Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Mike Richards Returns: Toronto Mike'd #460

Episode Date: May 2, 2019

Mike catches up with Mike Richards who has plenty to say and announcements to make.

Welcome to episode 460 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Propertyinthe6.com, Alma Pasta, Fast Time Watch and Jewelry Repair, and StickerU.com. Repair and StickerU.com. I'm Mike from TorontoMike.com and joining me is Saga960, morning show host and podcaster. We'll get to all that. Mike Richards. Yeah, I don't know about the podcasting part.

I don't know how. I mean, not that we don't know about the podcasting part. I don't know how. I mean, not that we don't have a podcast from the show. And we say News Talk, Saga 960. News Talk, not Saga. No. But the logo says Saga. Did I dream that? I'm trying to get rid of the.

Okay. Well, we have so much to cover. Mr. Richards. You can lose the Saga. I think of Sega Beach. That's right. Or the band. Oh, yeah, yeah. That's right. Or the band. Oh, yeah, yeah.

Wind him up, he can stop. That band. No, but what was the big saga song? Turn me loose. That was saga, right? Why don't you... No, who's Turn Me Loose? Tell me. Who's that?

See, I can tell by that intro music that you don't know what you're talking about when it comes to that music. That's my music. Don't forget. Loverboy. Loverboy. Lover Boy. Lover Boy. Why don't you turn me loose?

There's a big Saga song, though, that I used to hear. Wind him up, he can't. No, another one. Oh, tonight he's on the loose. See what I did? I got my looses confused. One was Mike Reno.

The other was the Saga guy. But both Canadian bands, right? Yeah, totally. I loved Saga. Saga was one of my favorite bands. What were you playing? When you pulled into my driveway, I could hear it. Seriously? You could hear it inside your house? Yeah, in my house. I have no windows open either. I heard

what were you listening to there? That was a banger. What was that? Tesla. Okay. Edison's Medicine. All I know from Tesla. Okay. Edison's medicine. All I know from Tesla is their cover of... Science. Science, yeah. All of a sudden, I've gone through this whole revival, and like I said, we have never done the jams, but just because mine is so eclectic, so weird,

but generally, you're going to find a lot of hair bands, a lot of hair bands. I want to do the jams. Not today, obviously, but next time. So, okay, let's set the table here before we dive into all the big announcements. And we're going to get all the details on the station formerly known as Saga 960. Now it's News Talk 960.

960, does it matter that 1010's got News Talk? Like you're not worried about like a cease and desist? I didn't even know because they, no stations try to own stuff. Get a load of this one. Yeah. I got a call from a buddy of mine in San Francisco. He said, make sure that when,

when you're doing the traffic, don't say traffic and weather together. Why? That's copyrighted. 680. Is that, they have a copyright on that. You can own how people talk.

I think, isn't that a little big brother kind of George Orwell? Okay, but in their defense, let's say we start a shoe company. We can't say just do it. Like you can own slogans and stuff, right? That is true. See, once again. I'm smarter than you, Mike.

Once again, I've been humiliated on Toronto Mike. That's hilarious. That's why I come on. Okay, let's set the table. Firstly, do you know this is your fourth visit to the Toronto Mike studio? Wow. And every time it's a little different. What do you think of this current configuration?

I really like it. I do like it. Because we can see each other. Yes. And we have a side profile of you. You got the porn camera there, which is good. I'm sure they don't call that. Pornoscope, isn't that what it's called? each other yes and there's a i mean we we have a side profile of you but there's a you know you get the porn camera there which is good i'm sure they don't call that pornoscope isn't that what it's called yes until that app crashes we're all good but you know when that screen goes black it

means we crashed it so but again i'm podcast first but we're gonna video is a whole part of our discussion there's so much to cover but let me just tell the people your first visit was episode 156 uh i'm going to read what i wrote at the time mike chats with tsn radio 10 50 morning show host that puts it in a specific time period of your life mike richards about he chose 10 50 over 590 we also discussed tsn radio ratings going against dean blundell wow he's right every episode is about him holy smokes and his and his battle with rectal cancer that's correct yep and then that was the first time and honestly people need to go to that episode. That was epic.

156, I said. I'm going blind. Okay. And then you came back. In the 219th episode, Mike chats with sports broadcaster Mike Richards about what happened at TSN Radio 1050 and what exactly raw Mike Richards will be.

So that was obviously a podcast was coming. The third time, I like how the descriptions get shorter as we coming. The third time, I like how the descriptions get shorter as we go. The third time was episode 395. It says, Mike Richards makes a big announcement. So you made the announcement you were going to News Talk 960.

That's correct. That's right. I was honored. Yeah. Well, I've saved another big fat one for you for today. Whoa. We got to turn off the camera if you're going to do that, Mike. I can for you for today. Whoa, we got to turn off the camera if you're going to do that, Mike. But I can't wait for that.

I know you're a Saga guy, but you would hate this song, right? I would think this is not your cup of tea at all. No. Okay, so Dale Cadeau, if he's watching, he's in Vancouver or thereabouts? He's a Vancouver guy because, yes, I'm familiar with Dale.

He says, it's going to be tough to top the Jonas Brothers reunion last night, but if anyone can do it, it will be Sir Michael Richards. Are you knighted? Are you a knight? In Ireland, yes. But a lot of guys are knighted in Ireland. They knight in Ireland?

No, they don't. That's an insult. There's no way that an Irish person would want to be part of the Windsor family. Right. But maybe in Belfast they might knight people because that's part of the... They could, but right now it's a little sensitive too. By the way, this song... The owner of Great Lakes Brewery, let's do this off the top, his name is Peter Bullitt.

He came over to kick out the jams. This was one of his jams. I'll just turn it up for a second because they can hear it through those headphones over there. So he kicks this out, and I have no idea what I'm listening to, but the band is called Once. And then I found out just by researching this reference Dale made to the Jonas Brothers reunion last night that this is a Jonas Brothers guy who is singing and heads up this band.

So I had no idea when I kicked this out with Peter Bullitt that I was listening to a Jonas Brothers. And how many hits did he have? That's the song. This is the big one right here. Cake by the Ocean. So we'll bring down That I've noticed Not our cup of tea

Forget this guy Get out of here Jonas Brothers So Dale's just being funny Can you give us an update On your health This is always my first thought When I think of you Because I want you to live

To be a hundred years old How are you doing? Well it's To be honest It's the one thing That I have Ignored And probably shouldn't but i do because it has been it's been a very difficult three years i mean i i you know i can joke all

i want about it but it's been a an oppressive uh very frustrating and at times scary three years in what you have known for the previous 27. And then these three are universally bad on almost every level that in fighting, look, this is going to be sort of like a Robert Kraft thing. It will have a happy ending. It will. But to get to this point, I've ignored maybe being and do my due diligence in number one, trying to get the ostomy bag off. Now, number one, I don't take it lightly because I'm alive. So there's a lot of people, including my sister-in-law, who I lost in this past three years.

I'm sorry. That if I'd had the ability or she to have saved her life with an ostomy bag, that would have been the greatest thing I can think of. I would give up almost anything to have her alive again. So I don't sit there because of the aesthetics of it and say, yeah, they got to get rid of this bag. It's really not that way. But when you wear one and it has changed,

and here's how it's changed over the last time, probably even since I was here. Not to get too graphic, but I generally do. I think people need to know. Yeah, real talk. Let's go. So just sort of to the right of your belly button, that's where they take an intestine and put it through the top of the skin. So that's what pokes through.

Literally looking like a very wide nipple almost is the way you'd put it. Over top of it sits the bag that has an adhesive and a plastic on it with a hole cut in it. So that's what affixes itself to your body and thus the fluid

which it's involuntary. You can't handle. And it's not what people think. It's not poo. It's like, oh my god, you have a bag of poo? They shouldn't say that. That would be rude. But I assumed it had maybe both or something. What it is, because they've stopped it from going through all the intestinal tract,

it literally is like just a digested food. I mean just. So it's like a muffin mix. That's about the consistency of it. So it would have the odor of kind of what you just ate. And the consistency, but the consistency is kind of the same.

It's not chunky. It's not that. And you just can't control it. So it sounds like you're getting it into the bag before it gets diluted. So what you would put in a toilet, like what I would put in a toilet, has been diluted. So what you would put in a toilet, like what I would put in a toilet, has been diluted.

Not diluted would be the opposite. Okay. So it would be more liquidy, right? And as it goes through, it starts to become harder and harder until it's excrement. Then your bowels will push it out at the end. So this is before that stage.

Right. So it doesn't have the poo odor, so to speak. It doesn't. It totally doesn't. Right. Well, other than the annoyance of having to wear this, what's it called again? An ostomy bag. An ostomy.

I'll call it the bag. Yeah, bag. Well, they say, do you have to say bag? Do you have to say bag? It's a pouch. Look, I know what a pouch looks like. And I don't look like that. Because to tell you where it's at, what happens,

and before I started my podcast that first day, that's when I was rushed to the hospital. I had that weird blockage, which I never have, and I haven't had it since, that the bowel itself, I don't know how this works, and this is very gross. It's real. It wraps itself around sort of on the inside of where the intestine so it starts to herniate it's a technically it's a hernia and

so it has gotten so big that it's like having a little mini football on your belly it's it is it's devastating devastating in that, and again, you try not to get too superficial or worry about your own aesthetics, but I've got to tell you, if I'm on camera and the camera's face on, or I'm being interviewed like this, you're kind of fine.

Everything you sort of... I was going to say, I would never know. You look normal. But if I'm walking with somebody or you're in a place where I catch my reflection profile in the window, it's just crushing. Like you,

I can't, I mean, you look at yourself and you're literally unrecognizable as in your mind how you see you. Now, even before that,

I mean, the last time I think I was in really good shape was maybe just before TSN literally took a knee. And that was kind of okay. It wasn't a great shape, but I just started, actually before Dave and I took those pictures that ended up

at the Air Canada Center. Yeah, I was going to say every time I took a leak at the Air Canada Center, I saw your face. Yeah, but the one that was on the boards and the one as you walked in and saw me, because I use those pictures a lot, I do like them. The next day I'm told I have cancer. That literally, and I mean the next day, I'm told I have cancer. It's so surreal. It's so weird. Okay. So let me ask some follow-up questions.

Is it primarily an annoyance slash vanity thing? Because how you feel other than the fact you don't like how it looks or maybe you don't like the fact it's annoying, I would guess. Like, is it annoying to sleep with that?

Well, see, this is what happens is, and sort of plays into this story of the last couple, last two years,

I would say. Right. Because subconsciously you are afraid of what would happen in the night. You know, do you roll over?

Like, does something happen? Right. And over, in the first year, stuff like that would happen in the night. You know, do you roll over? Like, does something happen? Right. And over in the first year, stuff like that would happen. So I sleep very, very shallow. So my sleeping is, and I've always been a great sleeper. Now I'm not. So in the last two years, I thought,

I wonder if there's something that will allow me to sleep longer. So I'll stop, you know, of all these terrible things that I'm thinking about in my life. Right. But on top of the bag, maybe there's something. So I started taking So I'll stop, you know, of all these terrible things that I'm thinking about in my life. Right. But on top of the bag, maybe there's something. So I started taking what the equivalent of,

you know, you've seen sleepies. Sure. Now I was a terrible student because I just did not try. Right. Biology, disaster. And so I went up and I said, you know,

when I put all these things across the table, I go and she goes, no, you're right. I didn't ask the question yet because I had Benadryl, sleepies, Unison, blah, blah, blah. And she goes goes no you're right I didn't ask a question yet because I had Benadryl Sleepies, Unison, blah blah blah she goes if you're asking if they're all the same

they're all the same I go Benadryl is the same as a Sleep Aid she goes yep it's just an antihistamine that's what you're taking so you're taking Sleep Aids essentially so I have for two years up until Saturday and I'd had enough.

Okay. I was feeling really drowsy all the time, including the very long drive I have to the radio station in the morning. And I'm not someone who gets in the scales, especially now, because I'm not working out. I'm doing anything. Right. And I'm up 15 pounds. And I'm like, 15 pounds? And I said, and for me, I go, well, I quit something.

I quit something. I said, that's it. I haven't taken it since, and I'll never probably take it again. And I'm done with it. How has your sleep been since you quit on Saturday taking these sleep aids? It's not bad. It's not, like, sometimes before the alarm goes off, which is now before 4 o'clock in the morning, back to those days,

I've been kind of awake. But today, for the first day, I actually went up when the alarm went off. And that's probably a good sign. That's a great sign. Now, how friendly are you with Bob McElwitz Jr.? You know, I haven't seen him in a long time. I'm very good. I'm curious.

Okay. Because I know he was at TSN, as you were, but I only bring that up because if you ever want to have a good discussion with somebody who can tell you how important sleep is to your mental health, it's Mako. And he had something different that was basically disturbing his sleep. Sleep apnea? I don't want to...

Sleep apnea, yeah. But he'll tell you how it fucks you up when you don't get the right amount of sleep for an extended period of time so um i want to hear more about the last three years and then build up to the uh where you are now and ask a bunch of questions but um i guess before we leave the health up i'm trying to segue of the health update to the food and stuff it's not working but i want to ask you maybe i know i was gonna say we did palate cleanser but um in it how do you feel like uh physically like when you're like like fine there's no there's

no discomfort there's no um and and uh like i said aside from the sluggishness because of what that was and some of the sleep issues right but beyond that what i'm hoping is now they can literally unwrap that gross bow and put it back to what is your level current waistline. What I wanted and still do is for them to put a stent in the colon that wall because it's closed down. It's what they call a stricture. And so I want it to go back open again like they do with a heart. Put a stent in there. And they can. And so I want it to go back open again, like they do with a heart.

Put a stent in there, and they can. And then eventually, you know, hook me back together so I have an exit on the end and get rid of the bag. That's the goal. It's called a reversal. Why haven't they done that yet? Because you have to stay on top of them to do it. Now, this is not my surgeon. This is not a surgeon. That's not his job.

It's a therapeutic whatever you call those people. So it has to do with the colorectal area and them figuring out these kinds of things. There's a great guy at St. Mike's who for some reason I've had difficulty because he said, this will work. And then I never saw him again. I couldn't get a hold of him.

So I'm going down to see the legendary Dr. G who's played tennis with the guy probably for 35 years. Okay. And get Dr. Cortan, your little buddy there, let's go for drinks, whatever we got to do, and say what you said to me like four years ago, and let's do this. But I ignored it because of my business life

trying to get here. So you mentioned everything kind of went south in the last three years. So we got the health update. Professionally, and I mean, take us back, so maybe give us the hit list of the shit that went down in the past

three years professionally. Well, the last time you heard, the last time we caught up with Mike Richards, that's when I had decided that I was going to go to Saga 960. And so I agreed to go there, I guess is the way to put it. Right.

