Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Mike Richards: Toronto Mike'd #1304

Episode Date: August 11, 2023

In this 1304th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike catches up with Mike Richards who has a big announcement to make. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, The Moment Lab, Ridley Funeral Home and Electronic Products Recycling Association.

Welcome to episode 1304 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. A fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times, and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Palma Pasta. local home delivery in the GTA. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh,

homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. RecycleMyElectronics.ca. Committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. Getting hip to the hip. An evening for the Downey Wenjack Fund on September 1st. Be there.

The Moment Lab. Brand marketing and strategy. PR, advertising and production. You need The Moment Lab and Ridley Funeral Home. Pillars of the community since 1921. Today, making his triumphant return to Toronto Mic'd, he's got a big announcement to make.

It's FOTM Mike Richards. Welcome back, Mike. Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi. Sorry. I noted when I saw you, you had a long drive to get here. Firstly, I'm honored you made the long drive to be here in person.

Yeah, thanks, Google Maps, for taking me on all the worst roads. Is that right? I don't understand. Like, when I finally got here, going, well, I know where I am now. Why wouldn't they just say Lakeshore to Islington? Oh, no.

Really? Take a left on Cornhole. Take a go on Cornhole Road. I'm like, what? Okay, I forgive you for your tardiness. We are going to cook with gas here because we have a hard stop at 12, but that gives us a good 70 minutes, all killer, no filler. Is that math right?

Yes. Okay, my math is correct. You've got a big announcement to make, but I just wanted to say that you look trim. This is the thinnest. I think you look pretty fit and healthy. How are you doing health-wise these days? look pretty fit and healthy how are you doing health-wise these days well this is the the shape that i am now is the shape that i was in up till just pre-cancer probably what it was like most

people assume that when you have those kinds of issues you you get you get thin right it's people like you know they think that but the the thing is there are times where, because of what it did. And for me, it was rectal cancer, you know, in the, in the early two thousands, it seemed like I just really couldn't control anything about my being. And so, um, yeah, sure. There was probably some, uh, you know, lifestyle issues in Calgary, but it also was when I wasn't aware that I had it, I had no idea. And so my metabolism just got out of whack. And so for the better part, I would say of, well, if this is 2023, I would be safe in saying that probably for over 20 years,

the person that I look like, especially on TSN, because when I look at those pictures and those videos, like I can't watch it. I never thought I looked like that. As most people who weren't that i was never big i mean i was an athlete most of my life i never ever thought that i would be you know that sloppy looking that that big so i was looking at pictures the other day of of a trip that i was on and and i was you know i was horrified i was like i was but that's

what you know being off the rails physically does And so since that time, especially two years ago, when I had the reversal, I'm now back to, you know, 170-something. You're fighting weight. Yeah, yeah. You know, we couldn't even take a piss at the Arcana Center without staring at that handsome mug of yours. You were like, well, lining the bathroom. But that was probably 40, almost 45, sometimes 50 pounds lighter than I was.

I tried to hide it as best I could. I mean, that's what you do. You hide it all the time. You're like Ann Wilson from Heart. You're wearing a lot of black, a lot of walking behind the shade of trees. Poor Ann. Hey, one of the greatest rock singers of all time. Let's get that straight.

No doubt. No doubt. Okay. So because I know we have a big announcement, so we're just setting the table here. So bear with me. I need a half an hour to run through your previous five episodes. Just kidding.

But why don't you crack that beer on the mic? So Great Lakes beer sent over fresh, but right on the mic. So lift. Oh, you can't get close. Oh, there we go. So that's a lager, Mr. Richards. And again, it's here. I know I'm not drinking because it's too early for me,

but you're a rock star here. Pretend I'm drinking. I'm an Irish person, so it's not that early. It's only 10.53 a.m. It's almost 11 o'clock. You can drink on the patio of Great Lakes at 11 a.m., I believe. It's great beer. Like, look, I know people, and he's going to say it's great beer

because it's free, and he's got a problem. No, it is from the first time that we've had this. These guys, the beer's fantastic. I see them all over the place now they've grown i mean they've grown quite a bit since the first time i'll take credit for that they do it of course that's why you advertise on the show that's popular so let me run down quickly because this is your sixth appearance so you got your jacket after the fifth appearance let me run down this very quickly. January 2016. So 2016, January, is when we first met. You came over for episode 156.

Mike chats with TSN Radio 1050 Morning Show host Mike Richards about his years on the Fan 590. The team, that was quite the chat, Calgary's Fan 960 and why he chose 1050 over 590. We also discussed TSN Radio

ratings going against Dean Blundell and his battle with, well not Dean's battle, unfortunately yours, but his battle with rectal cancer and that was

a great debut. So that was January 2016. So we've now known each other, if I do that math, seven plus years. Yes. You came back

in February 2017. This is episode 219. Mike chats with sports broadcaster Mike Richards about what happened at TSN Radio 1050. Apparently I got you fired there. And what exactly raw Mike Richards will be. So that's where you kind of unveiled.

What was the plan at that point? We're going to walk through these chapters. So you left 1050, and when you came back in February 2017, that was to announce the Raw Mike Richards podcast? Yeah. I mean, the plan was, and I really didn't know what I was doing. I had all these great plans. Did Drake ever drop by?

No, he did not. I remember you told me Drake was going to drop by. No, no. That's what I was told. They told me a lot. You're going to shoot in 3D or 360 or whatever it was. Who told you this, may I ask? I can't disclose.

I can't disclose. See, I need to learn how to bullshit people because maybe I'm a terrible business person, but I simply cannot. I will tell you the truth, but it sounds like somebody told you Tariq was going to hang with you. Well, you know, you end up sounding, you know,

it's kind of Trump-ish, right? When you do, there's going to be a lot of great things, a lot of great things, a lot of great. We're going to shoot in 3D. That's what we call it, 3D. You know, and this is what. And, of course, it was horrible. I couldn't stand it.

It was like the worst six months. Now, you learn things on the fly, but, you know, you go from corporate big time radio and, of course, on national television for an hour. In the bathrooms of the Air Canada Center. Yeah, and then people are telling you, don't stand there. You know, like it was a very humbling and crushing experience, probably, I would say. But then you came back in November 2018.

This is episode 395, and here's my description I wrote at the time. Mike Richards makes a big announcement. So this is the same description I could use for this episode. It's going to be very big, very huge, big very huge very exciting announcement that you were going to saga 960 yes okay so good we're we're building something here we're building it from scratch okay may 2019 you come back and that's episode 460 and mike catches up with mike richards who has plenty to say and announcements to make so again again, I noticed a trend here.

Listen, this is a big announcement today. But if you say big announcement too many times, it becomes a boy who cried wolf. But this is a big announcement today. So that, what was, do you remember at all? Like, so May 2019, what was that announcement? So I couldn't, I'm assuming that was probably just before COVID?

Yeah, well, it's a year before COVID. So COVID's in 20 oh yeah 2019 is covid march 2020 2020 is covid sorry so march 2020 is covid that visit was may 2019 so being on the on the on the tiny station trying to get it to a place that was a commercial revenue generating station because to that point it was a circus it was a commercial revenue generating station. Because to that point, it was a circus. It was a weird puppet show on crack. I have questions about that place. It was very difficult to find footing.

And we kind of were starting to do that. I mean, I was starting to basically, myself and Dave Bastel, at that point, what anyone would consider to be a full-time salary through the sponsorship, it was not terrible money. Okay, good. And the response to it was, it was so hard, you know, because there's something lost in translation. The Panu family had been, and still are, substantial in Indian programming.

Okay, and they own Saga 960. Yes, yes. He owns Saga 960. Yes. Yes. Amongst a lot of other things, including when you go up into those big channels, the 1,900 and whatever that,

where you see all the words you can't read or understand. Right. And it's basically all prayers. It's religious programming. And he is enormous. That is Ravinder Panu Singh. What religion is this? Punjabi.

