oh, you're talking about racism. That's different.

I can find a bunch of redneck racists who are going to say shit about you. But I mean, of us sensible people. The best one, by the way, I used to have this one guy, he would criticize me because I would cross-reference sports. Like I said to you with Jeff Healy, the block and the paint. You know, I said,

goalie made a good save, I'd say so-and-so with the block and the paint, which is obviously a basketball term. But this guy at Role Playing... He didn't like you mixing that. No. That's probably rooted in racism too. He's just like,

oh, this idiot keeps their, you know, keeps cross-referencing sports and blah, blah and what is being done now today by almost every broadcaster no that was racist i could tell you now this is somebody who doesn't like a black man uh putting a basketball reference into a hockey i would do it you know whatever it wasn't just yeah it wasn't did bub i mean bub was a proud black man himself. He must have experienced the racism. Oh, I'm sure he has. I'm sure he has. And you know what?

If I were to have let those comments get to me, then the people that were saying it would be exactly, get exactly what they want. So you got to be like Teflon. If you're going to be in any industry where you are in the public eye, you just got to let certain things slide. Now I recall my conversation with Bubba. He talked about John Saunders giving him advice and something to the effect of

you have to work 10 times harder than the white guy. You know what? I don't want to name names, but I was in a position one time at Sportsnet and was told I'm looking for somebody, you know, to host this show who is six foot tall, blonde hair, blue eyes, and I do not fit any.

That's illegal. Yeah, a little bit, a little bit. So, you know. And this is not that far back because it's 2000s. You were there from 2002 to 2010. That's super, because, you know, we heard, you know. So it wasn't phrased exactly like that, but I'm giving you, you know.

No, but that's code for we want a white guy. Well, exactly. This is what we're looking for. And those of you who know me, I am nowhere near six feet. And my hair is not blonde and I do not have blue eyes. So, okay, that's code. This is code. We want a white guy.

So now some will say, well, you know, times have changed. And now all of these different companies are talking about inclusion and diversity and whatever else. But I will also flip it the other way. I don't want somebody to hire me because I'm black. I want you to hire me because you think I'm good. It's a bonus that I'm ethnic. But if somebody said to me, I'm going to give you a job because you're black, you know what? I don't want it.

And that is the honest to God truth. So a lot of your career, particularly of late, has been around the horses. Yes. So we're going to get into this. But have you ever experienced racism talking horses? Oh, for sure. I mean, anytime you're putting yourself in the spotlight, like I said, you're going to get people

who are going to say negative things. Some are race related, some are just racing related. But for the most part, I will say this, because of what I do, a lot of people give me a certain level of respect that didn't before when they thought I was just a groom or an exercise rider on the backstretch. So a lot of people think I went right from being, you know, in the community on the backstretch to being on TV, but they don't realize the steps I took. Okay, so tell me, because this is this whole backstretch thing, like, like, not all of us talk horse.

Not all of us produce great podcasts, like, down the stretch with Peter Gross. So, what are you talking about? Like, tell me about this, like, horse racing aspect of your career. So, I've been around horses since I was, like, five. Wow. So, my uncle used to own harness horses. My dad used to have harness horses. My uncle still has, you know, a couple here and there.

But, oh, yeah. I've been in racing for a long time. My first job in racing, I was probably about 14. Okay. So it's been, I've covered the game from all angles, whether it be working with the horses, on TV, talking about the horses. There's just been so much that I've done. And, you know, when working back there,

I'm not sure if they still have these programs, but they had a working program for people coming up from the Caribbean, whether it be Trinidad or Barbados, Jamaica. And a lot of them would come up to work with the horses and then go back home at the end of the season. But quite often, you know, I would be working and I was referred to as the help. And that was kind of like, it doesn't sit well with me. It's that subservient thing, you know? And it's like, I have a name. I'm not saying I'm on your level because yes, I'm working for you,

but I've had jobs where I'm working for someone and still felt equal. No, the help is dog whistle racism. Right. You know what I mean? So yeah, that didn't sit well. But I mean, that's the mentality of a lot of people, right? I mean, that's just the way it is. And there's so much stuff that has happened in the

past in terms of racism that uh yeah i don't know how people dealt with it but um yeah it's tough okay so when do you do talk and horses on ctv what part of your career is this so that would have been is that after chch oh yeah yeah that that was after CHCH basically when I was kind of getting back into woodbine that was a Joe Tilly special coming up yeah and Joe I don't want to mention a rival podcast

but obviously Joe does Joe is an FOTM you can talk about it all you want great Canadian I forget the name of his podcast been on there many times but yeah of course Joe Lance Brown,