Now, there's been a lot of stuff publicly by certain people. They've made statements. They've put things on the internet. And some of it is accurate. I'm not here to tell them that they said things that were false because they weren't. But my story is a little bit different than theirs. I need to now step in and be more specific here. So I've seen

tweets from Mike Bullard, for example. And Mike Bullard, who I guess for a short period of time was the afternoon drive guy at 960. He's the one who told those people to phone me. That's why I'm involved is because of Mike. Because of Bullard?

Yes. Okay. So Mike Bullard, I have heard him say, and I've seen tweets where he basically says that it's a joke. I think his word is he calls it a joke and they didn't pay anybody. And that's why Mike Bullard is no longer there. Yes. So how are you different?

Okay. Do they pay you anything? Okay. So here's, you know, when I saw how it was when I first walked through those doors, I was horrified. This was the worst thing I'd ever seen.

I thought, what of all the mistakes I've made? Do I really need to look at this? It's crazy time. It can't be worse than this studio. It's worse than the studio. This is the Taj Mahal compared to what that was. See how we're talking and hearing ourselves? Yeah.

How we hear that music? They didn't understand that. What it was, and still, at that that point i didn't know who owned what i didn't know who in station i didn't know if there was a station i didn't know who was running it i didn't know who owned it so the same person own it own the license well if it's elliot kerr uh how does he not and so i had to decipher what this freak show was and And so Mike Bullard goes on almost immediately and he's made a deal with those who are running the station at that time.

I go in there and I'm like, I'm not doing this. I can't do this. Not that I'm not going to come here, but I cannot abide by what you're telling me is correct because you guys, I don't think you understand what is entailed and not just running a radio station, but a talk radio station. Right.

So how are these people coming here? Because they're not going to make any money. Only the clinically insane are going to put $1 into this freak show. Right. And so they're trying their best. into this freak show. Right. And so they're trying their best,

and so I looked at it, and I thought, okay, before I go on, can I at least see, because they said they were going to build the studio in Port Credit. It's going to be brand new. Okay, wait.

So this first, this freak show environment, where is that place? It's in Port Credit. So that's the studio. It's in a basement, like a church basement, but a really bad church,

a church that no one wants to go to. But do the mics? If Jim Jones was going to run a radio station, this is what it would look like. That's funny. Jonestown, that's funny. Do the mics look like, I mean, these are Rode Procasters, and I think they're like $330 each,

where they were at least this quality. The first ones that I saw, like I didn't even get close enough, I said, I can't come down here. And Mike Bullard is on already. Yeah, he went on early. And Mike's being tortured every day. Like he's texting, calling me, goes, buddy, like when are you coming on? Are you bailing?

But does the check clear? Like did he, I don't know how it was set up, but automatic deposit. Like did he see money going in his bank account? Well, I don't know ever what his, because mine is completely different from everybody else's. Right, which, yes, it's regained. I will. So, so, I'm, it is not, to say it was

a volunteer radio station, or that it is, to a degree, isn't, like, maybe for the other people it is. Maybe that's what they do. Because they're not professionals. They, they have this love for radio. And they're coming on, and they're doing these weird little radio shows that sound different. Each guy that comes on.

But is it possible that they're actually paying money for that time? Like you hear on like 640 on the weekend. No, they weren't. No, this was not a revenue share thing. But that's where I wanted to go. Okay. Kind of, except I wasn't paying anybody. Right.

So I looked at, and Mike every day was just getting beaten down by terrible equipment, terrible arrangement. And I, what can I do? I wasn't going to be a part of that. And when I joined in, it had to be a certain way. Because it would be bad for your brand because you're not some hack like me. You're a professional broadcaster with a legacy of success. Here's how bad it got.

As it got closer, I make a deal that's not a deal that anyone else has. And it's with the family that runs this 960 frequency called the Panu family. And I meet them. They are a Sikh family. They're originally from Punjab. They're Punjabi. And the father, Ravinderinder is a bonafide genius. If you saw someone with a turban in the eighties that didn't exist really

anywhere in Canada, certainly in Toronto, the first guy with the turban you would have seen is Ravinder Panu. Okay. That would have been the first person any of us ever would have seen is Ravinder Panu. He comes over in like 1984 or 5 6 and there's somewhere and starts up his own kind of broadcast world he continues from that time he's

a brilliant he's literally a genius he can write code he he creates basically is he a sound engineer? Not that though. Not that. You know what he is? He kind of is the, except way nicer, he would be the equivalent of the Moses Nimer of Southeast Asian broadcasting. Gotcha. No, I can map that. He's a god. He's a god in all that. So when you go to, whether it's Rogers

or whether it's Bell, and you look at those stations that go up and all of a sudden you don't understand the languages, and it's like a or whether it's it's bell and you look at those stations to go up and all of a sudden you don't understand the languages right and it's like a boon jump that's him that is so he has his own tv stations he builds his own radios you know like willie wonka it's called the panu radio all over the world he has computer programs he's got satellites he has created this whole entire thing but he knows zero about what he would call English broadcasting. Okay.

English, that's what he's going to call it. Can I ask you, are standards different for Punjabi broadcasting versus English broadcasting? I would say yes. I would say they, because they're not used to dealing with, you know, they, for the most part, a lot of it has to do with prayers. A lot of it is religious programming that people who are so close to it over in their homeland just didn't get here. So you had programs, look, I don't know what the words are,

but it's a lot of, I'm like, is that a song? No, it's a prayer. Can they tone it down a little bit? Like, I mean, they have all this program. We see a lot of holy people, and that's what it was. So when you have only that, you're not really worried about, does the bass coming through?

Do I have the limiter on correct so I'm not over-modulating? There was none of that. Probably because there's no competition, right? Zero. Yeah, like when you're doing English broadcasting, people have a plethora of options on their radio dials. So there's an incentive to sound professional. Otherwise, people will turn the channel.

But if you're looking for Punjabi programming and you're the only game in town, you can get away with substandard broadcast quality. Well, they always work, and because it was television, he knows that infinitely. Like he, he understands that, like even the angles,

the, that kind of sound, the lavalier mics they would have no problem, but they really didn't do this. They didn't do this. And so in trying to get an understanding of where they have to go. So here's the easiest way to put my perspective. Cause this is through my eyes,

right? This is how I approached it. Right. It is no different than you watch one of those DIY shows where people go in, they're going to knock down the house, or they're going to take the old bones of the house, and they're going to rebuild it. Right. This is how I see this situation.

right this is how i see this situation and i look do they have the bones of what i need to get this place where i think i needed to go and at one point i think the answer was no and i realized that i've made probably a very big mistake and i'm getting every night uh or at least on a regular basis you know mike bullard Bullard asking, can you help this? Are you hearing this? And so I'm trying to kind of attempt different things to fix it, and I'm getting nowhere. Because you recognize, as somebody who's worked in a professional place, you recognize that it's Mickey Mouse.

It's worse than Mickey Mouse. It's an insult to Mickey Mouse. It's worse than Mickey Mouse. It's an insult to Mickey Mouse. It's worse than Toronto Mike. This doesn't sound good. The content suffers, and it's going to be bad on you to be on this station. You need,

so Bullard and you who come from actual mainstream media of higher standards, excuse me, you're trying to fix this because it's either you fix it or you flee, I would guess. Well, and here's how bad bad it gets and this is as honest as I can be

when I realize that I'm having such difficulty in trying to get them to be even a remotely respectable level of broadcast and I think that it's I can't and there's pressure everywhere there's pressure in my household

I haven't had a salary in two years, so this is going on year number three with no salary. You have Dave Bastl, who obviously works on the weekends on the fan and does a lot of stuff freelance for Sportsnet, but it's by no means a regular salary. And he's got two little girls, two little ones that I love. So I feel this enormous pressure to get everything done, and I can't, and I'm failing. I'm failing.

So in December, parts of November, December, I'm failing. I'm doing a bad job. I think I'm doing a bad job. So for the first time in my life, in my life, and I've never, certainly I've never, this certainly, I've never said this publicly. I start drinking. I start drinking.

Wait, December 2018? Yes. Okay. So I'm a good time, Charlie. And I'm, I'm really, I'm really good at this. I mean, I'm, I, as everyone knows, uh, you know, I probably have a pretty high tolerance, but I only drink, only drink when i'm happy that is even when i you know cancerous or anything whatever horrible things that were

happening to me stalking when i was getting stalked um this is all happening basically at the same time i i so i don't drink so basically that's what happens you don't you are drink very little right because i have nothing to, nothing to be happy about. It's not very social, but in this period of time, I'm drinking every night and I'm starting probably three, four o'clock in the afternoon. And my wife is coming home and she goes,

you're slurring. Why are you slurring? And she didn't realize probably how bad it was on the other side. Cause I don't want to tell her. I don't want to show her. And so you have Mike, who's trying to Mike Boulder, trying to make sense of this thing. A bunch of other people who I don't know and tell her. I don't want to show her. And so you have Mike who's trying to, Mike Bowler trying to make sense of this thing, a bunch of other people who I don't know,

and other people who are just, quite frankly, over their heads. The pressure is so bad as we approach January the 7th that the pressure starts to infiltrate my relationship with David Bastl for the first time ever in our life. And I'm falling apart. I'm falling apart. And a guy who's like my brother, there's, it's not a rift, but it's, it's damn close. And it's a, it's a thing that I'm embarrassed about because I don't have those kinds of relationships. I don't rarely fall from someone who's like a brother to me.

And it's happening. And it's completely happening. And it's going right up to that last day. So 48 hours before we're on the air, I go to this supposedly new studio. And I see. The Port Credit one. In Port Credit, right on Lakeshore. And I see just how poorly it's been put together.

So I don't have an op either. I thought some of the guys who helped me from Ryerson that did the Ron Mike Richards, that I could get them to come in and produce the show. Well, they have school. They're like, sorry, Mike, we can't. So Roast Beef, Little Russell, all those guys, they can't go to school. What am I supposed to do? Right.

So someone says, there's a girl that's been here since September. Do you want to meet her? Well, what option do I have? And I'm like, okay. Cause you're about to go in the street and see if there's any homeless guys hanging around. Like I don't know what I was going to do. You almost had to call in Toronto,

Mike. That's how desperate it got. You, you, you joke. You have no idea how close that was for a lot of things for a lot of things. And so I meet this girl,

and way younger than anyone who's ever worked with us. And this lovely girl, like I mean really super nice, very attractive girl, but also a sports fan. She's no joke. She knows what she's talking about. And she's writing things down,

which is freaking me out. And I'm like, can she even? So we go in on a friday night so monday january the 7th or tuesday whatever it was this is gonna be our first day i go into the studio i'm there for four hours in there and uh i see the board which by the way was so old i'm pretty sure that when hiroshima got bombed i could see we're melting there was a slight melting of some of the pots this is an old board right that wasn't even a radio board it was like a pa board it was and so i finally i'm there 11 o'clock at night i said we're gonna go to air i've got my theme music. I've got bits. I've got a bed that we're going to use, all this kind of stuff. And so here I am. I'm like, okay,

please God, don't make this as bad as say even Mike Bullard had put this out to be. And so I'm staring at this lovely girl and she's staring at me and there's no sound in my headphones and she's staring at me. I'm staring at her. Now I'm a radio guy. I can't talk because I don't know if the mic's on or not. I don't know if I'm on the air. I can't tell. But is this the Friday and you're going live on the Tuesday? Yes.

Yes, okay. Gotcha. It's probably Monday. I think Monday's a statutory holiday because of New Year's Day. I think it's a Tuesday. So it's a Tuesday. And this is the only time I got to get in this place. And she's staring at me and I'm staring at her. I'm like, now I have to go on a Tuesday. So I have, and this is the only time I got to get in this place and she's staring at me and I'm staring at her.

I'm like, I can't, and I have to, now I have to go on the, on a microphone. Like no one's listening to the place anyways, even if it's 11 o'clock, it wouldn't matter if it was like 9am.

No one's listening. And I go, I can't hear anything. They have no talk back. She's in another room. She can't talk to me. Oh my God. Yeah.

So now it's Marlee Matlin time. And I have no idea, no idea. And so I go walk and go, I can't talk to me. Oh my God. Yeah. So now it's Marlee Matlin time. And I have no idea. No idea. And so I go walk and go, she's like, why aren't you talking? Well, where's the theme music? Well, I was playing it. Oh, you just, you can't hear it in the headphones. She goes, you don't hear the music.

How would I read traffic? How would I throw to a bit? How would I? Well, none of the other guys complain. See, now I'm getting secondhand anxiety for something that happened months ago. It just, because you're going live. This is your, you already announced,

you came here to announce you were going there. This is Saturday. You know what? This is the Saturday. This is the Saturday night. Gotcha. And so now nothing. Wow.

So did you consider postponing? Like, did you consider? I kept postponing because they kept promising a brand new studio, and it kept coming, and I'm going, do you realize how over-modulated your mics are? I said, dude. So when I get in there and I'm trying to show them what a clock is, I'm trying to tell them about a clock, but I can't even hear myself.

So they come up with this concoction where it comes out one ear. Which is better than nothing. But I've got to tell you, one year in this frozen studio, because this is when the big freeze comes in there. And I have no idea what's going to happen. And so I talked to a friend and I

am realizing that this is the end. The career that starts to build goes up to Calgary and then, you know, TSA. Right, because you had a great success in Calgary. Just to bring us back, give some context. And was it 590 and 1050 you had a choice to make? Yes, correct.

And you chose the, was it like a five-year deal at 1050? It was only a three. Three-year deal at 1050. But the big mistake. Yeah. The big mistake was re-signing again for another three years. Gotcha. Because at that point, the moment after I did that, literally a month later, they lose

hockey for 12 years. Right. And that's when they bail on the station. And that's why it's a piece of shit like it is now. Because no one cares. Nobody cares. They are an unwanted stepchild. So to a degree, those that have been put in charge of it they they have a property that i'm

sure they wish would just go away they can say otherwise but i know it's true so you're saying 1050 exists strictly for like a tsn branding purpose like because i suppose but i mean you'd like to i mean look the only thing they did right and they did right from the very beginning was uh odog and noodles and brian right like i always thought like when they were when they did right and they did right from the very beginning was uh oh dog and noodles and brian right like i always thought like when they were when they did the uh the middays that it's a so at least lunch that so you have dave myself in the morning if you want to make it more of a journalistic show then you take dave who by the way wasn't doing terrible himself not not what people thought like if bob had at the time like a nine share or whatever but Dave was like pushing a three.