Oh, that's a religion. I'm going to plead some ignorance here. Oh, Sikh. So he's Sikh.cha uh actually the first man probably in canada to show up on television in a turban i would believe that's that's the correct trivia when he started at uh what we call it mtv back at the time so cfmt cf cfmt cmt so You're watching 47, Cable Fun. It would have been him. He would have been on there and he wore a turban. Okay.

So, he's a groundbreaker. Okay. So, this family owns Saga 960. So, I'm going to hold on my Saga 960 because I'm almost done your five episodes and then we can get to the big announcement. But you did come back in January 2020. So, this is just pre-pandemic. We were probably hearing rumors of this Wuhan virus happening in China.

So January 2020. In this episode of 575, that's a good round number, by the way, Mike chats with Mike Richards about his upcoming surgery, his show on 960, why 590 and 1050 suck, and what's wrong with sports radio today. I feel like that's an evergreen conversation. And again, we still have a whole hour so we got the announcement but maybe during this hour if you don't mind uh letting us know what you think of uh the programming on 590 and 1050 now

that would be fantastic but here let's get to the announcement and then we'll we'll chat i love that you're here well you have to include your last sentence for this all to sort of tie in and make sense so yes over that period of time and being at saga i thought it would be a good place to to be safe while the rubble was falling in sports media i mean it was just everything was crashing down you know my confusion originally over being, you know, having my job taken away from me at TSN 1050, I look back on it now, and I was sort of Lisa Laflamme before Lisa Laflamme was.

Like, why would you take away the guy that was your, the center of that universe at the time? And why would you, like, why? And of course, it's Bell, and it's nothing but money. Well, can I ask this? Because a fellow FOTM, so you're an, why? And of course, it's Bell and it's nothing but money. Well, can I ask this? Because a fellow FOTM, so you're an FOTM, of course, friend of Toronto Mike, one of my favorite FOTMs. But Michael Landsberg's also an FOTM. So Landsberg gets that morning show.

They've since parted ways, obviously. And Landsberg came on for his exit interview. And you can listen and discuss amongst yourselves how genuine he was in that. That's for you to decide. But Landsberg's not working for cheap, right? He wasn't working for $45,000 a year. Well, I think what had happened was

they were going to bring his TV show to an end. Off the record. So he also was a major part of the Bell Let's Talk. Big time. So Bell being the machine that they are, wasn't going to sit there, at least this is my belief anyways, and Michael could tell

me different. Right. There's no way they were just going to cut him loose in the middle of their big propaganda machine. PR disaster. I'll call it propaganda. But if you fire, because Bell Let's Talk, if you notice, they kind of took a year off. I think after the Lisa Laflamme, and you're right,

you were kind of the Lisa Laflamme before Lisa Laflamme. But in that environment post-Laflamme, Bell Media took, they took a year off. There was very, there was almost no Bell Let's Talk activity that I, at least that hit me this past, what is it, February or whatever, right? Like, they took a year off. Well, they kind of had to, the heat on it.

I mean, I had talked about this on my podcast. So that's four years ago. Right. Exactly what this was, which was a beard, you know, for this propaganda of we want to help people. Now, two things about that. One, I think it did start conversations about mental illness, like legitimately.

Reducing the stigmatization? Yeah, I illness, like legitimately. Reducing the stigma, stigmatization. Yeah, I really, I do. I think the people that came in at that time and the people that talked openly about some of those issues, we'd never talked about it before.

So that's, that is good. Right. But that's the evil genius part. They're able to hide that and then gas entire stations and hundreds and hundreds of families and hundreds. Like it,

it just came part and parcel, but they got greedy with it. They got greedy with the firing. And when they went to Lisa Laflamme, they went one too far. To me, that was the line in the sand where people said, you know what? I don't think Bell's, I don't think they're very sincere about helping people. Interesting. And then it just was like, we better not do this. Because then you saw all the memes, all the great comments that were, you know, probably five years too late.

However, accurate. And I think at that point, someone must have said, you know, I think people are kind of catching on to what we're doing here. We talk about how much money we raised and then we fire hundreds of people like the next day. And then when we talk about our quarter earnings and they're like huge and they're like the billions and then we fire all these people you know what i think people are catching on to this and i honestly believe obviously not in that manner but to a degree someone said yeah we might want to take a step back on this one and they did and they did so i i will say i mean next to death i think losing your job is the most traumatic uh mental health experience you're gonna have really like like that's you know so

you're right it seems kind of so you can imagine what happens when you have both this is what i'm saying right i'm on i'm on the cancer table and then it's like by the way we're taking your job away from you and you were literally like like so when they fired you you were literally like i'm trying to remember the details now i know you've told me in you. And you were literally like, like, so when they fired you, you were literally like, I'm trying to remember the details now. I know you've told me in the past, but you were literally being treated for your cancer, right? Well,

when they made that decision, um, and, uh, you know, overdrive, it just sort of started at that point, which was good because it was the right thing to do for them,

like to do that show. Right. So I just thought, you know, you'd have ourselves in the morning. That would be myself and Dave Bastel. And you have overdrive in the afternoon. It made all the sense in the world. Like like anyone i don't care who you were consultant this was a perfect you know bookend to what you're supposed

to do in the day right but what i didn't know was and no one could have known is this is the start of bell coming in with a with a crowbar to tsn opening it up and just starting to rip shit out of it because they just didn't want to pay the cost. Cause this is, if you remember, it's all domino effect. Once they get rid of me and my salary, they know they're going to gas, um, the, the, um, uh, Michael Landsberg show. So then they easily just put him in for exactly five years. So it's almost like the golden handshake. I'm gone. He's going to be gone. So there there he's it was very methodical in the way in which they did this which was to get rid of all that money so you were a victim of

cost cutting do you think bell media and again we're going to get back to saga 960 in the big announcement in a moment i know people are excited about that but do you think bell media gives a shit about sports radio no i don't think bell i don't think bell gives a shit about sports radio? No. I don't think Bell gives a shit about radio, period. The I heart radio? It's the I no heart radio. You're garbage. They don't care about their people. They got into an industry, what, to kill it?

They were just talking to Jeff Lumby yesterday. Lumby was on my show yesterday from France. FOTM Jeff Lumby, of course. And he's going, why would you allow? Because they're the death star. I mean, that's really what they are. And until the CRTC wants to act upon it, and they're the death star. I mean, that's really what they are. And until the CRTC wants to act upon it, and they never

will. Like, if you're waiting for the good ending or the happy story for Bell and the big companies, it ain't going to happen. I mean, look at your cell phone bills. It's not going, they're going to run this country any way they want. They have the hammer. So everything is money related. So

people, like, there was a time when you go up north, and they go, oh, what's this station? Oh, it's the canoe. So everything is money related. So people, like there was a time when you go up north and you go, oh, what's this station? Oh, it's the canoe. It's the moose. You know, it's the leaves or whatever the station's called. And you hear young guys on there going, oh, that was Madonna. She sure looks nice. I wonder if she'd date me. Like whatever the thing was.

And then you go, I kind of love this. It's kind of quirky. It's kind of weird, right? You're up there in a cottage or you're camping and you're here. It's local, yeah. And then people starting a career to move forward and eventually land up in one of the major cities, hopefully the end goal being Toronto. And that is all gone.

They've eliminated all of that because it's either an iHeart radio station up in Bracebridge or Gravenhurst or Midland or Penetang. And it's all voice tracked. It's Ross and Mocha in like 20 different markets across the country. I suppose. I mean, I don't know the format. I know who they are, but it's like, what is that? What is that when you're sitting there and you're in Huntsville,

and they go, well, you know, I just, I hate it. And if you're in radio, you realize that they've eaten their young, and it's over. That part is over, and it's not coming back what about rogers though does rogers give a shit about uh sports radio well you know what um rogers still has some radio people in there they still have a little bit of love for it now when it comes to sports radio the guys who would the way i would put is, someone like Greg Sansoni who understands the real workings of sports radio and has a love for it,

has to still bow down to those whose last name is Rogers. If it were different, then I think you would find different people on that radio station, including probably someone like myself. But that's never going to happen. It's never going to happen in Calgary. So for all the Calgarians who thought this is a great, here's our chance.