Sunil Joshi, grew up watching those guys on CTV. So that was a lot of fun. Jennifer Morrison was also part of that show. And Joe's daughter, Maddie Jo, was also a part of that program. For sure. Yeah, we had fun. And you know what?

Anytime someone has anything to help support racing, I'm for it. Because racing doesn't get that same push like a basketball, football, baseball, hockey, whatever. So when you're doing talking horses on CTV, that puts you in the Bell Media family, right? Are we Bell or Bell Media at this point, right? Yeah, Bell Media. Okay. So is that how you become like the track side reporter for horse racing on TSN? No.

So those were two separate things. So basically that was me working for Woodbine. And it just so happens that TSN would be the supporting, you know, network. Because we've been, I've done Bet Night Live on the score back in the day, John Levy's station. Sportsnet, obviously, was how I got to Sports that from doing the racing and then uh yeah tsn is the most recent one across the street from us right now i know you know where i'm going here yeah right now right now is he okay now probably plugging in his tesla as we speak right now roman dyken okay father of fotm laura dyken last so i do enjoy a big horse race like watching the tv and me and the whole family we each pick a horse and you know no real money but we all you know we pick a horse i know my uh my daughter picked a mighty heart oh that's awesome

and she loved that horse she's in and of and of course that Mighty Heart won. Shout out to Jennifer Morrison, who wrote a book about a Mighty Heart. We like to promote that book. A great horse racing story in this country. But so when we're watching the Queen's Plate or whatever, we'll see FOTM Laura Dyken and you like, so what is that gig? Is that,

is that, is that you're just the, you're the co-host of these large Canadian horse racing events that air on TSN. Yes, we have a weekly show as well, Racing Night Live. Tell me everything. Not sure when that's coming back. Hopefully next month in May. And it's you and Laura.

Laura and I are the co-hosts on the set. We've got roving reporter Chad Rosema out at Woodbine Mohawk Park. We've got Brodie Lawson part of the show. And Emily Agard was part of the show, but now she is at Sportsnet, so I'd be very surprised if she's back this year. Just a little bit of a conflict of interest, but yeah. So, anyways. Only Maddie Devlin can play both sides.

Yeah, well, again, that's a little bit different with them. It's like a Paul Jones. He gets to broadcast on the Fan 590 or TSN. And Leo did it forever until Sportsnet cut the ties this year. Yeah, so they're in a bit of a different situation. They're just kind of independent contractors and just wherever the work shows up, that's where they are. So anyways, yeah.

So Racing Night Live is a weekly show. And then we have some biggies. The Queen's Plate obviously being the biggest one coming up again in August. We've got the North America Cup in mid-June. So we cover the big events, but we also have a weekly show, and we're just trying to get new people into racing, younger people into racing. Right.

So between Down the Stretch, the podcast, and you and Laura's work on TSN, you're doing a great job. Now, can we take a moment and talk about Laura? Okay, enough about you. We can take like 10 moments if you want. Talk about Laura Dyken. What's it like working with her? What kind of person she is?

She's not active on social media. So I find like, I feel I don't know her that well. Like I feel like people who are active on social media, you have this sense that like you're hearing their thoughts and reading their thoughts

on a fairly regular basis, but she never, like she never tweets or whatever. How's Laura doing? What is it like working with Laura? Newly married. Thatura newly married that happened last year the guy for a long time yes yes same guy yeah same guy okay just checking okay good for you congratulations laura dick yeah and um awesome in a word so much fun you know she as much as you think she's fun seeing her on TV in person, you can, you know, multiply that times a billion.