He has better numbers then than probably Overdrive does now. Gotcha. Right? And people are like, what are you talking about? Dave's numbers, up inside Overdrive in the last book I think made it over a three. I think they did. But Dave was always hanging around that number. Wow. Okay. So way

better than, and he was never given credit for that show because everyone said, well, he'll never beat Bob. He would now. They'd stay. If they had kept that, well, I'd be, for number one,

my numbers were bigger than what the fan has now. So I'd be winning. Okay, slow down, slow down. When you say numbers are bigger than the fan has now, Yes. you're talking about a very specific demographic, right? 25-54. Just be very crystal clear 2554 males

okay would the fan agree with you on this like i'm just uh i'm not yes yeah well the numbers don't lie okay and so when i don't lie but you can i've i've learned from these years of people you can spin and massage numbers put it this way when i leave leave in June of 2015 for my cancer operation, my numbers had slid. So I'm down to like a two, I don't know, but that's when I was on radiation and chemo every day. And I held it a secret. But I think we'd gone down, Dave and I, to about a 2.2, something like that, which is the lowest number we'd had in quite some time. down Dave and I to about a 2.2, something like that, which is the lowest number we'd had in quite some time. And Dean Blundell's on the other side and he was probably hanging around a six, which they normally did. That's kind of the default line. Okay.

But Dean was a six. Dean's show was a six. When I go in the beginning of it, so June, June 4th was my operation. The Blue Jays go on their historical tear. Right. And on the air for us, I have no idea. It's a mishmash of people, but they're not the morning show.

They're just not. And the reason the Blue Jay, just to dumb that down for people, the reason that's important is because people are tuning in the Blue Jay game in evenings. They're putting on 590 to hear Jerry Howarth call a Blue Jay game

because everybody's interested now because it's the hype train of 2015 into 2016. And they typically will wake up and be on that station already. Right. So this is how you get that spillover effect. I come back to rubble. We're not even a share point. So everything that we gained and people think as soon as I come back, that means the numbers

go up. No, you've got to build that back up. But when I come back now, you're in the Blue J playoff run. Like it's very difficult. So we barely get over. i'm probably at one point probably what they are now like a one two they'd gotten rid of ank who was our producer so now my producer's gone they bring in sean levine and they really probably i don't know if he was directed this way but he doesn't really bring any guests in like so so d and I are on. And then before November is up, they get rid of Dave. It was so weird because Doug Gilmore was in the studio.

We were doing something with Doug again. And they said, can we see Dave for a second? And he's gone. Yeah, HR gave him probably a folder. But all of this was decided when I was on that cancer table. Yeah. Because that's that tape I played. I did like a 10-minute thing.

Yep. And I showed because Mike Landsberg, and he asked, got Dave Naylor to say when they knew they were doing it. Well, they were doing it in November. Here's how it works in ratings. It is certain periods that are considered the hot, now it's like all 12 months.

So the book that would have come in at the end of the summer was the one that where I wasn't there for it. Right. So that would have been like a zero point something. Then you would have had September, October, November at the end of November. Then there's another week.

So probably around December, you could probably look it up. It's probably right on numerous. If you want, the book would have come out December 6th or 7th. And that would have been that period from September to the end of November. When they made that decision about me, if they,

if they decided to do it in November, so they made that decision back in June when I wasn't there. When you were being treated for your cancer. Yeah. So this let's talk people decided instead of this fake kind of that they were looking after me, they literally, I was getting gutted twice. So the decision was made sometime in that summer because they had made up their minds before December even got there, which means the book that they based it on was the one.

That's like when Carey Price didn't play that year for the Montreal Canadiens and they did really bad. Right. And that if Bell and the people who't play that year for the Montreal Canadiens and they did really bad. Right. And if Bell and the people who were on the radio were running the Montreal Canadiens, they would have cut

Carey Price. Okay. Price was terrible, but he never played. Wait, what does the Brady show, Greg Brady and Ashley Dahlke now

have a show, Mornings, on 590 right now with Hugh Burrell? Like, what would that get in the same demo that you're referring to where Blundell got the six and you were talking about you had a, what would they get right now?

Well, currently, and so they've made that change. Fairly recently. With Elliot Price being pushed out. Elliot Price out, Ashley Docky out. Yeah, so their last book, they were a 3-7. They haven't been a 3-7. I don't know the last time they would have had that.

I've never seen them below a 4, so I don't know. But essentially, the fan, you know, so Bob, when I came here, was a 14 share, but I think he's a 4. What's Landsberg getting right now?

A 1. So Landsberg's a 1. Yeah. And Brady and, by the way, that book you're talking about, was that with Price? That was with Elliot Price. Yes. Okay.

And what did you say, three something? A three seven. Okay. And what was your best, and not that we can compare, because obviously this is a shrinking audience, obviously. Yeah, it's what happened. The best I had in 2554 was in May of 2014, so the end of that book.

So it would have come out June, whatever. They can look it up. I was a 5'8". Now, what role do you think, I'm just naturally curious, what role do you think podcasts are playing in the shrinking sports radio audience? I think it's really reflected in the under 35. The under 34 numbers. Because I always had a big one.

At that point, I have a... We put it on your blog. Because they didn't believe me. And then we put it on there. And then there's some people... I don't know. Like when that guy cheats at golf. I don't know. So under 35. So 1834, I was

a 20 share. The fan was a five. So that's back to Brady and Walker. That's how far back that goes. But I was only on the air a year and a half after that. And in that period of time, that's when cancer shows up. So the last really decent book that the fan had was Dean Blundell. With the six? Yes.

People were like, well, that was a disaster. Dean Blundell. With the six. Yes. It's not, people are like, well, that was a disaster. Dean was a disaster. Really? Cause he had, uh, almost double the numbers they have right now.

Now, again, in going to that big period of time, those numbers shrunk and mine had, I was down to like a 2.2 or three, but now a two, three, do you realize what a two,

three would get you now? And so that's why I don't look at it so much like people talking about this new venture for me. Like it's a, it's an attempt or a bridge to get back. I don't look at it that way. Cause I don't know what you go back to. Certainly Bell and I aren't friends, so I'm not going back that way. Right. Uh, you mentioned this, uh, like, is there any chance, so you're not going back to Bell because you consider that bridge burned? Yeah, and I would never trust those.

Look, there's things that have happened internally at TSN period that nobody has talked about, that nobody's talking about. Well, this is the place to talk about it. Well, except I don't want to be sued. Okay, that's a good point. But there are things that are going to come out because they've made some changes.

There are people that are gone and nobody. Like radio people or TV people? No, TV, TV. So there are people who are gone on the TV radio people or tv tv so there are people who are gone on the tv side that we don't know yet in the public oh they're gone they've been quietly uh escorted out the side exit door but nobody has talked about anyone really high profile oh the highest almost really but i'm not going to talk about why because i i know details haven't been released it's like well why well you don't take someone who's been there for 27 years all

of a sudden, uh, Mike Boone is no longer here. What's that mean? Usually that email reads something like we wish him well in his future. And I don't think that I went off to do something bigger. I don't know if there was a wish. Well here.

Okay. Now, uh, you don't have to, I don't want you to get in trouble. So, uh, but can you,

we're not friends at all. So I don't need that. I know they're listening. I know you're listening right now, but you met high profile. Now I'm going to say a name name i don't want you to say if this is the name but i just want to know if this is the level of uh pro high profile level that we're talking about the highest profile i can think of over there would be somebody like a james duffy oh no no this is way higher than that higher than they what am i what okay well maybe we should talk about this

because i'm getting a little nervous well i, well, I don't, you know. You're in charge of what you say. I want to let the lawyers know that. There's someone publicly that is no longer there, and there's really been nothing said about it, which I think is interesting in the journalistic side. Wait, way higher than James Duthie. He's a very high profile guy over there. Yeah, not talent. Not talent.

Oh, somebody behind the scenes. So not somebody in front of the camera. No, no, no. That's a key. Okay, I'm thinking in front of the camera. Okay, well, okay. That's a key. Okay, I'm thinking in front of the camera. Okay, well, okay. I will say this. What I've learned is

there's like a subset of like a 0.1% of us, which I'm in this group, who seem to care about everybody behind the scenes as well and are interested in that. And the 99.9%, if you're not James Duthie,

like in front of the camera, talking on the TV, nobody cares. But I care. No, you do, which is why we should be worshipping at the altar of Toronto Mike, which we kind of do. But it's,

as I said, what TSN has created on the radio side, which is what I'm talking about, is nothing short of a joke. They are not interested in ratings. They are not interested in being competitive. And the only show that really filters in because two of the three guys are television properties

is Overdrive. And Brian does an excellent job. Love O'Dog. And Noodles is one of the all-time good guys. So you're saying they have one show which is pulling its weight and is a quality show and worthy of the... It sounds like you're slating veteran Michael Landsberg here.

They're all terrible. They're all terrible. They're terrible. You said Michael Landsberg's been there probably 40 years. I don't know. Yeah, so doing what job? Not that one. That's true.

I'm not going to sit there and tell you that I should be an anchorman because I clearly should not be. I would tune in for that. Yeah, you would. As long as it's not the naked news, I'd be watching. Yeah, with this? Good Lord.

So, Mike, here, let me give you some gifts right now, and then we're going to come back and get you back to, what do you call it, News Talk 960, okay? Because there's a lot more coming there. So let's pause here. Now, you disclosed something to us all moments ago I did not know, which is that you had a drinking problem in December. Can you give me the status of the drinking problem

before I give you this next gift? Pretty much, let's just say that it was the non-fun drinking. But it was on a nightly basis. It was. I actually have this. So every once in a while, I have a guest on who I know has been very public about their battles with alcoholism and how they're clean and sober now and they don't touch it. They're straight edge.

I actually have had moments where I know that guest is coming on where now I actually don't give them the six pack. I've decided this is a bad move. This is for me and just so you know, here's how this is going. If you wake up in a ditch tomorrow, this is going to be on me.

That is true. Because even if I decide not to publish this podcast, enough people have watched on Periscope. Somebody's going to be on me. That is true. Because even if I decide not to publish this podcast, enough people have watched on Periscope, so somebody's going to report it. Now, yes, okay, please enjoy responsibly, but this is I'm adding a caveat now. That is courtesy of Great Lakes Brewery. As

you know, we talked before I press record on the podcast that they got beer at Canada's Wonderland, you were telling me. We just talked to the director of communications, a lovely person by the name of Grace Peacock, and she had talked about what a hit that this Great Lakes beer has been at the park. I'm going Saturday for a media day.

How do I get hooked up with the media passes? I'm media now. I should have. You know what? And I kind of thought about that. But I need like, I want to go Saturday. You can go with me if you want. People will talk.

Let's do it, buddy. But this is the day and age where people, you know, they're happy to see that. I always say, let's give them something to talk about. Enjoy. Okay. So they have a beer at Canada's Wonderland, Great Lakes. They do. I mean, I'm biased for sure but fantastic beer like i

mentioned peter bullet kicking out the jam this is a family-run business this is not some conglomerate they haven't been gobbled up by miller's coors or labatt's john labatt and that's hard to do in this day and age it's really hard to do because that's a lot of money a lot of money no doubt and yeah and they they stay independent in fact, we call them fiercely independent. Like Mill Street, Mill Street, and people are all mad at them, but I'm like,

yeah, well, if you get offered, I don't know what it would be. Hundreds of millions of dollars. They drive a Brits truck to your house. And it's very difficult to say no. And you think about,

oh, my great grandkids could have their tuition covered. If we sign here. Your grandkids will have a castle. Right. It's very difficult. You're right. But Great Lakes,

staying, staying independent, uh, 99.9% of all Great Lakes beer remains here in Ontario. So, yeah, three of them are cold. Did you get a cold one? Yep. Okay. And three are room temperature, but you're bringing those home with you. Again, if your wife hears you slurring, we're going to have to talk about this.

Okay. Now, you're also a big fan of Palma Pasta. Anthony, Fratello Mio. He might be watching. Fratello Mio. Yeah, get to work. Hey, you're supposed to be advertising on my show, too. When's that happening?

When's that happening, Anthony? You can't poach my sponsors. I know another show did that. Let's go. Andiamo, Fratello. Let's go. Actually, he's talking to my guys. He will be on.

He'll be with us at some point. He should. I mean, you're at Mississauga Station, and they're a Mississauga- We've talked already, and I'm just joking around. But no, he will support us. I noticed he dipped his toe in the lake, if you will, by coming here first, because Palmo sponsored us first.

Us, like it's more than me. Sponsored us first, and then I know now sponsors the Humble and Fred podcast. Sounds like there's an imminent deal with Mike Richards. So if Palma Pasta is still on your show and their show and pulls the plug on this show, I'm going to be shaking my fist at you like this. Wow, look at that. If that doesn't drive fear into your heart. But I will say, straight up, way before they were a sponsor,

I was a loyal Palma Pasta fanatic. And he's, look, he is one of the all-time great guys. He has been, how would I put it, an enormous support for me since 2011 when we started TSN 1050. He is, he's there. He's kept you well-fed. And this is yours. I should not bury the lead here. He is, he's there. He's kept you well fed. And this is yours. I should not bury the lead here.

But see, people were complaining. Some Italians. Not from here, by the way. Probably all Vancouver, because they're the worst. What a horrible city. We could get rid of that. We could shake it off like a,

like fleas on a dog. Be careful what you say. They might have an offer for you. No, they don't. I'm never going there. They can eat me. They're terrible. It's an awful city. That they were mad about the Roberto

Luongo phone calls because of the language used in Italian. Because you're an Irish guy. So this was the assume. But all the Italians that I know of which my audience is very, very diverse. A lot of Italians. A lot of Croatians, a lot of Portuguese.

I mean, you name it, the language. Just like Toronto. We have it. And I love that, which is why I try to work it into, you know, if there's a character or a voice that I do, they're speaking that language. And so when I was called a racist or whatever else it was on Twitter, Anthony sent something to TSN and said, my family is, you know, how many generations

here, but we are as Italian as Italians get. And he talks the way that we do. His Roberto Luongo is us. It's for us. And what he does for our community and including us, he is not mocking us. He is not making fun of us. The Italian culture is not the joke in that bit. No.

No, that's the key, I think. Who is the subject, who are we laughing at here? The humor is derived from how they have seen the world and the way that they would describe it in the almost, the slang of how they see it. So I'm talking, for instance, people said, aren't you going to be embarrassed working for a Sikh family when

you did all those impressions of Vijay Singh because of the voice. Guess what? When I first sat down at the table with the Panu family, guess which voice came out first? Are you still doing that voice?