You can go back. I'm not getting back in. Neither is anybody else. And you have to remember when I make this announcement, that's coming up. Yes. Of my announcement, ladies and gentlemen,

if my so-called contemporaries, if you looked at all those that I've worked with in sports radio, all these, let's say the last 20 years, right? They're all gone. None of them have really surfaced. Oh, but Greg Brady is the 640 morning guy.

But see, he's the only one left. Right. Greg is the only one left and he's not doing sports. Right. That's correct. Anybody else that was in the category that I have always been in? I mean, so Jim Lang, but he's at the region doing music. You got Craigie

and Lucky and but Craig is doing his show in Oshawa but the the core of what was Toronto broadcasting aside from people saying well yeah but you guys all got old you guys all got older well that is true because that's what happens right but for the most part for instance in the states they don't really open then that by that measure then howard stern would have been gone a long time ago then you wouldn't put these guys there'd be no sports radio in in the states and yet it's still very successful a very successful format oh god i almost did very successful format very successful very that's what we call it we call it the best radio yeah and here and i can give you a my analogy is this yeah they were upset about not making money in the sports format as as companies but what they did

was it's kind of like the guy who buys a Lamborghini and he puts it in his driveway and it drives by and he was bragging about it I got a look at the Lamborghini's they come by and it says for sale like the next day and they're like what's the matter it's a piece of junk it doesn't work and then someone's gonna say does work. You just don't know how to run it. That's sports radio in this country. Wow. Okay. Now, how long did you run at News Talk Saga 960?

About four and a half years. Today was my very, very last show. It was the final week, and the finale was literally an hour ago. The farewell show, as you call it, just happened this morning. And it never happened. Trust me, in radio, that is not a thing. Well, let me ask you, when you went it, which just happened this morning. And it never happened, trust me, in radio. That is not a thing. Well, let me ask you, when you went, so who's your boss there?

Who's that owner you named? The Panu is the family that owns it, the Panu family. And then the daughter, Jyoti Panu, was the sort of general manager. And then the guy was the key in running it, is a guy by the name of Praveen, who I brought with me. I pronounce his last name,

but it's not even close. I mean, it's, it's, uh, it's like Matthew cause saying an Italian name. It, it,

it won't be good. And so, uh, between those two, they're the ones who ran it. And I was there for basically four and a half years. And when you told them, like,

when did you tell them that this was your last week on the air? Like, like, how did they take that? Like, did they, well, for a moment, did they say,

okay, you're done now, no final show? No, because we were very close. When you run a place that's like that, and I always like it to be like a family. I want to hear more, but now that you're not there, I feel like you can be a little more honest about the place.

Because from where I sit, you were kind of an outlier in that you seem like an actual real show doing real interesting broadcasting. And then things around you seemed a little nut-hut shit show. Well, it got goofy. I mean, they're quirky. I mean, there's people who've never been on the air, people who I don't know where they came from.

And they'd be there for a short period of time, and they'd leave. Do they pay to be on? I'm curious. So, okay. Well, briefly, I was. Briefly, I was. But my money came from sponsorship from the sponsors who sponsored the show no i mean like do people pay to be on the air

like uh i think there is a program now they're in a very different place than they were beforehand but it never became a commercial revenue generating station which is what my goal was from the beginning but when covid came in they simply weren't going back to, they weren't going to a try after that. And it's, it's more or less a community radio station, a volunteer community radio station is what it is. Okay. So the big question coming up, but I do remember one of your previous five visits,

you, uh, your big announcement was that you guys were going to be rated. Like you were going to be part of the numerous PPM radio ratings. Did that ever happen no no once uh once uh covet hit that was it for them so then they just wanted to survive and at that point i'll be honest at that point during this period of time i had thought possibly that that's i might end up going back to the fan 590 at least that was my plan in the discussions that i was having with people okay slow down Slow down. This is a big bomb. You dropped there.

So did you have like legitimate discussions with any, uh, significant decision makers at Rogers about you returning to the fan five 90? Yes. Wow. Well, how close did this come to happen? Close.

How close? Like, like, uh, a thin piece of prosciutto being really. Yeah. So what were you going to be, the morning show host?

Yeah. Okay, because they put Chris Cuthbert's son in there, Justin. But this is long before, this is when, again, conversations. Scott McArthur was there? Who are we talking about here? I'm trying to remember.

It would have been after Scott. After Scott, yeah. It was a point where I believed that I could have teamed up, put a team together, and the belief from a lot of them at Rogers would have enjoyed that or liked it. But as it got within the last year and a half, two years,

it was very apparent that they weren't going to entertain that. And it wasn't just me. It was just... But it came that close. Hey, so Mike, you came... That's the last... During the pandemic, I guess. Is it the pandemic that killed this deal's like in the last during the pandemic i guess is it the pandemic that killed this deal or was it no no no pat it was during kind of so coming out of

it yeah this is where i think probably from a corporate standpoint and this is the stations that they have yeah was that we're not going to spend a ton of money on radio considering all the revenue generating sources that rogers has the last thing they're going to get a ton of money on radio considering all the revenue generating sources that rogers has the last thing they're going to get to is radio and at the bottom of that pile is sports radio and so they're gonna possibly have these stations on but the people manning them yeah are not going to be a list if you want to put they're not making aaron davis money they won't be making, I don't know, pizza, pizza, pizza nova money.

They're just not going to do it. Nor do they want to reinvest, and you have to realize, it's AM sports. Unless you want to do what I had my experience was in Calgary, for instance, where it made a shit load of money, and Kelly Kirsch, the program director, let me do whatever I wanted to get to that point,

to be number one and to get those advertisers. But those guys are all gone too. When I say that the Lamborghini analogy, that's because the guys who knew how to run a Lamborghini and turn it on and put the brakes on, those people are all gone. They're all gone. They went to make some real money, like adult money, so they could live in Toronto because you can't live in Toronto at 45,000 a year. No.

And so it's just not coming back. And at that point, then I knew I was in trouble. Then I'm in real trouble at that point. About a year and a half ago, maybe two years ago, I thought, well, this could be it because I don't know how much longer I can stay doing what I'm doing at Saga 960. Because they're not going to go back to, they're not spending money either. And I can't morally or ethically go to people

to advertise or keep the advertisers saying, oh, it's going to get real big now. My thought was- Well, you know, there's hosts on that show that are literal anti-vaxxers. That is part of the problem, trying to sell a station like that to mainstream advertisers well you couldn't sell it as to me it'd be very difficult mcdonald's for example or i don't know coca-cola these big

advertisers probably aren't going to touch a uh a station that like literally has uh some strange conspiracies spilled over the airwaves as if they are facts yeah all the all the time. So Petroni goes on, he says what he wants to say. And I just used to laugh cause I find it so entertaining. And then you have Richard Serrett who's, who's now on and he's,

he's got all kinds of stuff going on. But see, that's initially to me was the attraction that a lot of people had in the seventies when it wasn't controlled corporately or by the consultants. Guys would come on, you know, look at Marsden. You look at guy, you go back into the chum FM area and into the early Q107. You don't have to, I mean, how about CFNY?

I mean, you had real personalities saying whatever the hell they wanted to that weren't necessarily the same as the morning show or the afternoon show or the, the, what was going on at night. It was eclectic. So what was going on at night it was eclectic so it was kind of a yeah eclectic there was a charm to the weirdness it's not cookie cutter right like it's not like you tune in you said before like nowadays it sounds like there's gonna be one broadcast for the country for each style of genre of music or whatever but like which you know for all its faults, the 960 was not cookie cutter.