She is such a cool person and we have a lot of fun doing these shows. And that was one of the reasons why, you know, being at the racetrack through, through those pandemic years was just, you know, that much better because of her presence and she enjoys racing. She's done it for a long time.

So it was a great fit when tsn decided to use her as you know their representative right so and you guys are a good team i mean and again i do have this great vantage point to watch you and donovan bailey every tuesday morning which we'll talk about in a minute but so maybe maybe you're good with everybody like this is the sense i get i feel like so but you you and Laura are very good together. Like there's a great chemistry. Yeah, we do have a lot of fun and it's natural,

right? It's not like, you know, there are some people that, uh, when that red light goes on there, they're perfect together. But as soon as that red light goes off,

they don't necessarily talk. Ah, Gord Martineau and Ann Roszkowski. Really? Yeah. Oh, you got to listen to the, uh,

first Ann Roszkowski episode of Toronto Mic'd. Wow. Great example of when the red light's on, there's one thing, and when that red light goes off, brrrr. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I've been there, done that with certain co-hosts as well, and it's all about acting, right? But that's weird.

We're performing. We are performing, but I can honestly say- You know, you're paid right to to entertain you're not gonna like be pissy with the co-host you don't like right and i can honestly tell you her and i it's genuine genuine genuine good yeah she's good peeps really good peeps and uh one of the reasons why i love doing the show is you know what if you want to get on her not that you need to get on her good side but uh just play her some old Rolling Stones. She has very nostalgic,

warm, fuzzy memories of like the hot rocks stuff, like 64 to 61 Rolling Stones. Like one jam I'd recommend, maybe next time you're with her, just start singing it out loud. Let's spend the night together. Like it just brings back memories.

She might slap me. That's true. I need to rethink all this. Maybe not in the corporate environment. That's true. I need to rethink all this. Maybe not in the corporate environment. That's perfect. Yeah. Let's spend the night together. But that is,

it'll remind her of like being a child in her dad's car and her dad will listen to. Oh, gotcha. Like she gets a nice nostalgic, warm, fuzzy for the old Rolling Stones. That's good to know though, because I quite often before the show,

I'm pumping music. Yeah. On the laptop. Hot rocks. So. You know, hot rocks, right? This double. I'll put that in. That was my introduction to the Stones. Yeah, Hot Rocks. You know Hot Rocks, right? Yeah, I'll put that in.

That was my introduction to the Stones. Usually it's like some type of reggaeton, but okay. Yeah, you probably put it on the... I know, listen to me. I know exactly

what you're doing here. You're putting on some... Well, this is more dancehall, but... Yeah, the reggaeton would be like Daddy Yankee. A little Fonzie. Español.

Nicky Nicky Yam. Oh, yeah, yeah. More of that, but yeah. What about Nuff Man of Dead? Of course. Oh, my gosh. You know what? Reggae Español.

There you go. Sherman and I. Sherman Hamilton. Okay. I want him on Toronto Mic. Are you friendly with Sherman? 100%. Introduce me. Okay. I want him on Toronto Mic. Are you friendly with Sherm? 100%. Introduce me.

Okay. I met him at a boot event thing. But I want you to introduce me to Sherm and I want him on Toronto Mic. You got a pen. I'll give you his number. 416-555. It's Patrick. You got life insurance.

Exactly. Anyways, yeah, him and I are big, big fans of Supercat. That's probably our favorite artist. When I was doing my radio show, Sherm was my best. Oh, on G98.7's probably our favorite artist. When I was doing my radio show, Sherm was my... Oh, on G98.7? G98.7. Tell me about that for a minute here. I know you do have to bust out of here for a meeting, but... That's okay.