I haven't done it because Vijay's not on the tour, so it doesn't really come up. Also, I think I feel times have changed. I feel like that was fine maybe. Maybe that was fine 10 years ago, but it doesn't sound fine in 2019. That's how I feel.

There's a lot of things. Like you have to remember, in Calgary, I did a game show called Gay or Not Gay. I have to review these bits and let you know if you can continue them. But hold on.

So Anthony came to your defense at TSN. Yeah. And good job, Anthony. And he obviously enjoyed that bit, Roberto Luongo. That lasagna in front of you is a large meat lasagna.

It's yours, my friend. And that's the best lasagna in the, I'd say, in the GTA. Well, it's voted, because even in the Reader's Awards, it's always Palma Pasta. Yep. At the Mississauga News

and all that, for sure. So palmapasta.com. They're now on Skip the Dishes, but you can cater your events at Palmapasta. I catered my wedding from Palmapasta. I did my Christmas. It's all from Palma. So we, what do we say?

We eat our own dog food, as they say. And this is not dog food. This is fantastic Italian food. So I'll change that analogy next time. But I have something new for you. Stickers. So you can show them to the camera, but I got three stickers for you.

So firstly, there's the Toronto Mike, Mike, I actually delivered, I biked over a Toronto Mike sticker yesterday to a listener who wanted one because I just tweeted, I had these stickers now. And he was really,

he put it on his, he's a carpenter and he put it on his work. Obviously, I'm not a blue carpenter, but he put it on his work. What's that called? You're asking me a carpentry?

Tool box. I'm going to call that a tool box. You're talking to the wrong person. I know. I phone a guy. You call a guy. Okay. So I was honored.

So if anybody wants a Toronto Mike sticker and I can bike to you, I'm happy to do this. It'll just give me a destination on my lunchtime bike ride. So you got a Toronto Mike sticker. You have, of course, a stickeru.com sticker. These stickers are courtesy of StickerU. StickerU lets you make your own customized stickers, decals, labels. Behind us, this is a new decal that I just put up this morning. That is made by StickerU.

You can get decals, magnets, buttons, like anything you can stick, you can get from stickeru.com. It's fantastic. But there's a third one I got for you. That's a great piece of art. That's a... Oh, yeah, I held that one. Oh, you held it.

I wasn't... Yeah, I'm sorry. So, yeah, so now you get your beer, you get your lasagna, and you get your stickers. I can't wait for you to tweet where you stick that Toronto Mike sticker. Well, I know where it's... Well, people think, but I know where it's going. Which, you know, maybe,

do you want me to catch up on? Okay, yeah, bring us back to 960. So, so as it's a disaster, and as things head crumbled, we do our first show, and it sounds,

I know it sounds terrible. Like I know it's awful. It's still awful. Okay, there's two ways you can listen, right? Because there's a live stream. Yeah. Which I sampled and sounded really bad, but. It's still awful. There's two ways you can listen, right? Because there's a live stream, which I sampled and sounded really bad.

Terrible. And then there's terrestrial radio. You can dial up. This is not a strong signal, right? Okay, so there's two things at hand. So if we go back to that debut on January 7th, I still don't know. But here's what I understand.

Okay. on january 7th i still don't know but here's what i understand okay if i'm going into a house that looks like a piece of shit but i'm a really good contractor i flip houses all the time and when this thing is done it'll be worth a lot of money that's how i felt from the very beginning at 960 and it i haven't changed my mind. In fact, I'm even more, and I'll tell you why, devoted to that family. Because at that point, between January and February, there is a massive split.

Because those that are kind of running this thing and the family that owns it, this is what happens. There's a split. Is that the split that causes Bullard to leave? Yes. Okay. For the most part. I mean,

he might have a different perspective on it, but, and I, and I kind of, because I think Mike, if he hadn't have gone so early and maybe jumped in when I did, maybe it'd be different for him. Gotcha.

Because he got tortured. He got, he got tortured for three, and he had to deal with another person, not mine. And there was a, some split here. Now,

uh, you mentioned, um, uh, your, uh, with another person, not mine. Gotcha, and there was some split here. Now, you mentioned, you said the sound quality wasn't very good when you started. So you're talking about via the radio or the live stream or both? Everything. Everything is bad

because we're remotely from where this goes and it goes from the internet to a transmitter that's up in Caledon or something and it keeps going on and on and finally there i start to see some clarity i start to bring in some of my people externally from a company called eggplant now they said no the family said i was not pleased about that no we because they don't have that kind of money to to buy an infrastructure, an infrastructure, because there is none. There's none. And I have so much respect,

the family bit by bit. So we literally are locked out by a crazy person at the end of January, February, something like that. In poor credit. In poor credit. So you need a new home now.

So someone else comes in who actually owns that building. Gotcha. And we're locked out now. Okay. So you need a new home now. So someone else comes in. Okay. Who actually owns that building. Gotcha. We're locked out now. Okay. So you just showed up for work one day to go in the airport? No, Dave showed up because I get up at like 345 and there's some emails. Don't come in.

We can't get in. And I'm like, but here's the thing about my resolve now. Yeah. I don't care. It doesn't bother me. Because the facility that the family owns is way better than where I'm working. Where is this facility? So it's

just north of the airport. It's like the airport. Okay. So this is where we go. And people are like, well, do you realize that by the boundaries, you're not Mississauga? Look at me. Look at me. I don't give a shit about where it's located.

What I worry about is the correctness of the content for the place that we're broadcasting to, which is Mississauga. So we're out in Mississauga. We broadcast to Mississauga. Obviously the signal goes bigger than that. Our traffic is by far

the most detailed West End traffic you're ever going to hear. There's no way even 1010 and 680 don't have what is offered on our show on the fives because that's what we need to do. So that's like getting mad at Evanoff, whose DC 103 up in Orangeville starts all those years ago.

Right. He comes down to the city and he broadcasts out of- Dundas, they call that the KIPP district. Yeah. Right. So, so was he interested necessarily in those neighborhoods or Orangeville itself?

He had a plan. I'm not going to hold it back on him. And his station has done exceptionally. Was it hot one Oh three or whatever they call it? Zed one Oh three. Zed one Oh three. Zed one Oh three. Right.

And their last couple of books have been sensational. Well, I mean, CFNY is a Brampton station, right? Right. So I'm not really worried about that part. What I'm worried about, and always have been, is the quality of what we put out there. So we're in a small wattage. Yeah. It's 2,000 watts. 2,000 up against

50,000 from the other two. But the signal travels. So you hit and miss depending on the car you have, blah, blah, blah. But as we start to work together finally, so there's a massive split and a lot of people who were there beforehand aren't there anymore.

They're not there. And so I start to work on the sound of the mics, the sound of what the board looks like. Is there a compressor? Do we have, can we record? What are the phones sound like? And I fight with this for months to this point where we are now.

So Andrew. Andrew Stokely. Andrew Stokely comes in who does Blue Jay broadcast, right? Like he's a. He does a lot of the Jay's games from the dome. He does a lot of curling during curling season. But he is a bonafide studio slash audio technician.

Like, yeah. Okay. Yeah. So listeners of this show know Stokely because he was my audio consultant when I started this thing seven years ago and he was great help. And I mean, he's a friend of the show. He's been on the show. Hopefully he's at TMLX3 on June 27th at Great Lakes Brewery.

Mike, you should go too. I did see that. What's the date? June 27th. Yeah. I'm not that. What's the date? June 27. Yeah, I'm not going. Lowest of the low will be there. But now I've got to see if I can get Saga to come to that event. But maybe I will.

But back to Stokely. Good guy. Friend of the show. How did Stokely help you out? Fixed everything. Like he came in and so a new board was bought. Like a real one. Had lights on it and everything. And so he he comes in looks at the board and said okay well

you know it's not rogers or bell but you know this is this is a quality piece of equipment i can help you fixes the phones fixes the mics and so this is the process where we are now so when people say is it a volunteer it came from a weird community volunteer um place in Port Credit to now, and this is the cool thing, where we are. So we actually have real paid clients. We have sponsors. People ask about ratings. How can you go and what are your ratings like

and who would buy where you sit right now? Number one, we're not Numeris. You have to be a member, which means if I want ratings, I have to pay $50,000. Is that what it costs to get in on that? 50 grand. So we have a meeting at Numeris. As I walk in with that current group, I see Ross Davies. Now, people will know in this business, Ross Davies was a longtime upper echelon guy with Chum. Chum FM in particular, but a Chum heavyweight. Like, you've got the Waters family, Ross Davies. They're in there.

So he's known me since I was 25. So he looks at me and he's like, oh, man, what is this all about? So I explain to him what we're doing in the manner in which I'm going to do it. So he said the sports talk, the funny guy stuff, the blah, blah, blah. I said, yep. And traffic wheel. And he looks at me and his eyes get real big. And he's like, well, I'm not going to actually,

I'm not going to tell you what he said in that meeting because it's kind of very important to where this is going. You got to tell me. No. Have another sip. But what I have done and what he looked at, he was like, okay, I'm pretty sure that format doesn't exist anywhere. There's no guy talk traffic wheel.

That's like being on 680 News, and in between Vijay Singh is talking about how fat Laura Davies is, or whatever explanation you want to put, because lately, you know, what are the different voices, or Mike Babcock, or whatever it is. Right. And then traffic? Yes.

And so he tells us some really key advice yeah so now now i'm amped we get sales people we get marketing people so my guy praveen goes in he's been working on it and so i'm like hey praveen when are we gonna well as ross david said no one knows you're there like if i don't know you're there if i don't even know what news talk saga 960 is if i don't know you're there, if I don't even know what News Talk Saga 960 is, if I don't know, nobody knows. The awareness is very low. It's almost zero. Yeah, I was going to say.

I was trying to be kind there. But it's very low unless you're already dialed into this universe, unless you're already a big Mike Richards fan who follows you on Twitter. So they follow. But that's still a very small number. But you need the masses to be aware that there's another option. People know about 640, they know about 1010, they know about 1050, they know about 590, but they don't know about 960.

But here's the good part, and this is how I look at it. It's half, I'm going to go in and rip this house down and put up something nice. The other half is my sports background. So if I go in, they say, look, we know you've been your starting quarterback in this league. You're Tom Brady. You're Tom Brady. Wherever you go, we know you can win.

Can you help us win? And I look at this team, and you've got an offensive lineman with one leg. You know what I mean? I think the receiver's a dog. I go, this is the worst team I've ever seen. Right. The receiver's a dog. I go, this is the worst team I've ever seen.

So do I have the skills to change the players, number one, which they have, and then implement the start of what can be a foundation that you can build on? So I'm not immediately competing with the fan at TSN. I can't. Realistically, I can't. So you start to build this foundation, which is what has started. Now, do people believe it or not? I'm not worried about fans or people who are just kind of radio phobes

or those that are just interested in radio. I need to know that when the thing, they turn to 960 tomorrow morning for those who can get it. When they hear it, they go, that actually sounds like kind of good like it's almost good and that's what people's like you know i think this is the best show you've done a couple things have happened we're now comfortable in our own environment the young girl who watched me probably have literally a meltdown my face was purple i. I never yelled, but I was scared. I was probably scared.

Her name is Kelsey Lusk. Kelsey is the person who runs the board. You'll see her on Twitter. Occasionally you hear her voice. And she is a gift from God. The amount of time that she puts in on this show, her integrity, her ability to want to learn and get better is almost humbling to Dave and myself.

Dave has taken on this role as like Daryl Dahmer. His traffic, and someone said the other day, and they talk about it from time to time, they're like, how is he so good at that? Because it's a wheel it's not 60 seconds if it's longer if it's two minutes he does two minutes and trust me if you're coming in from the west end if you're coming in from niagara burlington oakville hamilton if you're coming in from caledon milton aurora new market brampton any of these areas you will want

to listen on the fives and And that's the number I picked because everybody else is playing with no goalie. Because they're all like at the ones or the top or like at the zeros or the ones. This is what I'm saying. And no one's on the fives, but you're on the fives. I got another traffic question. Okay, so Ted, yeah, his name's Ted.

There's a Ted. I almost call him Ted Richards, but you're Richards. Okay, so Ted, he wanted to say hi. He says, it's great to have you back on radio. Couple of things, but one of the things he does talk about here is the traffic breaks. And he wants to know, do the traffic breaks interrupt your flow or thought processes? Okay. We used to be on the fives every five. And the people who've listened to our show for years or just found are like, you just start talking and all of a sudden like you can't get going so we got rid of the 15 and the 45 because our fans said uh enough of the traffic i mean seriously do you need to do that

so we thought about it said okay we listened our fans are as you know extremely important to me gone but that's about as far as we're going to go you have to realize that in the mechanics of what i'm trying to do with the ppm and the meters to be on the fives with something that does not exist on any other radio station at that point in the gta is going to be significant when we get on New Merritt. So the real answer to all of this will be answered. The questions about that are answered in almost exactly one year. In fact, I'll give you the date because I know when the book comes out. It's going to be the first Thursday in June of next year.

2020. That will be your answer. So let me connect some dots here it sounds like this meeting with ross davies and numerus uh it must have gone well like it sounds like you're gonna be yeah okay so when are they gonna start recording your listenership with the ppm wearers that we call the ppm people the The PPM people. The beginning of January. So the beginning of January 2020, 960 will be measured. It might be, probably, because I think you have to be in January.

So December. That's a big announcement, because you'll be unable to, I think if you're not in the book, I know some garbage stations. There's one in Markham and stuff, and they're purposely not in the book, because nobody's listening and they don't want you to know nobody's listening. Do you have any fear? No. People will see. The answer's no. Whatever want you to know nobody's listening. Like, do you have any fear? Do you have any fear? No.

People will see. The answer's no. Whatever it is, the answer's no. I have to ask because there's a, the advantage to not being measured is when nobody's listening. Okay. So here's what we've done. Because we can't afford that, we put it in other places. Like the bus.

Oh yeah. Talk about these buses. I've seen these. So there's a company out of New York and and I think it's called Radio Stats, that are ex-numerous guys. And they know for those people who can't afford numerous, they're like, well, for a fraction of the price, we'll do just as good a job, slightly different phones,

however they measure it. The agencies are like, yeah, we know these guys. You're still not numerous. It's still not the number, but the numbers that you get, they're legit. We'll respect them. The advertisers need to see somebody's listening.