Like, you know. No, there is no cutter. There's no many. You can't have that many edges to a cookie. All right, man. Because of the hard stop at noon, we got to get to the big reveal. But on our live stream. So you're live at live.torontomike.com. But of course, this is being recorded as episode 1304 of Toronto Mike.

Again, happy to have you back. Recorded as episode 1304 of Toronto Mic'd. Again, happy to have you back. I want to just say hello to Dale Cadeau because he was early on the live stream. He's in, I believe he's in BC, of course. And sometimes he comes to Streetsville, so you never know where Dale's going to be. But, you know, this is a diehard Mike Richards fanatic.

And I just want to say hi to him. He's a great supporter. I mean, it goes beyond just as a listener support. It becomes more of a personal one. Does he give you back rubs? No, but I... If you asked him for one, he might. I'm turning it down, just so you know of any of those offers you're just talking about.

But he, I mean, and this is the association I've always had with people that do follow the show. It does become personal. I mean, it just does because you know, the radio star days of people walking down and being all excited. I mean, those are long gone.

And if you do have some sense of a following, you might want to show some loyalty the other way. And I find that a lot of guys who, and women who like the show, let's be honest, mostly guys, and they're like-minded people. So a lot of them end up being friends. A lot of them end up being friends. Well, it sounds like my show. I mean, we're all collecting and they're like-minded people. So a lot of them end up being friends. A lot of them end up being friends.

Well, it sounds like my show. I mean, we're all collecting and you're invited too, Mike. This is TMLX 13 is taking place on September 7th from 6 to 9 p.m. at Great Lakes Brewery in Southern Etobicoke. And honestly,

I think Dale is actually going to be in BC, but if he was in town, he would be there and you'd love it because you know who's going to feed us there? I think I can be there. Well, you know who's going to feed us?c but if he was in town he would be there and you'd be you'd love it because you know who's gonna i think i can be i can be there well you know who's gonna feed us anthony anthony patrucci his whole family's gonna feed us and palma pasta but you are not leaving here today mike richards without a large lasagna that's in my freezer right now beautiful one or one for now but you'll be back this is your sixth appearance it's not your final appearance come on

no you'll be back hopefully it's not sixth appearance. It's not your final appearance. Come on. No. You'll be back. Hopefully, it's not your final appearance. Shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. They're ready for you, Mike. Okay. Just kidding. Even they thought I was dead and buried. But you're, again, we really did breeze over this, but since your last visit in 2020, how many surgeries have you had?

And again. I'd probably say four. And you're feeling okay? You look good. I feel great. It's the best I've felt in decades. Like four. And you're feeling okay? You look good. I feel great. It's the best I've felt in decades. Like decades. Because you can't,

I mean, shout out to Ridley Funeral Home, but they're not ready to pick up Mike Ridley. They got to wait. A few more decades. But here's a nice measuring tape from Ridley Funeral Home. Just because you might have to measure something,

Mike. You never know. Outstanding. Okay. And here, the big announcement coming, but one last note from from me which is that getting hip to the hip an evening for the downy wenjack fund is taking place september 1st at 7 30 p.m

at the rec room that's near the dome there uh go now to getting hip to the hip.com for details on this awesome evening i'm gonna be there the promo code to save 10% on these tickets, which are very reasonably priced to begin with, FOTM10. FOTM10. Use that when you get your tickets. Get a couple of tickets. Make it an evening. September 1st, 7.30.

There's a Tragically Hip cover band. They're going to do a live recording of Getting Hip to the Hip. Again, I'm going to be there. What more do you want? It's going to be a great time. So Getting Hip to the Hip, September 1st, and then September 7th, which is a Thursday evening, everybody collect at Great Lakes Brewery in Southern Etobicoke for TMLX 13. We'll eat our Palma pasta. We'll drink

our Great Lakes beer. And of course, we will salute recycle my electronics.ca because that's where we go to find out where to safely drop off our old electronics, our old tech, our old 8-track players. I know you, our old 8-track players. I know you've got a few 8-track players in your garage there, Mike. So recyclemyelectronics.ca. That's where we go. Mike, why are you leaving News Talk Saga 960? So, as I said about a year and a half ago,

when I realized that Toronto Radio and corporate radio, and we're talking Rogers, was not going to be possible. And they were, and look, they were very good about it. And so close. Yeah. And very honest. Is this the first time you publicly revealed that?

Yeah. Wow. Yeah. I did hear rumblings. Yeah. Cause I had a sore, deep throat called me one day with the details, but I didn't say a word.

It was, um, and it was, but again, so I respect that. Like that's the way you do business is the way that it was. And I'll give full credit to Greg Sansoni. I mean, Greg Sansoni was the one that said.

He was your champion. And he said, yeah, but you've got to find another way. Like basically you're going to have to find another way because it can't be here. So I'm like, well, I'm fucked. Well, hold on. Why can't? So you've talked a lot about you,

you know, you wanted more than 45K a year because you're a professional adult with many years of experience. But is it possibly more than that? And I'm just saying this as the producer of Humble and Fred who were bumped off of, they were bumped off of SiriusXM

and it wasn't a price issue from my perspective and I have a pretty unique perspective on this. It was a control issue. Humble and Fred were going to do whatever Humble and Fred wanted. And these parts were not as controllable as desired by management. I'm just curious if maybe not only is Mike Richards wanting a decent salary, but I feel like Mike Richards, you're not going to comply with like, you're going to be Mike Richards. Like you're not exactly a controllable asset. No, it's the latter point that i didn't say ass i said

but it is that's the point it wouldn't mean so much the money because at some point you don't need the ginormous salaries they're nice but i i'm not really i've never been a difficult one when it comes to money which is why i was so paid so poorly most of my career. I mean, really bad stuff. But it was, no, it definitely, if we're being honest about it. Yeah, we're being honest here. It's not the money. It wasn't the money.

It wasn't that they felt they couldn't afford me. It wasn't that. It was, what are we getting? Because we've heard some of this. Look, a lot of people called me the Howard Stern of sports. So when you come with that moniker

in this culture, if in the woke culture, it's risky. Well, they don't want, they're like, well, we can't control.

We can't, he had a game show in Calgary called gay or not gay. You can't have that on the air. Well, that was the nineties, right? But I feel like, no,

it wasn't actually, it was three years ago. It's Alberta. I can do what I want. So there's, and they started going back to all these things I'd done 15 years ago. I said, well, you know, I'm like, I'm not like

the comic who doesn't change his act. In fact, I'm far from that. So why are you stuck on this? And then basically said, we can't, we, they just don't want to deal with it. So then I wasn't sure what to do. And I saw a friend of mine, Rod Peterson doing what appeared to be an internet TV show. I didn't

get, I didn't understand what it was. And so I started asking them and I'd go on these shows. And finally, the guy who ran it is a guy by the name of Darren DuPont. And Darren said, I want to build something here. And we've been waiting actually for a couple of years for you to phone because we thought maybe you'd come out this way and talk to us at least you know in in theory so i said what what is this like is this an internet show only he goes well it was and now it's not well who's where is this well it's on the game plus network i go game i i'm sorry i don't know what that was no one does but there is a channel out there that this is going on so i'm going on the show from time to time and he said you know i've just talked to this entity and they're very interested in what you want to do

so the discussions really started back in november And then as months moved on, I started to understand who this company was. The company is now called Anthem Sports and Entertainment. And it is owned by Leonard Asper. Big name. And Lenny, of course, the son of Izzy, and that's the Global Canwest people, have this company and they own a whole bunch of channels. A whole bunch of them, including the fight network impact,

the game channel they own. And now access, which is a big one. And Steve Harvey is a part of those channels, but they have this game plus thing that they really haven't done anything with, but Rod Peterson's on it. So Darren's working on my behalf, a guy,

a long time television guy by the name of Jay Murray. Now, Jay Murray is a TV guy, so I don't know TV guys per se. But the Murray brothers have done broadcasting because it came, honestly, from their father back in the day, going back to the 70s, who had all the rights to every Norman Lear show. Wow. All in the family? all of these shows. Wow.