You got a few more minutes. Okay. It would have been February 2012, I want to say. When we went on the air for the first time. Station, I want to say Okay When we went on the air For the first time Station I want to say

November of 2011 The station started Anyways Fitzroy Gordon Yes The legend The legend Yes

Oh yeah Reached out Spoke with Wayne Williams Who was the music director At the time And they told me They have a vision

Of doing a sports show And I was like Wow this is awesome Because at the time and they told me of vision of doing a sports show and I was like wow this is awesome because at the time I just left Sportsnet didn't really do any sports because I couldn't but now that I was out of jail that you know this is actually another part of the career we forgot but yeah anyway what part did we wait what is this jail part so Sportsnet said you had you could not work for a competitor yeah so it's uh they pay you to not work for competitors it's a non-compete nope no it's a non-compete lawyer my lawyer would tell you to rip it up if there's no compensation again that there's that three-letter word so yeah i mean i mean i did have some people that were you know kind of telling me to do the same but i just yeah i just whatever

it's only because you know traditionally it's like you can't work for the competition because we're paying you right not work for us. Yeah, no, my contract was up. My contract was up. And, yeah, anyways. Bullshit. Yeah. Anyways, we move on.

But, yeah, so it was G98.7. It, yeah, it was, it was a lot of fun. Ten years. My first show. Yeah. Eric Dickerson I had on. Wow. 2,000 yards.

Talking about setting the bar. Actually, yeah, we had him on the day when I forget who it was, nearly broke his single season mark. And he was actually grocery shopping. I think it was with his daughter. And people were sending him all these texts saying how close the player was getting. Never did get there. So he is still the man.

But, yeah, Sherm was my basketball guy. And, yeah, that was... You're going to hook me up with Sherman Hamilton. What are your thoughts on the changes at that station? So, you know, Fitzroy Gordon passed away, and they sold the station, and then

they took the branding, they basically got the Flo branding. Right, because Flo has now gone in a different direction. Because Flo has Flow has now gone in a different direction. Because Flow has gone in a very, very different direction. So what are your thoughts on all this? What are your thoughts on Toronto Radio with regards to playing music like we're hearing right here? Yeah, there's a need for it.

There is 100% a need for it. Does 98.7, which is now known as the new Flow, if you will, is that doing anything like that? for it. Does 98.7, which is now known as the new flow, if you will, is that doing anything like that or is that basically just playing like K-Dot and... Yeah, no, no.

They're pretty good. Specs, Specs the boss. Shout out to Specs, you know, Mr. Reggae and he's in the drive home slot

plus he's on Sundays as well and he is still very much... Can I promote a guest next week? Sure. On my program? Go for it.

Mastermind. Okay. Mastermind on Toronto Mike next week, since we're in the flow zone. That's digging back. Well, yeah, he was there till pretty recently though. He only got let go when they brought in that American show. They brought in this,

they syndicated the breakfast show out of New York. That's when Blake Carter carter and uh cash cash peter cash were put on afternoons i guess so it wasn't that long it was like right around the time the just before the pandemic i would say just before the pandemic it's only a couple years ago but yeah i know you know there's a need for it in this city um and it was a great great you know foundation put into place by fitzroy and yeah, we're all thankful because without him, none of this is possible. So it took a lot of years and World Beat Sports

with Jason Portwondo had a good, basically 10 year run on that network. 98.7. Yeah, so that was a lot of fun. G98.7. Yeah, no, I'm glad we talked about that. Now I'm going to give you a few gifts because you're, you know, this is the second time. What did the family think of the Palma Pasta lasagna you brought home after your episode 1002?

Molto bene. Oh, it's phenomenal. I mean, now here's the thing. I'm married to an Italian that doesn't like cheese. There's a lot of cheese in that lasagna. I know. I know. I know.

She didn't eat it. So she's like, nah, I tried a bit of it in that lasagna. I know. I know. I know. So she didn't eat it. So she's like, nah, I tried a bit of it. Not even mozzarella cheese. Yeah. Because there are some people who don't want the stinky cheese.

I don't like Parmesan. No, I'm the same way. Yeah, because Parmesan smells like puke, man. Yeah, it does.

I'm not a fan myself, but mozzarella, that is a delicious cheese. Yeah. But not for your wife. Not for my wife, So what about you? What did you think of your lasagna?

Oh, I loved it. I loved it because I don't get it. I mean, she makes a lot of authentic Italian dishes, but that's not one of them. She's just not into lasagna. Well, it's tough to make lasagna. That's why you got to buy your lasagna. People who want a good authentic lasagna. Where can I get one?