So here's how I know we're on the right track. I was hoping I could make an announcement of both of them, but one's not signed, sealed, and delivered. So they said, please, until it's done, don't say that other name. Okay. One of the new clients coming on is Woodbine. The racetrack, I assume. But they're massive.

It's what they are building, if you've ever gone down Rexdale lately, and it just looks like Beirut. Like it's just mud and stuff because they are building something so massive that I know within four years they will have the second largest casino in North America. Wow. That's how big they're going. That's a big claim, man, because there's some big casinos

in the States, for example. So you've got that and so they're like, look. So I talked to our good friend Jamie Dykstra, used to be with the CFL and the Argos. Excellent guy. And of course, the head, the chairman, this guy by the name of Jim Lawson, is a pretty big shooter. And also, I think he's the chairman of the Canadian Football League. So we go to an agency, coset.

They're big. They're like, we want to, you know, we're going to do some stuff with this station. They're like, what station? Newstalk, Saga 960. What is that? Right. Please tell me. And, of course, when you see the call letters,

that doesn't help, Mike. The call letters do not help. Have you seen the call letters? Oh, yes, CKNT. You're right. That's the first joke people will make when they see the call. You're right. That does not help.

I looked and I said, this is the new home of Mike Richards. Maybe it's fitting. Maybe it kind of works. And so they say, well, I don't know. Jim Lawson says, it Mike Richards. Maybe it's fitting. Maybe it kind of works. And so they say, well, I don't know. Jim Lawson says, it's Richards. Something's going to happen here. And I believe in the guy. So Cosette's like, yeah, put me down for five.

Like, they bought us. An agency. No numbers. That's huge. Oh, based on your legacy, your name. Whatever it is. Well, that's all they could have. An agency. No numbers. That's huge. Oh, based on your legacy, your name. Whatever it is. Well, that's all they could have. Between that and so I'm thrilled.

But the bigger one, and this is the one I wanted to announce. Okay. And this is big. They're very large. Okay, the largest media buyer for sure in Canada, but probably North America. They're going to buy us on many levels. No numbers.

And to me, as I said, it sort of loses its sting when I can't actually give you the letters. I know, I'm waiting for the name. But they won't do it because my guys who have organized this said, you really can't because we've not signed off on it. said you really can't because we've not signed off on it. So what is happening right now is we're building our own, for the lack of a better term, industry term, our own licensing. Because we have, no, sports properties. We're probably not going to be the home of the Maple Leafs.

Not even the Steelheads? Steelheads we are, but we kind of get that one for free, and I love that part. That part has been just an absolute gift. Those kids on that team and their head coach and general manager, James Richmond, it probably has become literally one of our favorite all-time guests. Like Pierre Maguire has always been very high for me. I mean, we've been so close after all these years.

He actually joined us in that first week, which I think was very surprising for me. I didn't know if he'd be allowed to come on. You had Barry Davis doing traffic, right? First day. Yeah. Because I didn't know how it was going to work. And then Barry said, you don't need if he'd be allowed to come on. You had Barry Davis doing traffic, right? First day. Yeah. Because I didn't know how it was going to work. And then Barry said, you don't need me. Just get Dave to do it. And I go, Dave, do you want to? Dave goes, yeah, I'll do it. And that's why

out of necessity. And now he's like I said, he's Daryl Dahmer and whoever else. So Bastl's doing a great job. But also, I mean, with Bullard long gone, you've got Barry Davis. So he's doing afternoons with his good friend Matt, Matty, the producer he's called. And he's on buses too.

Yes. You're both on buses. Yes. So all of a sudden, this is the start. Everything that we do, Mike, is a first. And it's small. So I'm not comparing myself in terms of size to Rogers and to Bell. But what I think is important is that we are starting to hone in on audience first and radio first.

So even if the product's radio, for instance, the announcement I'd like to make, which is really cool because it's happening on Monday. What kind of a company is this? Can you tell us? They're a family-run communications company that has almost exclusively, 100%, been Southeast Asian broadcasting. That's who they are. And they've decided to work,

now here's a little slang word for you, Gore. Gore means white in Indian. And so I call myself Goregand. Okay. White trash. Okay. So they'll say, crazy Gore. Crazy Gore. They say, no, not Goregand. I go,

really? This is like when you're a gringo. This would be like when they call you a gringo. Yes, it is. Yes. And this might be a little worse. Okay. Especially when you throw the gond after it. White trash, and they don't really say I say Goreg Yeah. And this might be a little worse. Okay. A little worse. Especially when you throw the gund after it. White trash and they don't really say gur... I say guriga.

And so they... I've seen Ravinder Pannu, this legend, on his hands and knees in the last month with a screwdriver. Okay. Putting stuff in. Fixing stuff. And I never had a chance while I was coming up in almost exclusively in Toronto radio. Yeah.

Especially my heart that belongs to the Waters family and Chum, especially 1050 Chum. But the times that I have seen and I've been a part of these, unfortunately a lot of them at 1050, start these new stations start these new ventures like TSN Radio 1050 you're the first morning show host of that station. So the team, you go back to the team. We love the story of the team.

Same thing and these guys are just a family. They're just a family but their heart they're the most wonderful people. I love them. Do they pay you yet or are you getting paid, like they're the most wonderful people. Like I love them to death. Okay, do they pay you yet or are you getting paid by sponsors? Right, so it's sponsored based. Gotcha.

So it's sponsored. Which is a model that's out there. It has to be that way. There's no way. And look, the monies that guys like myself were making, those days ain't coming back. If tomorrow Bart, the new president and i gotta love that name and bart at rogers comes in and rick brace they said we'd like you and dave to come back to the fan i'm just saying if that

happened it wouldn't be the dollar figure though that we can i ask like in that uh hypothetical situation what kind of dollar figure do you think they'd offer you? I'm curious. Let me ask you, are we talking like $60,000? No, no, no, no, it's not. Not that low? No, no, no. Okay. I'm trying to figure out how low this thing has gone, but okay. And that's all hypothetical anyway. I mean, you probably get that if you were in Oshawa or something. Okay, gotcha, gotcha. I have some follow-up questions. Okay, so some people are buying your show. They're sponsoring your show with no numbers because you're Mike Richards.

And the station. And the station. And the station as well. That's a little harder of a sell because in the middle of the day, people already don't know, but they're coming because I've decided to, as they say, there's an old saying

where you pick the hill you die on. Right. This is mine. What happens, you know where I'm going here. What happens if June 2020 arrives and this book comes out and these people who bought on, say, on spec or whatever,

I bought on without numbers, see the numbers. And what if those numbers are low? Like, is there any, if it shows up, you win. So like a zero,

remember when they simulcast CP24 on 1050? Yeah, those numbers are still the same, by the way. They're not that different. Except for that one show, right? But if it's a 0.1, that's good. Anything, if you show up, but I'm not thinking it's going to be that. Put it this way.

Well, what do you want to make a prediction? Like, no one will remember we did this except me, so unless I'm a jerk and I pull it

at the time that book comes out, what is your prediction for June 23rd? My goal would be to get a SharePoint. My goal would be to get a SharePoint.

A one. A one. If I can get a one, that will be worth a lot of money. And what does a one mean again in the numeric land? So one percent, no, I'm saying a one percent. One percent of get a one, that will be worth a lot of money. And what does a one mean again in the numerism?

So 1%, no, I'm saying a 1%. 1% of all people listening at that time? That 25 in the mail, 25, 54 in the demo. That's what I think I can get. And you've been on the show though, very critical of those devices

that like it's like five guys. Eight of them. Right. That's the problem. So now. Here's why it differs. Right. If I was just sitting there going,

hey, look at me and I'm doing these impressions and Dave and I are going back and forth and we have these interviews So here's why it differs. If I was just sitting there going, hey, look at me, and I'm doing these impressions, and Dave and I are going back and forth, and we have these interviews, and I think it's really good, that hasn't meant anything. Like I don't know how much that means in the mechanism that records those listening and the devices that tell you what the percentage of that population is. So I'm going after the mechanism.

I'm being CHFI, and I'm playing Christmas music on November the 1st. Numeris tells me that that morning show on CHFI is the top morning show for males between 18 and 34. I bet you if we went anywhere, including here in downtown New Toronto. I like that reference. And if we said, and how old are you?

44. Dude, I'm 20. Hey, dude. Hey, brosif. Don't say that. What radio station? Number one, you'll go, radio. Not really a big radio guy right is anyone yeah i

am do you listen to chfi what is that what is chfi right but the mechanism and who is actually in that car that's what most of them are talking about or because they're female dominated who's in that household with those other boxes guess Guess who's getting the big number? And those guys are showing up because they're registered as their age in that household, and they got a number of these boxes. And if they're cracking... But isn't it a device that's like,

can pick up encoding in the audio output? 100%, that's exactly what it is. So I always speak of CHFI. My thought on this, I'm assuming, was that these men in that demo, they go to dentist appointments, they go to offices. this, I'm assuming, was that these men in that demo, they go to dentist appointments. They go to their offices. No, I'm talking mornings.

I'm talking mornings between 6 and 9. Okay. So how are men in that demo showing up? Right, because their wives are putting on the station. Or mothers. Or mothers, of course. Or girlfriends. Right.

Or whatever it is. Right. And they're in that room, and it's all registering. Because they don't know Why don't you just go all Christmas music now? Like just go. Hey, there are stations

who try all kinds of stuff. But I like where we're at. I like where it's going. And so, big announcement. Do you want me to do it now? Yeah. Okay.

So, a week before we're about to start this venture, this is during the sadness and booze period of time. So drunk and crying. Phone call from Don Collins. Former program director at The Fan. Not his real name.

In Toronto. San Francisco. He's like, what are you doing? Are you still doing your thing what do you mean the raw mike richards thing well what i am but we're going to radio oh even better he goes i'm working sort of on behalf of twitch right now do you know what that is uh gamers uh use it to watch each other play video games weirdly not weirdly enormously successful that's putting it mildly twitch as an app is so successful then after it's

like a month goes by when they first go on amazon goes okay enough of that we'll buy it for a billion dollars and they do wow twitch is owned by amazon big boys so this goes on in in esports which is dominant in in the world right now. Depending on what age you are, you may not know what I'm talking about. I think most people probably listening here now do. I would assume they would. They're pretty savvy. So Twitch has guys like Ninja, who's like the most watched guy.

And so if you want to know how to win at Fortnite or whatever the game is, you're watching this guy. So if you want to know how to win at Fortnite or whatever the game is, you're watching this guy. He makes $2 million a month, give or take. He has a whole line of trailers. It's like a weird movie we saw 30 years ago where the rock stars are guys who play out of their basement. You know when parents would say,

Hello, basement. Go play baseball. Do something. Get outside. And now the kid goes, Dad, I make more than you! You can bet. You can go to Bet365. Go to eSports.

And bet on Snoop Maestro 55 playing Sleazy Six. And they have commentators. Well, here's the thing Sleazy Six. Right. And they have commentators. Well, you know, here's the thing about Sleepy Six. Last week when he

played, he got in the fifth level of Halo. He got in a problem. I'm like, what the? This is that world. So they decide after a while,

we need some programming. Like we need someone, we need content. Yeah. Who can do a show? So Twitch was

extremely popular with the gamers and the younger set. Correct. Now Amazon's put a bunch of money into it. They're trying to attract, I guess, guys like you and I. They go to Bubba the Love Sponge. Now Bubba, people kind of snicker, but Bubba's a huge name in the States.

When Stern has Infinity Broadcasting and they're putting on Opie and Anthony and so on, Bubba was one of the guys on there. Bubba's out of Tampa. Been like a star for like 40 years. Notorious because Hulk Hogan slept with his wife. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Like it's all, and he was real fat. That's why he called himself Bubba the Love Sponge. Lost all his weight now. But he's not a young guy. Not a young guy. He'd be older than me. So they go to him and they say, hey, do you want to do Twitch?

And he's like, what is that? They explain to him. He goes, no, not interested. They take Cameron, not that dissembled, worse, like a webcam. Right. This far from his head. And he goes on and he's not very nice to it. It's like it's an intruder on his show.

Right. He doesn't do that now. He still has maybe not that much better a production. But Twitch gives him in between $20,000 and $30,000 a month. Wow. Nothing to sneeze at there. No, it's not. So they approached Don Collins and say,

is there someone in Canada that would fit kind of the demo and the weirdness and would be not just a radio guy? So you're the Bubba the Love Sponge of Canada. So he goes, yeah, I got a guy. I got a guy that I think will work real well. It's taken us a long time to just because of this so i've been in three studios in three months so now we're finally in the third one and with andrew coming in i have a normal headset the the microphones you can hear

yourself and you can hear the stuff from the board in your headphones which is key as you know because i'm about to play a song for you in a minute. Phone calls go through. And so the cameras are going in, probably as we speak. They'll be adjusted tomorrow. And then Monday morning at 6 a.m. Eastern, the Raw Mike Richards Twitch channel will be up. This makes sense.

That is announced there, not on my show. This is the first time I've ever said that. But yes, I'm honored that you made that announcement here. But the buses with you and the buses with Barry Davis, well, the buses with you have a Twitch logo. Yeah, Barry doesn't. Barry doesn't have that. No, no, no.

It's just Mike Richards' show is on Twitch TV. So their Twitch logo saying that we're all Mike Richards' channel is a first for Twitch ever. They've never had a Twitch logo on a bona fide registered stations advertising publicly on a bus like that or anywhere else. Gotcha. So to have a first with an Amazon company, I got to tell you, that's not terrible. Well, let me ask you this. This is great news for you.

not terrible. Well, let me ask you this. This is great news for you. Your fans and curious people should go to Twitch TV and go to your channel to see you Monday. Monday morning? That is correct. Monday at 6 a.m. That's exciting. I have a question now. You'll see, I've been experimenting the past month with live

streaming these things. And I actually fought it for a long time. And then I'm like, Mark Hebbs here, actually. He wanted to experiment. And I'm like, well, obviouslybs here actually he wanted to experiment and i'm like well obviously i need to be open-minded about this and i need to try this and that's why i've been reconfiguring the studio this is like the fourth or fifth different kind of just thing since i've been fooling around and we are live right now on periscope periscope's owned by twitter uh but i'm obviously i'm open to everything should Should I be live streaming on Twitch?

Yeah, of course you can. Nice. So this is like, is this, is this, is, is, is Don Collins going to reach out to me later today when you tell him about

your big Toronto Mike to appear? He might, he might pass on my info. I'll talk to Don Collins. He's probably watching right now. Is he? What time is it where he is? It's three hours back.