I couldn't imagine. So this is what their little empire was. They had the rights to the Masters for all those years, since 1980. And then eventually it goes to TSN. So he, here's what I want to do. He gets involved and starts talking to people. But it's kind of not going anywhere. Like I, it was just sort of stalling and now I want to do. He gets involved and starts talking to people, but it's kind of not going anywhere. Like I,

it was just sort of stalling and now I'm nervous again. And this is like, I'm saying even in June. So I'm like, well, let's call Ridley because, and get those shovels because, uh,

I think this is getting close. And then out of the blue, the, the clouds separate and they clear and the hand of God comes down. And of course, it's Tony Lucciusano, my good pal Looch, who was the salesperson at TSN Digital. He worked for Keith Pelling, made them millions of dollars for years, and also briefly worked at Rogers. He's also the one who found my doctor, Dr. Bernie Gossowitz, Dr. G, who ends up saving my life. And here comes my fratello, yet another Italian.

And he's like, let me get to the bottom of this. He phones a guy named, well, depending on how you pronounce it, Anthony Ciccone, Anthony Ciccone. He ran the score. So he's the president of all these channels at Anthem. So Looch, get a load of this follow along i'm listening luch calls chooch no relation to madonna right this is the world this is where i live i'm just waiting for fonzie to show up this is the life i have and he then says well it's the studio's the issue and then this is where god goes okay mike it's been seven years

of you trying to fight your way out of this thing getting roblox and surprise bouncing betties wherever you turn the hurdles the explosions in the pies whatever it is and i get a call from mike day and mark silver they're with a company called Homestand Sports that was started by a company they called The Parlay. Now, The Parlay, because of all the online gaming, started these series of really short videos with really young kids, basically unknowns. And I saw what they did.

I didn't really quite understand it at the time. I'm like, what is this? As I talked to them, first of what, what is this? Why? As I talked to them, first of all, Mark Silver is a very high end professional. So when you talk about the consortium or consortium that they did for the Olympics, when it's CBC and Rogers and TSN and CTV.

Yeah. So you would have had Pelly and then you would have had Mark Silver. Okay. So he's a bit of a shooter. See, that's why gold, silver, that's where he belongs. Second.

Okay. Easy. I was going somewhere. Now we've turned a Ron McLean pun, and now we're going another way. So this is the pyramid, and he's at the top of it. Mike Day was on the digital side at TSN. When they, Bells first started gutting TSN. Yeah.

They went after that level of professional. So all those that were like the top of that field got gutted. So Mark Silver was one of them, Mike Day another. They get together and form this digital company. They go to me and say, would you be the new face of what we're doing now with Homestand Sports? And I said, okay. And they start talking about all the deep

details that they're going to go into when it comes to where you can find it, the digital parts, the, the, the, the social media, their,

their infrastructure is unbelievable. They team up with Anthem sports and entertainment. So I can tell you starting after labor day, at some point, Mike Richards, raw Mike Richards will be canada sports morning show 9 a.m coast to coast on the game plus network okay there's the big announcement so

okay i have questions okay so it sounds like i'll say so i'm just trying to understand the relation between homestand sports and anthem sports Entertainment. Are they just business partners? Yes. But they're two separate entities. Okay. So Homestand Sports, that's going to handle the recording, the studio? Yes. Okay.

And then it's Anthem Sports and Entertainment owns Game Plus Network, and that's where you'll be seen live every weekday morning at 9 a.m. Coast to coast. So those in Calgary that have been waiting a long time, it means every morning at 7 a.m. your time before you go to work, take your remote, click it on Game Plus, and you can get an hour of the show. It is one hour. It's 9 to 10.

Okay, one hour, 9, 8. So when we say 9 o'clock across, we really mean 9 Eastern because this is the center of the universe. So Dale Cadeau, for example, in Vancouver, can watch you live at 6 a.m. his time. That's what it would be, but of course, as we know in this world, and this is why it's different from me,

Homestand is concerned almost entirely with what they're building as a digital format. So it's the podcasting, it's where you can watch it. On demand. On demand. Right. It is the, of the, it's what I never had. I never had a team of people before.

And that's, you know, with the people at Anthem, but mostly with, and I'll be honest, the, the ability and the conversations I've had in the last week with Mark Silver and Mike Day, I've not had this kind of relationship and enthusiasm since I've had in the last week with Mark Silver and Mike Day. I've not had this kind of relationship and enthusiasm since I was in Calgary. This is the happiest I've been in 15 years. Is it fair to say, although you had a home

to be on terrestrial radio every single morning, but maybe you didn't get the support you needed at Saga 960. I was self-sufficient. I had to make it work for myself and at one point and for Dave Bastel. And that's very difficult. You know, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're

a one man sort of. Yeah, I know what that's like. I mean, it's, it's, it's very difficult, but in, in that world, I had a, that was very hard for me. I mean, these were, these were four and a half very tough, tough years in that the things that I kept trying to make work didn't, they didn't.

And, and they also had a lot of dead ends and a lot of stop signs. So for the first time, and I can say that this channel, although it, you know, Game Plus Network, Game Plus is also seen in the States. So when I go on Rod Peterson show, who goes on from noon till two i get comments from people in new york city in dallas in chicago in atlanta when i go on there because they've not heard me before and wondered what the hell is this guy and this is sort of where that thought and that's where darren dupont said you get on this thing and this is what okay but i have questions for you mr richards like if this is going to be a national sports radio show,

it does not mean... No, television. This is television. Oh, television. Okay, wait. But part of my ignorance, I'm a digital animal, as you know.

I never worked in TV or radio. So, is this a streamable? Like, is there a website where you can stream this channel? Yes. So, cable cutters, could they bring this in or do they have to pay

to subscribe or something? No, this is... The digital existence is through Homestand Sports and I believe bring this in or do they have to pay to subscribe or something no this is they the the digital existence is through homestand sports and i believe it would be their app as i'm looking at all the things they they will connect through uh as they say various content consumption channels so it's accessible um so you know it won't be radio where people are going to be looking for, but it's going to be a huge reach through Canada, US and homestand sports and their network. Yeah.

Okay. So there's firstly, I'm excited for you because it sounds like you're going to get the technical and creative support that you said you had back in Calgary. And it sounds like you can be your best self. Like this is now the next chapter of Mike Richards' broadcasting career on the Game Plus Network. Again, that's new to me, this Game Plus Network.

But it's, so you're telling me it's, if I had a, I have Bell 5 actually. So like there is a station maybe, like an actual station. So what you'll do, so I'm currently on Rogers. I think I'm buying Bell. I'm on Rogers.

Well, I'm on Bell. I want to point out, you can't get the upload speeds on Rogers Ignite that you get on Bell. I want to point out, you can't get the upload speeds on Rogers Ignite that you get on Bell 5. It's actually like, there's a technical reason, but please continue.

Again, wrecking the stories. Again, wrecking the stories. It's a two-way street. So I believe, so Rogers is like 525. So basically where you find TSN, where you find TSN, whether it's on Rogers or Bell,

that channel will be there. That's where it will live. Game Plus Network. Yes. Okay. Wow. There's lots going on Bell, that channel will be there. That's where it will live. Game Plus Network. Yes. Okay. Wow. There's lots going on here. So, will Drake be visiting you? I'd say no. I'd say no. Well, I have a

surprise for you. No, just kidding. Aubrey Graham, everybody. Okay. Okay. Now, okay. So, if it's a national sports station, does that, sorry, national sports television network that you'll be on it. And again, so if we miss you at 9 a a.m will i be able to watch you on demand it's going homestand there's going to be a homestand sports like a website and i can say let's watch today's episode with mike richard is it also going to be a podcast like if you're a pod so you can also subscribe

to the podcast and have a job so okay so we're not missing a beat there this is exciting news now national sports i'm curious because you were part of the team 10-15. Yes. And part of the problem there was we didn't really want 20 minutes on the Jets. And I can't remember

if the Jets even existed back then, but we still didn't want 20 minutes on the Flames necessarily either. Like, will it still have a Toronto-centric or is it going to be?