Palma Pasta. Okay, I'm going to check that out. You know what? You're a Mississauga guy. Yes, I am. There Palma Pasta. Okay, I'm going to check that out. You know what? You're a Mississauga guy. Yes, I am. There's three locations in Mississauga and there's one in Oakville. So this is West End stuff.

Go to palmapasta.com to get the info. We're going to have an event. We had an event with Wilner and Gross and all these guys we talked about. Perry Lefkoe. He's a guy. He's another one. Oh yeah, we used to go to the gym together.

We had an event in December 2019 at Palma's Kitchen, TMLX5. You're going to have to come to the one this coming December. Yep. If the rules let us do it again. Okay, so Great Lakes Brewery is a local craft brewery, family-run brewery. Delicious, fresh craft beer.

I got some Great Lakes for you as well, buddy. Nice. I appreciate it. Anything you have, I will gladly accept. Well, here, I got a couple more things. Oh, from ridley funeral home so not only do i have a suggestion you subscribe to uh life's undertaking with brad jones which is a great new uh tmds production with the funeral director of ridley funeral home but i have a measuring tape no joke man you can it's handy to have a measuring tape with you at all times. There's a lot of times

around the house you're trying to just get the size. You know what Decisive said? He said he's going to use it to measure corpses, I think is what Decisive told me.

But you can use this for measuring anything. I won't ask what you're measuring. All right. But thank you, Ridley Funeral Home. There's a Toronto Mike sticker from stickeru.com.

That's where you get all your stickers. And brother, I'm curious. Do you imbibe? Do you partake in the consumption of cannabis? Some would say yes, looking at my broadcast and hearing them.

No, I can't say that I do. Well, Canna Cabana was created by... Mark Wiseblood from 1236 is going to start because he wants to support Canna Cabana. So Canna Cabana was created by and for people who love weed, love to smoke it, buy it, chat about it, and share it with their friends. Sign up for the Cabana Club at cannacabana.com

and be first in the know when there's a deal going on. They have absolutely unbeatable prices on cannabis and smoking accessories. So thank you, Canna Cabana. Can we close with a little Donovan Bailey talk? So you mentioned you go way back with Donovan. Yes. How did you end up co-hosting the tremendous podcast running things of

Donovan Bailey? We literally just recorded the 13th episode of this season earlier this morning. And as soon as we wrap here, I'm going to drop that. Then I'm going to drop this. So lots of Jason Portwander to hear, but how did you get that gig?

So originally he had asked about a year or so ago if I was interested in doing this with him, but I just couldn't at the time. Having the radio show and busy with my other job and I just didn't have the time for it. But then now, something's meant to be, it's meant to be. Now all of a sudden you know you fast forward a year things didn't work out or i'm not sure what happened with his form yeah i don't know i've been

afraid to ask the question yeah i mean yeah someone else was pressing the buttons it wasn't me but right i'm not going to look at gift horse in the mouth here this is a yes he all but comes back to horses exactly yeah exactly so anyways um he asked me again i said you know what i actually do have a little bit more time and right you know it's a win-win because i get to be with a brother a friend that you know we've been together for so many years and now the chance to work on a more constant basis because he was also a guy that i leaned on quite a bit in terms of track analysis when i was on the radio i bet and um he was good to me that way, so I'm just kind of returning the favor. The way I think of it as

a win-win, because now that I'm at Woodbine, it's strictly horse racing, but this podcast gives me a chance to talk other sports. You can talk hoops, and you can talk track, and you can talk football. Maple Leafs. Maple Leafs, sure. I know Donovan loves talking Leafs. News, lifestyle, entertainment. Yeah, well, Leafs.

If they don't get past the first round this year, something's wrong. Well, something's wrong. And they can't blame Boston because it's almost impossible for them to meet up with the Bruins. Look, I don't know

if you do sports gambling, but I wouldn't put my shiny loonie on the Leafs to escape the first round. I'll tell you right now. It's got to happen eventually. Does it?