Right. Don, give me a shout. We'll talk. I'm very open to all streaming possibilities. Periscope, I actually chose it because I had worked on my Twitter presence. So it was a natural. Let me ask you this.

The audio, is it just external right now? Right now, it's just literally, it's just external. I haven't hooked it to the board, but that's something I can do, of course. Yeah. So that's all what we're going through now. And the look of it when we start, it will probably be okay. I'll be honest.

The look that I had for rawmikerichards.com, I thought was awesome. Right. I thought from a visual standpoint, it was very, very good. Finish your thought here. I have to ask you about that. Actually, there's a lot of things I've got to ask you about.

And I do want to play a song for you in a moment as we go back in time. It's not one of the Bullet songs, is it? Because I love his beer, but I am not liking his musical choice at all. No, but that was actually for Dale Cadeau in Vancouver because he was excited about the Jonas Brothers reunion last night. So that was not for Bullet. It was a coincidence.

But, okay, your podcast, like Raw Mike Richards was a podcast. Is it still a podcast? Raw Mike Richards is a podcast that ends up being two hours every day, the edited down version of the radio show. So no traffic, basically. No traffic, no commercials.

Okay, so you're not, it is the radio show minus traffic and commercials. Is the podcast. Gotcha. There is a question that I think is a great one, which is, do you miss the podcasts where you could be a little more, quote unquote, raw, and as long as you want without time constraints?

So do you miss not having the time constraints and being able to curse and swear and whatever? But I see mine wasn't really profanity-lized, and I knew what wasn't going to be. I mean, look, am I that way in real life? Yeah, probably. I mean look am I that way in real life probably I mean my language is not good but I've never thought that it was it's

sort of like when you do stand up some people think I think Humble would agree with me because he's done he did it professionally yeah that there are some guys who need to go on and think that it's a big deal and just start dropping up bombs as much as they can because that feels like somehow that makes them in and cool.

The reality is if it's not part of the style of your humor where it slides in and makes sense, you just look like some guy that's up there thinking that it's funny that he can swear doing a stand-up routine. So some guys, as soon as they get on their podcast, like I heard spit and chiclets a while ago because its number is apparently a real big. It's out of Boston. I can tell you because Hebsey, speaking of Hebsey, I produce his twice a week.

He does a sports podcast called Hebsey on Sports. We record here every Monday and Friday morning. We're going to live stream, by the way, Friday's episode for the first time. But Hebsey on Sports episode for the first time. But Hebsey on Sports is in the sports category. And the Apple Podcast sports category right now is dominated number one with a bullet is Spitting Chicklings.

It's just a bunch of guys, I assume out of Boston, who just, you know, it's like you think it would be. In a bar. That's what it sounds like. It's not. But they're NHL players, former NHL pros. It's just spitting out profane word after profane

word. And after a while, I'm like, unless that sort of, you're attracted to that level of conversation, look, can I be that way? Yeah, but I don't think I'd want to do three hours of it, and I don't think you'd be very interested in that. As I said, having having profanity in in what you do it's like going to to do a lewis black concert and to take the f word out of stuff that he says because he doesn't

say it because he thinks it's shocking you it it fits the way that he's trying to describe a situation right so it fits so lewis black is like what uh we'll talk about this beer um the first thing that you got to think about when you're taking a swig of this i don't know fucking great legs fuck beer, is that you're probably drinking something that nobody else wanted to fucking drink. That's the thing about this beer. It's probably very terrible. You put a late thing on it,

maybe a picture of a fat guy. Next thing you know, they're making a lot of fucking money. That's sort of like what his thing's gonna be like, right? It fits his connections. So that's why my show was never thing's going to be like, right? It fits his connections. So that's why my show was never really like that. We're going to go back in time here

before we come back with some more questions. But we're going to go back 20 years. You ready? So 20 years ago, again, a song you're going to hate, but 20 years ago. Is that what you had other guests? Because I thought other guests have enjoyable music and music that means something to him.

Don't worry, there's some of your music coming up. But this song was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 20 years ago today. Oh, yeah. Yeah? Do you know this jam? I went to strip joints back then, so of course I heard this song.

This was the third song. This was the third song. Are you saying I'm a scrub? Mike Richards, you're a scrub. I don't want no scrub. A scrub, of course, is TLC with No Scrubs, number one 20 years ago this week. And Mike, remember the time... Isn't it the one where the girl went out with an NFL player

and then burned his house down? Yeah, well, she's gone. She's dead. But her name was Lisa Left Eye Lopez. Yeah, Left Eye Lopez. And it was Andre Rison. That's the one. Right.

Burned down his house. Bad mood. Rison. See, it all comes back to sports at some point. There we go. That's right. And she died in a car accident in Honduras or something several years ago. So, remember the time.

Wouldn't it be ironic if the guy was a scrub? I'm just saying. Wouldn't that be weird? Probably was. Probably was. Probably was. Remember the time is brought to you by Fast Time Watch and Jewelry Repair. They've been doing quality watch and jewelry repairs for almost 40 years. Mike, if you ever went to a Sears Canada location back when they existed to get your watch battery

replaced or your watch band fixed. I saw them all the time. That was these guys. So they had to be called, you know, Sears Watch Repair or whatever. But then Sears went tits up, left the country. This family run business with 40 years experience, they had to basically start opening their own

locations. They opened a new one recently in Richmond Hill. If you go to FastTimeWatchRepair.com you can find out exactly where they're at. But I love this story because these guys were left for dead because Sears left the country. And here they are slowly rebuilding themselves

because they have expertise no one else has. I love, I mean, you know, I respect that more than ever just because that's the world I live in now. That's the Mike Richards story. Yeah. Yeah, and that's why I have a soft spot for you. I mean, the reason you've been on four times

is because I like the Mike Richards story. Like, I root for you. You can knock down Mike Richards, but he's like a Twinkie. You can't kill a Twinkie. Like, here you are back at 960. Actually, if you use that over the UK, what you said wasn't very nice.

Oh, well, I was going to say, in the UK right now on morning radio, on terrestrial morning radio, they're probably dropping the C word like it's nothing, right? You're not going to kill an Irish person. Put it that way. We're the children of Jesus. So, oh, yeah, this is the Lisa Left Eye rap. I know that's your favorite part.

But, okay, here's how you can save 15% on your watch battery replacement right now. But you can get it done while you wait. It's great anyways, but you can get 15% off if you mention to the Fast Time people that you heard about them on Toronto Mic'd. Amazing. Goodbye, Lisa. Rest in peace, Lisa Left Eye Lopez. Rip.

Stop burning people's houses down. Try that for God won't get you. That stopped her, yeah. Okay, some questions for you from the masses here. This is an interesting question. So right now, as you rebuild the station,

essentially, CKNT 960. Newstalk, Saga 960. Newstalk, Saga 960. Saga's still going to be in there? Okay, Newstalk, Saga 960. Trips me up all the time.

Don't worry, I'll try to burn it off. You're the morning show. Yeah. Barry Davis is the afternoon drive. Correct. Here's a question from Steve via Twitter, so prepare yourself.

Have you, Mike Richards, ever heard the host of the show on after your show? And do you like his point of view? Let's see how you handle this one. The answer is yes and yes. Certainly we're not a very political show, but Mark Petrone is someone when I first thought about even going there, he would come on at, I don't know what time of the morning, 8?

And I think he talked till 3 in the afternoon with no breaks and no one to talk to. It was as crazy as that crazy station was. He has obviously a uh an opinion and it's definitely coming from the right side of the world but he's to me i i think that it's so rare that you find anybody that has a point of view whether you agree with it or not to sit there and never waver from it. And it's not easy to do. If you listen to any of the corporately owned radio stations,

they're only going to go so far. And if they go over that line, they're getting hauled in. If you work for a corporate company that owns a professional sports team, I got news for you. You can be somewhat critical, I suppose. But if you berate that coach and general manager or that team that basically your company owns, you're not going to be there for very long.

You're just not, which is why people always say, why do Toronto radio stations, especially sports radio station, all sound the same? And to a degree, to a degree, unless, I mean, Overdrive does it in a way that I think is correct. And you have two guys who played in the show. So, I don't know, and they're both entertaining, especially O-Dog. So, Mark Petroni doesn't have that.

So, when he wants to go after, let's say, our prime minister, then lately he's getting more pushback, which tells me people are kind of finding him. He had Doug Ford on yesterday. He had Doug Ford and Peter McKay on. Now, Peter McKay, ironically, I'm sitting down at a place, and Ken Reed from Sportsnet comes in. Right. People write all kinds of things about him on Twitter.

They just, all this stuff. Only his appearances on primetime sports, but yes, continue. I talked to this guy. He's an East Coaster. And we're having just the greatest time. He comes on our podcast

and it was awesome because the reality is that Ken Reed, the real Ken Reed, the guy that I got to know, he was basically Gary Shandling. He sounded like Gary Shandling. He was very self-deprecating.

His stories were always really sad and depressing about himself. They weren't good. They weren't good. He was hilarious. I really got a chance to know that guy, and I miss those days. Let me tell you what I miss. The ability to talk to someone from another company, like I did in Calgary.

I had everybody. So you'd have Darren Detition followed by Stephen Brunt, company like I did in Calgary. I had everybody. So you'd have Darren Detition followed by Stephen Brunt, followed by Dave Naylor, who's one of my favorite football reporters. Mostly CFL, but Dave can talk anything. Dave's a great reporter. So I had whoever I wanted, Pierre Maguire,

they would all come on. Now you pick a side, and now no one shares. And I know for a fact there's a couple of TSN guys that I wanted to get on. They're not allowed. They weren't going to happen. I'm not surprised by that. The Rogers slash CBC people, not so bad.

Not so bad because we're still kind of friends, right? We've had no problems. And that's disappointing. People have created in my industry, like everyone's supposed to hate each other. And as you know, from where I come from, that would be very awkward for a guy like me where i think everyone should kind of be friends and you kind of want to be friends with other people that i'm sorry i'm from a small town that's kind of how that works right so amongst most of us i would say most of us that there is

a kinship there is there is a friendship there is like a brotherhood i'll tell you who's been very supportive of me and people people would say, really? Andrew Crystal. Right. I didn't know Andrew Crystal at all. And people thought, well, isn't that awkward? Because weren't you supposed to go to the fan, and then he came in? Yeah.

And then all this stuff happened, and shouldn't there be bad? I go, why would there be bad blood? For the most part, people are working real hard just to save their jobs. Those that would bad mouth, like I don't know a lot of those guys, they certainly wouldn't be in my circle of friends. You're going to have a very short career and that's why when some of this stuff came out about 960

and people were calling it a scam and don't be surprised when you're not hired by anybody. Anybody. Because that's truly not what that was. You had gone in as an amateur, went into an amateur environment, ended up having a complete disaster.

I mean, it took all my 27 years to not fall into that category. In terms of knowing what was right and what probably where that was going, that I avoided all of that. So the people that are running the station now, the Panu family, for the most part, weren't a part of the truly crazy stuff. And the stuff that they were, that was crazy. And look, they had their hands in that too. It's not like they were always great. I really had to bend them into a way where they understood that they shouldn't be threatened, that I'm not going there just to get an offer

from another place and leave them. Like that is, that is a great fear for them. And while we're getting started, what happens if someone offers me a whole bunch of money? I probably, it's going to be very difficult to say no. It would kill me. That'd be like killing my own family who've worked this hard to spend the kind of money that they have and trust me even those little phone systems that telos phone system it's like nine grand nine grand to answer the phone that's what you're dealing with that board i don't know how much they paid and they are now as we as we're talking right now the man who is kind of the moses neimer of southeast and he's got a he's got a screwdriver in his hand and they're putting cameras in for my debut for Twitch. That's what's going on.

What happens if you get a mainstream media offer next week? You say no? That is my fear. That's another fear that I would have. So please don't make any offers to my Twitch. But it does. People say, what are you, insane? Especially my wife.

My wife's been through. I mean, that's, the casualties that Belle doesn't see, the casualties that the corporate world doesn't see is just how difficult it is on families who, for my wife, is one year away from retiring. She is obviously a beautiful lady. People might say, what about the smarts? She married you.

That's right. As John Derringer would always say to her, what were you thinking? But she may or may not be able to retire. And I got to tell you, at this age, that kills me. That's really tough. That's really tough that she might have to take the brunt of my inability, and that's how I look at it,

to have made this more financially successful early. But now that I'm in this place, that Dave is in this place, Kelsey Lusk, who we've brought in from nowhere. She might get an offer and be gone next week, right? Well, she might get an offer from like Walmart. From Toronto Mike. I might make her an offer.

Sounds like she'd be helpful. Oh, no. She'd be very distracting for you. Trust me. Very distracting. But, you know, you've got a Mark Petroni who, he said, no one would hire me. No one's going to hire me at one of the mainstream broadcasts.

Well, that was the question. I know we got off on this big tangent, but and again, I haven't heard his show. Petroni? Mark Petroni. Mark Petroni. I understand it's extremely right wing. Incredibly, yep. Do you think, in in any sense could that be bad for the brand like when you as you develop the news talk 960

because he and again I only have had some people tell me I can't speak firsthand on this but it sounds a little little far right for a GTA listening audience.

Like this is not the Tea Party Network. But here's the thing. It's like Howard Cosell. It's like Steve Simmons for some people. This innate, what did he just say? That's crazy. That guy's an idiot.

We haven't had a guy like that in radio in this town. You probably have to go back to the old CFRB days That guy's an idiot. We haven't had a guy like that in radio in this town. You probably have to go back to the old CFRB days where people would go on and say things that would get you. But I don't know. Is he getting paid? Like, does he get paid? Because you and Barry are paying yourselves through sponsorships, right? Yes.

Yes. Does he get paid? Petroni? I think he's independently wealthy. Oh, okay. I don't know what he does. Okay. I don't know what he does. I don't know what he does.

See, at that point, because the deals are different, he, every day, there's more and more people that come on his show. And sometimes people are like, you have Mike Duffy? Well, why would you? Conservatives are going, well, why would you have that guy on? He almost killed the whole party. That's the point. The point is, you can listen to a lot of these other radio stations,

and you're going to hear the same guests over and over again. The biggest defender, sports radio. And now we go to, and from, it's your guys again. And you're going to get, and look, I can hear the announcers because they're not motivated. They're not motivated. You know, I think that there's a point where, and this is just my opinion, if you're going to have something where the last word in it is show, then have a fucking show.

Try to do something where you wake up the next day and go, wow, I can't imagine what this take's going to be. And you never get it. It's always the same, or it's the fake, and I hate this one, hot take. If I hear that word one more time, I swear to God. What it means is fake passion.