No, it will definitely not be Toronto-centric. And I'll be honest. Yeah. A lot of my shows, okay, if you're going to talk to me about the core four and i gotta hear this anymore i swear i'm not afraid to die i've come close to dying yes i will the gun will go right in the ocular cavity and i will blow my fucking head off if i have to talk about that i don't mind i don't mind saying that i don't know anybody like like you know the only other guy i hear sort of as similar sentiments this guy's like like like the odog

where he just can't take it and i i don't and i i hear him buddy i i understand talking about term and oh but the average against the cap kill me like i i don't care until you win if you can't win for me in in april and may i don't even want to win. If you can't win for me in April and May, I don't even want to entertain this conversation. So I will talk about the relevance of, I think, what goes on in the sporting world, which I always have. So I'm not going to talk about the sports. Now, if I want to have, and here's a good story,

if I want to talk about the Leafs, someone who started off as someone who just listened to me, we call him Coach Frank. Frank started off, then he just listened to me, we call him coach Frank. Frank started off. Then he got a couple of spots on us doing some radio stuff. And I will tell you that coach Frank and his breakdown and understanding of hockey and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Don't be surprised when he shows up as one of the insiders,

because that's what I had him do. He is better, better than most that i've heard because he understands the technique and the he understands the extra knowledge of the game but he has a real passion for it and he is a leaf fan but he's a very fair a very smart guy and i'm like look everyone doesn't have to be from tsn everyone's not from sports not everyone's not from fox or espn there are good people and see this is where I break away from a little bit of the model, which is having constant insiders is boring. It's boring.

It's predictable. And I can't do anything with it. The only kinds of insiders I ever liked were ones that people had trouble with. Pierre Maguire. People say, I hate Pierre Maguire. Yeah. So you hate him on my show? Well, no, we didn't say that.

No, we like him on your show well no we didn't say that no we'd like him on your show because he talks different right because he starts talking like pierre mcguire the guy that i know that was a force letterman sport guy in college who has infinitely all kinds of knowledge that other people i know don't and i go down the direction he was never giving me questions i would just go at him it could be about the it could be about the SEC football. It really didn't matter what we would talk about. He's interesting, but,

but controversial. There can be people, there's a guy named Jersey Jim who comes on my show. He is right from New Jersey. He looks like he was probably a roadie for kiss,

probably sleeps in a dumpster and hasn't changed his pants in a year. And he has more credibility and he's accredited by the nhl and he has the weirdest way of talking is weird hat and he'll be listening to this too going wow it's not very complimentary what you're saying his voice isn't like hey mike nice to be

with you describing auto like the bus driver on the sims you know who i think is i think it's peter chris i think this really could be peter chris and yet he is so fascinating people love this guy they love jersey jim one of the guys the guy who does my my gaming the betting jimmy the bag jimmy the bag is my bet wow king he he is well and that's not his real name he's actually a stand-up was a yuck yucks guy for a long time He is a brilliant person and got a heart of gold. And if you watch Jimmy the Bag, and look, some of these guys, like Clark Judge, who was a longtime CBS guy, you would have known him. He's covered NFL for I don't know how many decades.

Fell in love with Jimmy the Bag in his takes. He said, you know, Mike, this guy's really good. And so we'd be talking about some big issue. You know, Josh Allen, you know, and they got to play the Kansas City Chiefs. And he goes, I wonder what the bag thinks of that. I wonder what the bag thinks of minus three and a half. I mean, drop in. That's what will happen with this current show.

So it's not going to, and it's only an hour. So when you ask the question about regional sports. Yeah. You don't have time to do 20 minutes on anybody. Right. You've got to move this thing along. And there always will be a guest. Now, the guest the guesting yeah this is where it gets interesting again yeah pulling the calgary roots the guy producing the show is brad slater brad slater in in my

vocabulary in the richards lingo is known as turtle as in turtle from entourage because that's when it was on he looks exactly Turtle. Turtle will be booking the show and he's the one who brings in, well, when Dana White or Ice Cube or it really wouldn't matter. He goes out and gets them. So from Drake to Ice Cube, I feel like that's a lateral move.

Well, I know you're going back to the Drake thing and I don't even know one of his songs, but I know he does talk about a cell phone in one of them. Yes, Hotline Bling. That's what it's called? Yeah. You used to call me on my cell phone. It's a good jam. What's the next

one? Something about the fax? I don't know anything about this music. I really don't. What is your jam of choice these days? Like if you want to shout out an artist that you've been, you know, pumping in the car there on your drives. I've really, maybe it's just because it's a security, uh, thing for me, a security blanket.

Can I guess? It's not a band. It's, it's a, it's a, it's an era. You've gone back to the seventies. Eighties. Eighties. Okay. And any particular, uh, artists?

All over the place. Now, now generally. REO Speedwagon? No, see that one gets on my nose foreigner sometimes i like a little bit right but uh you have to when you go to my house you go in the backyard you'll hear you'll have everything i was like deaf leopard deaf leopard but you'll hear cuban music you'll you'll hear you'll hear a lot of salsa back there you're a lot of just because of my obsession with you know that part of the world here's a big question

for you and i know you're an honest guy so we're gonna hit is the game plus network paying you a salary or are you no this will all be made to start this will so they're giving you the platform and then you're selling your own ads which has been very uh positive because most of the stuff will be they'll mostly be nationals i have a question. Like, so if you're producing your own content and I know now you're getting some support, which sounds like that might've answered my own question, but you are Mike Richards and people who love you want Mike Richards.

You know, Dale Cadeau is going to follow you to the edge of heaven here. So, you know, theoretically, couldn't you just follow the Humble and Fred model and just be a a podcast you know but that's but that's not where i'm gonna live like i think i think for the audience that i've created and let's put it this way i'm gonna be the only sports talk show in the country now think about that it's it's it's like there might have been competition at one point while

you're gonna be up against, I don't know, Tim and Sid? Are you going to be up against Off the Record? Are you going to be up against Bob McCowan? They're all gone. None of those things exist. And look, they wouldn't exist. It wouldn't have bothered me in the first

place because I don't see competition in that way. It doesn't really faze me. So unlike, you know, Humble and Fred who have, you know, a talk show, right? It's just a, it's. Yeah, they talk for, you know, 90 minutes to two hours.

Whatever they want to do. Right. This is specific to an audience that has been completely ignored by the corporate world, the sports media world. TSN is never going back to something like this.

Rogers just dumped Tim and friends. So that's gone they don't want to put money into it so all they said as much right like they said if you're not our core you know our broadcasts and what decorates you know is around these live events we present like blue jays and hockey etc then we're not putting money in it there is a mass a massive audience in the 2554 that are starving just like they do in the states what do they give you well i mean if we're going older you're taking a look at dan patrick uh you know colin cowherd you know those sort of things but but i'm not that style it's closer to that i guess to a degree

but then it's going to have my edge to it in the way i present it the way i talk to my guests and the content you're going to see and it And it won't be like someone in Calgary or someone in Sydney, Nova Scotia, or someone in Red Deer is going to sit there and go, how come he's talking about that? Because that never happened to me. And also you're going to probably be visited by, I'm thinking maybe Bob Cole and Victor Newman

or these folks showing up. Yeah. They're, you know, I'll have to figure out a way how to do it. We did when we had the hour show and it was Dave and myself, how to get those, uh, uh,

personalities on. But yeah. Yeah. And, and, and the fact that Mike Babcock is back in the league. Right. That's,

uh, that's huge for the show because, uh, we always, we had this idea and actually it was Bastl's title. He said, you should have that segment with him every day called what I would have done. So when you come in,

you look at the Leafs and they lose four, three to New Jersey. And then, uh, you'd come in and say called what I would have done. So when you come in, you look at the Leafs and they lose four, three to New Jersey. And then, uh, you'd come in and say, what I would have done is, uh, what they done in the back end.