It's 2004 was the last time it happened. Exactly. So the law of averages say it's about damn time. I have a daughter who's about to turn 18. I actually went to the Jays game with her on Sunday, and she wasn't alive for any,

she was not alive for any second round Maple Leaf action. She was literally unborn. I'm not sure, because I think it's a 2-3 matchup in the Atlantic. I know that's the, I miss the good old days. I wish they would just open back up the NHL. 8-1.

8-1, 7-2. Well, not even that. And then reseed. Open it back. Oh, the whole thing. 1-16. Okay, wow. So you could have...

See, I don't mind the two separate... I don't mind that sort of like baseball, but I do think 8 versus 1 to me, yeah, like you fight so hard to get...

Yeah. Yeah, I'm with you. Let's do 8-1 and I like reseeding after the first round and then give top bottom. Well, I remember back in the day when it was 116 you'd have you know like two east teams two west teams whatever right is this is this kind of the oscars music only because i know you gotta shut up and i gotta go hey i appreciate it jason here before the

formal goodbyes let me just tell people you can subscribe to donovan bailey running things wherever you get your podcasts including where you're getting this one right now and i highly recommend it not just because i'm in the room for the recording every tuesday morning and these guys have become you are the host with the most i'm like they mute my mic so unlike hebsey on sports where i'm allowed to speak i'm not allowed to talk on running things which is why it's so damn good right but i will say it's a great show you have great chemistry and I love your takes on things and I love Donovan Bailey's spin on the sporting matters

and lifestyle matters of the day. It's a great show. People should check it out. Again, a new episode drops every Tuesday morning. And Jason, we've become good friends through the last 13 weeks.

We have. And I'm so glad we could get you back for a proper Jason Portwondo deep dive. Like, share, subscribe. Do what you gotta do. But yeah, you're right. And once Donovan came to me And I'm so glad we could get you back for a proper Jason Portwondo deep dive. Like, share, subscribe, do what you got to do. But yeah, you're right. And once Donovan came to me and said, you know, where are we going to do this show?

Who's the man I called? You did call me. The man behind the mic. So much like you and Mike Willner, I have to thank Peter Gross for that. Peter Gross is the foundation for so many careers in broadcasting. You know, he is kind of like the northern dancer of broadcasting. As usual. Not saying he's spreading his seed like that, but you know.

He wishes he could get paid for that. Yeah. Well, thanks, Mike. I appreciate it. Thanks so much. Don't leave without your lasagna. Oh, I won't. Because that cheese is delicious, man.

Thank you, Palma. And that brings us to the end of our 1036th show you can follow me on twitter i'm at toronto mike you're at j porty what j porty 13 13 follow jason on twitter our friends at great lakes brewery are at great lakes beer palma pasta is at palma pasta sticker you is at sticker you ridley funeral home is at ridley fh and canna cabana are CanadaCabana underscore. See you all next week. For me and you But I'm a much better man For having known you

Oh, you know that's true Because everything is coming up Rosy and gray Yeah, the wind is cold But the smell of snow Won't speed a day And your smile is fine And it's just like mine

And it won't go away Cause everything is Rosie and Gray Well, I've been told That there's a sucker born Every day But I wonder who Well, I've been told that there's a sucker born every day But I wonder who, yeah, I wonder who Maybe the one who doesn't realize there's a thousand shades of grey

Cause I know that's true, yes I do I know it's true, yeah, I know it's true, yes I do I know it's true, yeah I know it's true How about you? All that picking up trash and then putting down ropes And they're brokerage stocks, the class struggle explodes And I'll play this guitar just the best that I can And I'll play this guitar just the best that I can Maybe I'm not and maybe I am But who gives a damn

Because everything is coming up Rosy and gray Yeah, the wind is cold But the smell of snow warms me today And your smile is fine and it's just like mine and it won't go away because everything is rosy and gray well i've kissed you in france and i've kissed you in spain and i've kissed you in places I better not name

And I've seen the sun go down on Chaclacour But I like it much better going down on you Yeah, you know that's true Because everything is coming up Rosy and gray. Yeah, the wind is cold, but the smell of snow warms us today. And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Because everything is rosy now.

Everything is rosy, yeah. Everything is rosy now, everything is rosy and everything is rosy and gray.