That's what it is. It came from the States, very American, not that I hate things American. You know, I always gave credit to a local journalist, Eric Koreen, for hot take. No, trust me, it's not correct.

I think he's been taking the credit too. He's at the athletic. Yeah, well, don't. Unless he's from the States. Is he American? No, he's a Toronto guy. Yeah, the hot take, it was an American ESPN you know, and because the consultants would come in and tell you, you know

what you need to do? You need to have a hot take. And I remember the first time in Calgary a consultant come in. He goes, you know, you're very laid back. You do this stuff a little blah. He goes, I need you to kind of raise your voice and have a hot take. I said, I'm never doing that. I'm never going to be that. You know what? Sid and Tim, for instance, or Tim and Sid, however you want to put it. Sid sometimes gets ripped for that about this fake whatever it is,

like this passion or the anger or whatever. But when I watch it, when I see him do it, part of it's real, like sometimes mine is, because I don't think he's that angry a guy. And I don't think he's that bad of a person. So I think when he does it, he starts starts off one way and then he does what the old time sort of entertainment is and you try to end on a kind of a not as mad take right so i don't feel that way about him like i said i like both those guys like i as i said beforehand it's

easy for me get rid of both stations make one dave and i will do the mornings put the overdrive guys i don't think they're crazy about the hours they work. I could be wrong. They can call me up if they want. Put them in the middle of the day and give Tim and Sid the afternoon. There's your radio station. Do what else you want the rest of the day. I don't give a shit. But if you had that, you would have consistency

with the kinds of guys that you have on the air. All those guys would like each other, which, by the way, isn't seemingly not that common, and do what you want. So no room for Bob mccowan on this new station you just created no bob's out by the way gear joyce is my last guest on this show yeah gear joyce told stories i don't know if you know familiar with gear but he tells great stories his last story is about uh bob mccowan and primetime sports and it's great like it's just fantastic to hear the story about Bob McCowan and the term Bobcat and it's fantastic.

I won't spoil it, but that final story by Gare, I put it on my Toronto Mic YouTube channel if you don't want to listen to that wonderful episode from Gare Joyce, but I digress. No room for Bobcat. Do you think Bobcat's just got tired? Do you think it's just... Well, I think, I mean, it's like looking

at, you know, at some point, you know, Michael Jordan or Doug Gilmore or Wayne Gretzky. Like at some point, at some point, I just don't think you want to do it anymore. But yeah, you're comparing them to physical,

like your body event. You can't be, you know what I mean? It's not the same thing. Well, the mental aspect of it is. The ability to be engaged day in and day out, doing what you want to do, whether it's football or an account. So he's bored. Well, that's what David Schultz wrote in The Globe. So I haven't

talked to Bob in a long time. And you have to remember, Bob brought me into this sports format. In 1994, I'm doing a comedy service and Bob McCowan hears the bits. He goes, it's pretty funny, but I don't want him on the tape. I don't want to talk back to the tape. I don't want to play the bits. I want him here.

So Bob brings me in. It was Bob. So Bob brought you into 590. Correct. Back in the whatever, mid-90s or whatever. Yeah, because I'm doing the comedy service, and we go back to his house, and I was the maniac, not him.

He'd be like, Richard, get out of my house now. And I'd go, no, what else you got in your fridge? We were close, very close. Okay. And so it's not me saying Bob's not good, my house now i go no what else you get in your fridge we had a black we talked like we were close very close okay and so it's not me saying bob's not good or bob at some point you know i you know i'm gonna wish the best for him because he went through the wars of early days of of sports radio and got banished around i thought he, at some point, treated very poorly. But because he's a savvy guy and he knows how to, he just knows how to do stuff.

I mean, there really isn't, again, one of those kinds of guys. Ask about Mark Petroni. Do I think Mark Petroni and Bob McCallum are the same? Obviously not. Way different leagues as well, too. But what I like about both of them is they don't care they don't care what people think of you or of them. They, they're,

they're going, you don't think Bobcat cares what people think of him? Not in that way. No, I don't. I don't because he knows what he's really good. And look, this is,

I was really young when I went there. Right. The one thing I learned from him, be, be centered in what your, what, in what your position's going to be. So let's say it's a character,

because to a degree, there's a little bit of character in Bobcat. For sure. I thought it was more than a degree. Isn't that just a mask he puts on for public consumption? The show is who that persona is. There's a lot of it in him, right? I mean, there's a...

But this cranky and bitter and all that kind of stuff. The curmudgeon thing, yeah. We had such good times. Like, I really look back on that time and enjoy it. And when it was kind of changed, because they bring in John Derringer. John and I are almost the same guy. Like, in some ways, when Bob Mack went senior...

It's funny, I have to say senior now. It's so weird. Yeah, you gotta say senior. Because I'm just calling him Macko. Macko puts us together and goes, look what I got. And it's funny, I have to say Senior now, it's so weird. Yeah, you gotta say Senior. Because I'm just calling Macko. Macko puts us together and goes, look what I got. And to a degree, I look back at it, and I'm like,

it's kind of crazy to think John and I were on the same show. Like, it is sort of crazy. And Nate, a lot of people can, I mean,

a lot of people still work in, in fact, a lot of people doing morning shows and stuff come out of that show. Like, do you remember the whole crew? Like,

is Craig Venn on that show? So, Craig Venn, Bob actually brings in with me because the original, the very, very, very first comedy service that came out of McLean Hunter.

Because it's up in Brampton out of CFNY. That's where I record. Bob Makowitz Senior. Goes and finds this young kid and said he can record all your bits. And this little slovenly kind of loser kid comes in. Hey guys, how's it going?

I'm like, oh God, is there someone better? And it's Craig Vann. Right. He actually came, he told a great story because Ted Wallachian, Ted Wallachian. Yeah. Ted Wallachian came in recently. We heard about how Craig Vann was supposed to edit his comedy thing that aired on 102.1

and left in a bunch of expletives that were supposed to be edited out and it aired and it was a whole thing but so Craig Vann who is a morning show host now at The Rock in Oshawa is Jim Lang on this show? So Jim Lang comes in as

the producer because he john had known him from doing stuff as a producer i think at q107 previously that's how jim comes into this because i don't know jim at all and i jim actually comes in with him from montreal i believe now jimmy might uh correct that but i'm pretty sure he brought brings in jimmy i invited jim on the show and he was afraid it would piss off his boss, but his boss is long gone now. But that's a whole separate episode. What, Jim wouldn't come in?

Right. Correct. What a coward. What a pussy. He might be watching. You can say it to him there. I mean, you have to remember, when you talk about Craig, a.k.a. Lobster Boy.

Lobster Boy, right. I think he's trying to shed that, but it's not working out for him. Jimmy, John, and myself. Right. We basically see ourselves as brothers. Like we really... Band of brothers. Even though it goes,

you know, there was, you know, and there was a turbulent time when we all get scattered all over the place. It never, it never changes for us. Like it would be like a reunion to see the four of us together, which has not happened in a very long time. And of course I was out in Calgary for those years. I'll make it happen here. But I've been, John Derringer is another guy.

And John hasn't given me a hard no. John has been maybe one day is kind of the response I get. But you know what? I've been trying to get John Derringer is another guy and John hasn't given me a hard no. John has been maybe one day is kind of the response I get. But you know what? I've been trying to get John Derringer for a long time. Put the four of us on. Dude.

Put the four of us on. We'll do it. You got to get John in though. I'll do it. We'll do it. Of course. By the way, John,

John signed that like a massive 10 year deal, right? Is that, that's coming up soon, right? That I don't know. I feel like,

I feel like that's been like nine years or something. I don't know. I have to go back to my calendar. But I just was curious if you had any predictions. Like what happens when the monster 10-year deal ends? Well, for all of us, and again, John, look, I don't think that company in particular,

I haven't seen them make the kind of blunders that other companies have. But the thing that I would do. They've made their fair share of blunders. Have you heard 102.1 lately? Come on, they make blunders at Chorus too, but please continue. No, I don't. Okay, I'd, the thing that I would do. They've made their fair share of blenders. Have you heard 102.1 lately? Come on, they make blenders at Chorus too, but please continue. No, I don't. Okay, I'd be unaware of that.

But if I'm them, just like, put it this way. If they want to renegotiate, so they say, John, we can't pay like $100 billion. Right. You have to do it for this. Now, we're exactly the same age. So either he wants to continue doing it because he loves it, or he'll go, you know what?

I've seen enough. I'll call it a day. Sure. He's probably saved well, invested well. He married well. He's got a great little girl. Well, they're not little now. And he made a great life for himself

and deserves every second of it. As I said, the Hayes family. Well, again, you've been praising the O-Dog and what's that show called again? Overdrive. Overdrive. We have to disclose, of course,

that so Brian Hayes is John Hayes' nephew. Correct. John Hayes, of course, is John Derringer. Yeah. And Bill is Brian's dad.

And Bill was a fantastic guest on this show. And Billy Hayes is one of the, look, he, both he and his brother, John John stare at me and go, you're not right. What is he doing here?

I have more stories of them going, get him out. Like, I love those guys, right? And so, and Billy, Billy, I go way back with, like way back with. And I knew Billy before John strangely enough oh wow but when we when John and I met you know it was just kind of the timing but

look John is a big supporter of mine and he said from the very beginning you don't need me like you gotta go away and go on your own like do your own thing fly a young bird don't be a co-host don't do the impressions like donhost. Don't do the impressions. Not don't do the impressions,

but don't be Johnny Sidekick and do nothing but the funny stuff. You can do your own. Do the stuff, but do it all yourself. Just do it. Have the Mike Richards show. Paul Romanek was the same way when the thing blew up.

Love that guy. Romy said, you don't need us. He goes, you certainly don't need me. Paul's very, it's sad and it kind of angers me a little bit. I know people are very particular about who they like, who they don't like. It can be a very pissy world in sports.

And he seemed to get ripped and raked over the coals. And look, if you don't like the guy's style or whatever, I understand that, but not really nasty. I know exactly what you mean. And I was like, well, I always kind of liked it. I liked it. They're like, well, he explains stuff. Oh, well, God forbid that someone kind of explains.

But he would do stuff like that. And I always credited him. He wasn't talking down to people. Maybe sometimes that's how it came across. But everyone kind of thinks they're an expert. I'm like, really? Have you spent as much time as that from junior on?

You know, it's like a Darren Dreger. These guys are so ingrained from an early career standpoint where Dregs would talk about him sleeping on the bus from Brandon to, you know, Vancouver or to Calgary with the Wheat Kings because he was the play-by-play guy or whatever it was or the reporter. He's sleeping. And that's why I think when Humboldt hits, that all of us,

especially those guys in Western Canada and those guys that were on those buses, know that it could have been any one of them. It could have been all of them. It could have been all of us. I mean, a lot of us have spent times on those buses. And I think sometimes the criticism of certain people, because I know them, kind of hurts a little bit. The Roman, if I may, and I don't know nearly as well as you do, but he has been on the show and we had a good talk and I really liked his work.

I said why. But he became what I would call like a whipping boy on Twitter and social media. Leaf fans on Twitter did not like him particularly calling the regional Leaf games. Like they just, there was a vocal minority

that made a lot of noise. I saw it in my Twitter streams and stuff. And it was similar to Glenn Healy got the same thing though. And I thought Glenn Healy was great.

I think Glenn Healy's fantastic. I know. But he got the same thing. For some reason, it's almost like with Larry Murphy. You know, we were booing the shit out of Larry Murphy and I thought Glenn Healy was great. I think Glenn Healy's fantastic. I know, but he got the same thing. For some reason, it's almost like with Larry Murphy, you know, we were booing the shit out of Larry Murphy and I've been told we were booing,

Gear Joyce tells me we were booing Larry Murphy when he brought his kid to the Riverdale farm, okay? Apparently, like, as the mob mentality kicks in

and you just, this is our whipping boy, let's go at him hard. This is Ackie Berg, whatever. And it happened for Romanuk and it's kind of a shame because I always thought he called a good game.

I learned a lot. I learned a lot from him. You know, when I wrote that book, I know I put certain people at the front of it, thanking them. He was one of them. He was very surprised because he's that way. He couldn't believe that I actually went out of my way to

put in print that I enjoyed my time with him, consider him a friend, and learned a lot, especially the art of interviewing, which people wouldn't think. And the way I look at it, and I think the number one reason why every single person I've ever interviewed, they come back. We're going through a process now, and this is what I really enjoy. So there was, Louis Zatzman I really enjoy. So there was, Lewis Zatzman was on today. People were like,

is that a lawyer? No. He has a podcast called Raptors Republic. So he's a young guy. First time he came on, he's pretty good, whatever. Today he was on, and he was really good because he was pushing back.

He started coming on. I know what that's about because I do this show that often the first time you're on with somebody, you haven't built that rapport. There's no comfort level. But the second time, it's a whole different story. It should be.

It's a whole different story. If you're getting better at it, that's how you should feel about it. And so we've had these guys, a guy named Rob Furnish who does this Talkin' Buds podcast. I mean, it's not Pierre Maguire. It's not Darren Dreger. It's not Darren Dreger. It's not these bigger names that people know,

but it's kind of fun doing it. It's what Stern did. Stern made people, in fact, one of these guys came up to me the other day at a wrestling event. Yeah, Impact Wrestling. People and women hitting each other with garbage cans and chairs.

He's part of the Stern Whack Pack. And he came up and he started talking to me. And I'm like, I know we're far away from a lot of those kinds of things, but when I see, as I said, for me, things like our sound being better, agencies saying, yeah, okay, we'll go with this, the woodbinds of the world coming aboard, and now Twitch, I know that it will take us another year to be where we want to be. And then finally,

and finally it's the signal. So that's the one thing, the last thing in the world that I'm actually able to just change and snap. No, you don't have that power. It's not, it's not my transmitter, but it will be and is being

addressed. It just won't be overnight because it's not like a lot of people like, okay, you're going to go and challenge 1050 right away, right? You're going to challenge the fan. Well, in some ways, it's like saying, okay, you just opened up Mike's hamburgers. You're going after McDonald's, right? You're going after Burger King.

I can't think that way. You want to. Because look, badly, do i want a chunk of the tsn no of course i do but what i need to do is make a living for my family what i need to do is make sure that dave can ask about the signal though uh is there why is there a rule uh i've been told that at nighttime it has to go down lower down you power down is power down. Is that a CRTC? Yeah. So because otherwise signals would bounce, the AM signal would bounce all over the place.