They shouldn't have done. You take a guy like Marnie, you take 34 and you have them play like pros and they get her done. And you, you, it's quite the Babcockian delivery there. Quick hits from you, Mr.

Richards, if you don't mind, since I have you trapped in my basement right now, and you got to earn that lasagna here, but this is a big announcement. So I'm excited for you. Richards, if you don't mind, since I have you trapped in my basement right now and you got to earn that lasagna here, but this is a big announcement so I'm excited for you and I'll be following

the adventures. Game Plus Network, the day after Labor Day? Yeah, so it could move in there dependent, but basically after Labor Day, at the start of the NFL season, that's where you're going

to find it. Okay, that makes complete sense too. Okay, a lot of people go back to their commutes and stuff too and they can Bluetooth you in there and that'll be great. Let me ask you quick

hits on these things. So Jay and Dan broke up because Bell Media said goodbye to Dan O'Toole and meanwhile Tim and Sid broke up because Sid went to breakfast television. Like you just said a minute ago, Tim and friends had a little run but then they said, okay, we're done with this. Why is it that these

dynamic duos on the competing sports networks couldn't make it? Is that just because they cost too much money and didn't generate enough revenue? Like, why is there no more Tim and Sid and no more Jay and Dan? Well, I think they're two different scenarios. When I look at Tim and Sid, Sid had the opportunity to get out of something that he knew was going to end. Right. And so he went to a breakfast television format, which to me, uh, is great.

I mean, compared to talking sports, I mean, talk to Sid would, if he was here right now, would it would, I'm sure he would agree with me saying it, it is so much better to sit there and talk about life events. You have a slight opinion. You don't have, you know, Stu from Scarborough livid because you said that, that Morgan Riley was a fifth or a six line D on any other team.

And now you've got a half an hour of this stuff, man. What about the core four? What about John Tavares? Don't you think? Okay, just make it stop. He doesn't have to deal with that. So that was good for him. For Tim, that put him in a tough spot only because you are dealing with a company that

probably doesn't want to pay for what you're doing. Do you think his days are numbered there, Tim? I think anyone who's in a sports format, and I'll be honest, as a male, good luck with that. Because I cannot go and he's like, hey, do you want to speak to a group of radio kids? What are we taking? Delusional 101? Like, what do you, what do you do?

Let's, let's take a, are you taking a course on lying? Right. Because I, I can't tell. I can't tell. And certainly young men, I can't tell them you're, you've got a great job. Because it used to be, there's the desk, there's the sidelines, there's all these things that was just basically male dominated. Right or wrong, I'm telling you what the jobs were.

Right. Now, that's not available to you anymore. So, I used to say, well, they all want to be the next Mike Richards on the radio. Well, they're not. That's not going to happen. Now, the podcast thing and people I know are all in love with it. Well, you know how hard that is to be and to monetize that. So they're apparently like, isn't it like 18 million podcasts or whatever the actual

number is like, it's just insane. It's insane. At least a million. Yeah, sure. So it's like, okay, you're going to have to find your way, but it goes back to the same, same old, um, basis for being, being uh someone that someone else would listen to which is you know you have to have hopefully some broadcast skills hopefully you have some understanding on why someone would sit in their car or their basement or at the cottage or in the

kitchen listening to a podcast and for the most part the that are, I'm watching my son who does nothing but that. Right. Most of the podcasts that, and he's 33. These guys are really well known. It's Sebastian Maniscalco. It would be a Joe Rogan. It would be Dax Shepard. It would be like, go through it all. They're really well known people who also bring on other really well known people. bring on other really well-known people.

Your format is great because you found a niche where you're incredibly kind to a, a, an industry. So it's, it's radio and television and music, but it's, it's the heart of it is radio because you liked it and were interested in the personalities and the lives that surround the voices that you hear.

And so, you know, there's a dignity that you have gone about. It's very dignified. It's, there's a lot of respect that you give to all of us. And it gives us a voice to maybe tell some of the true stories that don't get out there about ourselves personally, which a lot of, I mean, I talk about everything, but that's a rarity. That's why I end up calling it raw Mike Richards.

It's not that I think I want to go and people are like, oh, is that like Howard Stern? Are you trying to be a shock jock? I've never wanted to be that. Now, Howard Stern's blueprint on how to be successful, 100%. It's just you have to be able to have some of the skills to be able to do what he does in order to achieve some of these successes. But to be like another him or another anybody, again, there's the huge mistake. So you hear these podcasts,

and it's nothing but profanity for like an hour. And I'm like, it's because they think it's cool and fun. I can't listen to that for an hour. Can't. It's lazy. I understand.

Now, I want to ask you a couple more quick hits here before we get back to the Game Plus Network. One is that kind of recently, I know a few months ago, there was a few days where O-Dog wasn't on the air

and he was in town and available but couldn't talk about it and it was in town and available, but couldn't talk about it. And it was kind of a, like there was a buzz about it. And then he came back. Do you know what, was, was that just a contract negotiation?

I have no idea. You have no idea. That's a zero for me because I haven't talked to those guys in, in, in quite a while. Um, so I, I, I have no idea. I knew that he was off or you can see it on, you know, people talking about it on the internet or whatever.

Sure. And he was in town because people were spotting him and reporting it to me like we were in an O-Dog watch. Yeah. Look, anything to do with Bell, I don't put anything by them. So if someone has a problem with those, with the, with those aliens, then, um, you know, you're full marks for not even want to be in there. Cause I, I feel sorry for people who work for them.

Yeah. But you got to work somewhere, right? Like, I mean, you know. It'd be like being the Hebrew slaves working on the pyramids and working for, you know, the pharaoh. They'd say to themselves, do you think it's going to be better? I don't know. We've been here a long time. It's like we got to be, I don't know. Someone's got to come and set us free.

Oh, no. It's quite the analogy. All right. I got to ask you I don't know. Someone's got to come and set us free. Oh, no. It's quite the analogy. All right. I got to ask you about your old buddy. So you mentioned earlier in this episode, you mentioned Jim Lang and you mentioned Craig Venn. You, of course, were very close with your old buddy, John Derringer.

Yes. We have not talked since Derringergate. Okay. So here you are. You're unfiltered. You're raw, as we say. And real talk. Did you witness Derringer, Terranist, I don't know,

crossing the line with workplace bullying during all your years working with John Derringer? So what I'm about to say and probably how I say it may not be popular with the masses. And it goes kind of like this. Yep. So when you come from showbiz in sports, you tend to understand what makes those people work, what makes a good goalie, a good quarterback, what makes a great stand-up, what makes a great lead singer.

It's usually what is surrounded and what you have surrounded them with. So if you understand what the math is, and Andrew Dice Clay is going on stage, probably what I'm not doing is putting someone from Lilith Fair to open up with him. When you start mixing volatility with those that don't fit into the world that makes them who they are, I challenge that you have made a very bad decision that it's going to end very badly. have made a very bad decision that it's going to end very badly so when i worked at the fan with jim and craig and myself look john to be the first one to tell you there there were certain issues that he had personally that he had to fight so there was some of that that i'd never quite seen before but john and i were close and he could always count on me as he could count on jim and

craig did temperatures rise from time to time. Well, it never would. No, look at it's an easy out, but it never was at me. So I didn't have that. Occasionally it was their heat. Well, Craig and Jim could answer to that, but, but there would be,

but I also think at that time, John was trying to personally find himself and get his feet back on the ground. That's my take on that. The moment he goes to Q107 and they start throwing in female co-hosts, I'm not protecting bullies and I'm certainly not protecting the way that John had probably gone about it and how he made those women feel because it was, it's heartbreaking. Like it's really very disturbing what happened to those women.