Fascinating. And you'd be listening to Rhode Island on our band, and 960 would go somewhere weird too. That's why late at night, depending where you are, you can hear all kinds of stations. If you're an AM buff, you could hear Chicago. Cleveland or whatever. Boston. Sure you could.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, very interesting. Okay. And at what time in the morning does it go back up? Well, this is what I said. Look, I said it better be six. It better be six.

I'm not so sure. Because on Chum, the clock on the wall would kind of gag. And sometimes you can hear the program change. That's what they call it. Because it kind of goes gunk. Like the Chum one did. The Chum one did. Okay.

But I am hoping that it hits six o'clock before we come on. Because when I drive in, I can't hear a station until I'm probably closer to Yonge Street. Right. So, okay. So, but right now it's somewhere during your show, I guess it kicks in right now. Like today. Well, it does. Because I can hear my station all the way to Curtis when I'm in my my driveway oh wow but some people my wife's car it depends nothing it's it

probably depends on like weather and wind who knows but also the radio like some cars have no chance others they're listening all the way from new market in interesting so it's but that's what needs to change now the with the crts and regulations and how you do that because certain people can kind of kibosh it, they said, well, it depends on who you're closest to. They go, who are you close to? Let's see, 960 going to, boy, that's not good. 1010 would be the closest one.

1010 is the closest one, right? Also called Newstalk and owned by Bell. Interesting. But that cease and desist is, as soon as you guys get a number in the numerus, they're going to send that letter. Oh, you know. You should get a frame.

It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. But go ahead. Go ahead. But we're not fighting with them. I mean, look, we're not. The only thing I would say is that being David, and clearly we're David, that the Goliaths that we have to fight, that being TSN 1050 and the fan,

in size they're Goliath, but in the fight, I don't believe they are. Because if I have to get a share and a half just to beat one of them, that's not a monumental fight. Is it going to be tough? Yeah, sure it is, but I think I can do it. I think we can do it.

Well, we're going to find out. And you mentioned Raptors Republic. Yes. Right. So let me play a question for you from Raptors devotee on Twitter. His name is Brian Gerstein. Oh, I think I know this. Propertyinthe6.com. Let's hear Brian. Propertyinthe6.com. Hi, Mike. Brian Gerstein here, self-represented with PSR Brokerage and

proud sponsor of Toronto Might. Looks like Gallery on the Park condos will be ready to buy late June or early July, but I won't know for sure until the third week in May as developers have a meeting scheduled with the city. Completion date is set for 2023 on these both investor-friendly and end-user suites. Very natural. Contact me now by phone or text at 416-873-0292 and I can put you on my VIP first access list. Mike, I know how much you pride yourself on your own coaching and how you're able to really understand

the nuances of the game. The reason why I'm asking is because I'm still upset over game number two when Brett Brown, the 76ers coach, made several adjustments, the main one having a bead guard Pascal, and Nurse and the Raptors, with the main one having Embiid guard Pascal, and Nurse and the Raptors, with the exception of Kawhi, seemed unable to deal with it. Should Nurse have done a better job of adjusting back during the game, or was it just a case of the wide-open looks not falling and the bench completely bombing out? It's interesting because we talked a little bit about that this morning, because Embiid is such a terrible matchup for for most teams uh i probably say it's the latter even though i think that look the the raptors are good defenders kawaii is a good defender siakam is going to have

real difficulties against mb so you have to kind of do and then i'll you know you talk about nurse i'll steal a little bit from what Brad Stevens kind of looks at things. So if you're playing Milwaukee or the guy that is killing you, at some point you realize you probably can't shut him down. So what you have to shut down is everybody else. Easier said than done. But I think if you have consistency, if you're the 76ers, with Ben Simmons, with the Jimmy Butler,

this game tonight, for instance, will be tight. I think it comes down to last possession, and I think most of these games will, simply because the Raptors' bench has not helped them for most of the year. I don't know what's going on with Van Vliet. I don't know if he's kind of in his own way, in his own head a little bit,

because I do like him. I liked him when he was a Wichita State Shocker. So I think for tonight, I don't think it's so much about, because Embiid's probably not 100% anyway. But I think to me, to answer your question, Siakam's going to struggle. He's going to struggle defensively against Embiid just because the matchup is bad. It's sort of like if Simmons, if Ben Simmons were consistent on, and he hasn't been, on a nightly basis,

this would be a very, I'd look at the series like the Raptors would be tooth and nail to win it. He is a big guard. And you know what? I'll go a step further. You're talking about coaching. Here's the problem with the one and done.

Ben Simmons, so he's the problem with the one and done. Ben Simmons, so he's one year with LSU. One more year? I know they can't think that way because of the money that's on the other side. Which is significant. But one more year, right? And you just, most guys are not going to do that. And I understand that. But in the

risk-reward scenario, it's a no-brainer. Right. Fiscally, I can't ask a guy to not go pro but he's one of those guys i think it really does show up so to i don't know if i've answered your question but i i i think that they're not going to be able with mb'd you limit limit what he does but shut down everybody else because jimmy butler and simmons are not consistent enough. That's where I'm putting my guys. There you go. Brian Palmer.

What you gonna do? Jake the Snake. R-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O-T-K-A-Y-O- when anyone with a Hamilton connection comes on the show. It's like he's all in, you know. Argos suck. Has Mike ever had a dream where he was flying over the Andes with the members of Helix and the plane crashed? Then Les Stroud, he's a survivor man, arrived and informed him how he could survive alone in the remote wilderness.

I don't know if Drake was having a drinky-poo when he wrote that one, but it's an excuse to play some Helix anyway. It's an interesting scenario. I don't think it would be Survivor Man that would come out. If it was a dream of mine, it's going to be somewhat different. For some reason, I don't know why, but I dream a lot about, what am I drawing a blank now? Describe. Who are we talking about? Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Angelina Jolie. I have a lot of dreams about Angelina Jolie. Oh, because you probably watched Gio on Crave or something like that. Gia. Not Gio.

I don't know, but it's always the same. We're always in a nice restaurant that's got the bankettes, the big deep booths, and she's always using that fake English accent. And it's not like full-on sex, but it's like really good making out. Like full-on necking.

In this dream, do you still have the bag? I want to know. Kate, it's interesting that you say that. When I dream, there's no bag. Right. Sort of like, I think it would be like somebody in a wheelchair would have a dream where they're running. I get, but I don't have dreams with the bag on. And of course, that would really hurt the answer to the show.

But almost to an extent, it's why I think when I see my reflection in windows, with this thing the way it looks now, I don't think I look that way. I don't, I'm not prepared for the image that comes back, I think. Which is, as I said, these days, a little tough, but. No, hang in there, man. Like, I root for your success. And I know you came in once and you talked about how Drake was going to guest on your show. And there was some, I would call that like some pie in the sky.

But I think your current goals are fairly grounded in reality. I don't have a good sense of whether that numerus goal is possible for 960 with its frequency and uh even you know you can put some ads in the sides of mississauga buses but that's a little different than the uh the awareness campaigns we get this there was a pair you know we joked about this uh jonas brothers reunion yesterday this was the i think it was the billboard awards which is uh aired here by your friends at bell media property okay i think ctv2 or something and through the show there's all they're doing a whole bunch of huge like virgin radio 99.9 and chum fm 104.5 ads like so i always

joke with my podcast like i'm watching a big hockey hockey night in Canada game and there's an ad for a podcast 31 thoughts or whatever right? I can tell you why that happens. Tell me. So when I went to see Scott Moore when he was still the president assuming that I was probably going back to Rogers or the fan which I did I showed

him what I was doing with the podcast. He goes yeah you don't even have to show me. He goes look here's how this works. Unless you're part of the big machine, unless you're being promoted by that big machine, you got no chance. There are, you know, a plethora of podcasts. As I used to say, I get, you know, I could have the ghost of Gandhi on and him talking about how much he likes red meat and chocolate. And a 12-year-old girl can put on her favorite lipstick and crutch the Gandhi ghost. Because that's what happens.

What I like to do is I use a cherry. Because they have those out there. These little girls have their own channels. They get millions. They have millions of views. I'd have 15 for whatever it would be. It is, and I said, so here's how it works. I came in, I saw the podcast, and I cut them all.

All gone. I went to Elliot and said, you're going to do something called 31 questions. I'm going to put, okay. What's that? 31 thoughts. 31 thoughts. Right. With Merrick, Jeff Merrick. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm going to put... What's that? 31 thoughts. 31 thoughts. With Merrick.

Jeff Merrick. Yeah. And I'm going to put a gazillion dollars behind it. I'm going to promote it in the machine, by the machine, for the machine, and it will be number one. Right. So how... Although spit and chiclet still beats it, but yeah. How do I

compete out of 234 King Street? Well, Mike, okay, but how do you compete? How do I compete? Anyway, that's a whole... You're right. But that's how... If you're talking about that, that's how you win.

And so, therefore, people say, when I look at my radio station, here's how I win. I need to understand the mechanism. So if there's almost 2 million people in Mississauga, in my demo, once New Berris comes my way, how many of them do I need to even, in a morning, find traffic on the fives?

How many times in an hour? Once? Twice? How many people? Do you know how few meters there are? What if 10 people did it? What does that number look like? I know what that number looks like,

and it's a good one. So 10 people wearing these devices in the right demo tuning into your show on 960 in 2020, and Bob's your uncle? A share and a half? Wow. That's why I don't like ratings.

I know that's a whole separate thing, but it's just such a small percentage of people carrying these devices and extrapolation. In the hundreds. It's in the hundreds for a place that's, was it 6 million, the GTA?

Yeah. Unbelievable. That they can extrapolate. Unbelievable. I need a moment here, Mike. We're winding down here. You've been amazing.

This is like the two hour past the two hour mark, but we're almost done here. I apologize. No, it's all good. I want to say this is important because it's for a great cause. So, Crazy Funny, One Brave Night Extravaganza. It's an evening of laughter, magic, music, and giving back featuring Elvira Kurt, Andrew Bush, and Beyond Mental Borders and others. This is a friend of the show, Jamie Dew.

He was on the tribute to Gord Downie. We aired here on the one-year anniversary of Gord's passing. Jamie Dew is helping to raise funds for CAMH and mental health initiatives. This crazy funny, it's a great night. It's on May 10th. That's a Friday night from 830. It's at 830 at the Social Capital Theater. Tickets start at 20 bucks. Social Capital Theatre. Tickets start at 20 bucks. Go to ashowofstrength.com. And this is new, so brand new.

I have two pairs of tickets to give away to listeners of Toronto Mic'd. So this is very simple. Email me at mikeattorontomic.com. So send an email to mikeattorontomic.com. Put crazy funny in the subject line and just tell me the name of Elvira Kurtz comedy network show that she hosted. and just tell me the name of Elvira Kurt's comedy network show that she hosted. So just tell me the name of that show

that Elvira Kurt hosted on the comedy network. Send that email to Mike at TorontoMike.com. You could win a pair of tickets to see Crazy Funny One Brave Night extravaganza. And did I mention the URL? Yeah, showofstrength.com if you want to buy tickets. A little more

Helix here. Final couple questions, because your fans were nice enough, and then we'll wrap up here. But one of the questions is from Duncan Crearar. Crearer? Crearer. That's a tough one to say, because I have struggles with brewery and such words. But

Duncan Crearer, when did you start doing impressions like Foster Hewitt, Bob Cole, and were you always a fan of impressionists when you were growing up? Oh, as a kid, yeah. I mean, it started very early. Elementary school, for sure. And, of course, 1972 with Foster Hewitt and the Canada-Russia series was big. But my first voices, Foster was definitely one of them.

Who was another? John Travolta was an earlyussia series was big. But my first voices, Foster was definitely one of them. Who was another? John Travolta was an early one that was weird, but it was like the Barbarino, John Travolta. Yeah, of course, of course, White Hogs. And of course, there's a couple of voices that I do now, three that I can think of off the top of my head, where the way I used to impersonate them, like when I first started or at a certain point,

even like doing stand-up or emceeing, they changed so you kind of have to do them differently um but yeah and then I went to a golf course when I was in high school and I practiced in the golf range and then I was asked to do stand-up for member guest day and that kind of started why I went to yuck yucks when I was in grade 12 and it was those kinds of voices. Do you have an opinion, like a short one before I play us out on this Castor Semenya story where she's been banned from international competitions for having too much

natural testosterone in her body? Are you getting these stories? It's a big international story. I could care less. You don't have an opinion on banning a woman. I no could care less. I don't know. But do you... You don't have an opinion on banning a woman. I no longer care now.

I no longer care about people's gender, their sexuality, their color of their... You could wear a yarmulke and have antennas. I don't care. You know what? People go, you can't call me. You can't call me Debra. You can't call me Steve. You gotta call me

they. Whatever it is you want. But this is the opposite of whatever you want. This is saying you cannot compete because your body naturally produces too much testosterone. I don't care. What sport is it? Running. I'm surprised. So I'm out.

I don't care. You're not talking about this one, I guess, on 960. No. No. People are like, what do you think about this? Look, unless it has to do with the point spread, unless it has to do with something that I immediately care about, I am out. We're out too, brother.

But good luck with the Twitch. This is Monday. You're live on Twitch TV. Yes, very excited about that. I'm excited too. And please subscribe. If you see it, once it goes out there, go to my – it's on now, but there's nothing on there because we haven't started.

Right. So, Raul Mike Richards at Twitch. If you look for the channel ron mick richard channel you can subscribe and i i would love that tell don collins to give me a shout uh good luck when the book when you start recording things for numerus in january 2020 i'm very very you have to come back in june how about you come back in june 2020 June, the first Thursday of June will be that moment. Okay, so that day or the next day you come in here. Is that cool? Oh, it depends.

If it's good, I'll be showing up at your house. No, I mean, you're the real talk man. If it's bad, I want to hear about it too. Yeah, you'll hear about it too. I'll have an excuse. Get you back. Ah, stupid clouds. And that brings us to the end of our 460th show.

You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Mike, are you still at Raw Mike Richards? Correct, on Twitter, yes. Yes, and everyone should follow you on Twitch TV and everything else. Okay, our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer.

Propertyinthe6.com is at Raptor's Devotee. I feel good about tonight. I think we're going to take him tonight. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Fast Time Watch and Jewelry Repair is at Fast Time WJR. And Sticker U is at Sticker U. Don't forget to tweet me a picture of wherever you put that sticker. On Monday.

So it could be up there for three hours every day. Love it. See you all next week. And I don't know what the future can hold or do 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 green Yeah, the wind is cold but the smell of snow won't stay today And your smile is fine and it's just like mine of snow won't stay today. And your smile is

fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Cause everything is rosy and gray.