When I, when I hear what Jennifer went through and, and the others that came forward, Jackie Delaney, Jennifer Valentine, Maureen Holloway. There's others. I'm not sure if they went on the record,

but others we know and love. Basically, it sounds like almost every single female co-host has a story. Well, he's, it's, he, they got slaughtered they got uh emotionally

denigrated they they got humiliated their self-worth andrea ruse was destroyed andrea who's awesome i've worked with her yeah i probably worked with all of them actually that you mentioned and they're all in their own rights really colleen rush home colleen and these these are talented women right these are women in the, in the, in the environment that would be the most beneficial to them, but they put them into the, the, the, in with the gladiators.

And like, I, I don't understand why they thought that was a good idea. Now people say, well, so you're defending John. No, I think John probably looks back on all those transgressions.

And I'm sure there's times sleeping may not be easy for him. He has daughters, married. You cannot, I don't believe, exist on this planet unless you're a psychopath. And it doesn't bother you. You're a sociopath. It doesn't bother you. And I think I look at the mix that they tried to make in there i could have told you that would have happened before it even did but mike it sounds

like you're saying that it's uh management's fault for putting a woman in the booth yeah i would say that that sounds like you're excusing the behavior because if he can't control himself of a woman in the booth that's on him but see that also his anger i mean you have to talk to again craig venn and jim ian because they got it they got it pretty good too so it's not even a gender thing so at some point you have to be alone in that booth like some kind of a lion in the cage or something. Some of the talents that we've had in this world got news for you. They're not the greatest people. Ty Cobb murdered

a guy. There are athletes that you could meet and you're like, I wish that never happened. OJ Simpson is a good example because he was a hell of a running back, but as a human being, he murdered two people. Yeah. That's always bad in my book. The stabbing. What I'm saying about john

is i think that if you're if you're management and you truly care about the environment that you that you are responsible for then if john is acting acting out okay well what do you want to say so if he's he's behaving. He's humiliating these individuals, and mostly we're talking about the women, but it wasn't, from what I understand, only to that. That's when they should have stepped in and probably fired the guy. Right.

Like fired him. They kind of enabled him. It sounds like they protected and enabled him, and it does sound like management is getting off a little scot-free on this one, considering, I mean, I know the names, and many of them are still employed on big market. I would agree with that.

I would completely agree with that. I don't know if I'm talking to John. A lot of blame to be shared here. But I would be sitting there, and I feel bad about the absolute car wreck that it became, and that that company allowed to continue. How does it go from five female co-hosts? Like, after the first one

goes through crying crying every day and probably being as i said um dismantled emotionally how does that go on beyond one that's your blame right and so i feel very bad about it i feel i said those those women um and i said i know most of them, some of them personally, are tremendous people with some, I'll be honest, compared to today, really great skills. Skills that could have been used in a much more friendly environment, maybe even with their own shows, was never even thought of. Why? And that's where I get back to the people who are giving the

keys to the car aren't really good at what they do radio isn't necessarily as cutthroat as people make it to be now the end game is that it's cutthroat and murderous but for me at the heart of it after about somewhere maybe in the late 90s i think the talent in the managerial pool got very shallow. It got very thin. These so-called radio experts, these, you know, they listen to the consultants and they go to the right meetings, and it just became, to me,

a high level of mediocrity, I guess is the way I'd put it. They're all very weak in terms of how they see things. I was lucky because when I went to Calgary and had Kelly Kirsch, but even still, by the time I leave in 2010, you could feel it. You could feel the ebb changing towards a freedom that we had as performers and the bean counters, know it just started to swallow it up and you knew something was going to happen i never would have thought sports ready to be

like that to be clear there will be no sports radio at some point it will be wiped out if you want to have overdrive and tsn wants to keep it on some level that's up to them maybe they'll find a way maybe it's a digital thing i don't know but as a radio have you seen the ratings on these stations i mean they rhyme with schneero no one's listening this is it and it's very hurtful i mean you look at the guys and they said greg brady was number one smart enough to be able to go to 640 and you've got to be smart to do the kind of radio that he does i wouldn't last i wouldn't last five minutes on his show he talks more than me by the way i talk a lot greg brady talks more than me but he found a way to survive and to me i think as i said i look at the the new uh television show and and how it's come together i mean god

bless homestand sports for coming up and basically supporting me in what i do and they have a firm belief of where this is going to go in Canada and the US. And I said, it just so happens that Anthem kind of believes the same thing and is going to give me a national TV show to do that. Is there any term here? I mean, because you're not necessarily controlling your own destiny here

because you're not going fully independent here. You got homestand sports and you got Anthem sports and entertainment. I want to make sure they give you enough time to succeed. What I've noticed is nowadays, like, oh, we, we don't see a big, uh, development within six months. We're moving on with a different idea. Like, are they going to give you enough runway to, uh, fulfill your, uh, your plan?

Yeah. And see, that's the difference between that and the core, the corporate world is that we don't see anything or we don't like they, they, they really don't put anything into it and somehow they want something out of it. And so to me, this is to be independent is one thing, but if you solely think you can do it on your own, that was my initial problem over the last seven years, because I've been doing it as a one man band. This. The difference in this scenario is that Homestand, I mean, there are salespeople across the country. I mean, there are so many associations and sponsorships

that have been working on that I never would have thought of. But for instance, a guy like Mark Silver would say, look, I know you want, it's probably your age group. I see what you want to do and you want everyone to go to a game plus, and you want to see all these numbers nationally. And so when he goes, you realize whatever number you get on television is going to look like a crumb compared to what you're going to get on the platforms we're giving you.

You're going to get an enormous number from the way. Cause these are real super smart people. And with a guy like Mike day, this is all he's done. So I never had that before. I didn't have that. I didn't have that in Calgary. I didn't have, I had Kelly Kirsch.

I didn't have a group of these guys who were the top of their field. So I kind of have a little bit, when you think of the two best guys from TSN at what they did, and then the two best guys from the score, that's, uh, that's Chachoni. And that's a guy named Chad Midgley who actually Chad oversees game plus. On top of that, you got a young guy like Darren DuPont who has DuPont sports. He's the one who looks after Rod Peterson. They have made a go of this thing.

Yeah. It is all coming together in a very, it took a very long time in a very strange way, but what else would it be for me? I mean, they don't open the front door. I'm not getting the front door. I'm like, I'm not, I'm not Rodney Danger. Take it easy.

But, but I, but I, I do know that I've had to, I've had to work for a living and I'm, most people are retiring at this point. My wife's retired. My friends are all retiring and I'm now, you know, like back when I'm 25, going into this new thing with all this new stuff, with all these new people and a hell of a lot of enthusiasm with the best health I've ever had. Like I do feel.

That's everything, man. Like I did back in the 90s. I mean, for the most part, I kind of looked like I did in 1990. Looking great, man. And you know, I kind of looked like I did in 1990. So, um, looking great, man. And you know, I root, I root hard for, uh, for you, Mike. I love, you're just a good time, Charlie. Like you're here for a good time. You're interesting.

You know, you crack open a Great Lakes beer at, uh, you know, 10 in the morning and I'm rooting for you. I'm going to find this game plus network. I'm going to check this out. I hope it's, uh, not too long away. Does the Labor Day is right around the corner. So I'm going to check this out. I hope it's not too long away. Labor Day is right around the corner. So it's back to the sports calendar. And so for those wondering when I say that,

so it's when the kids go back to school. So the day after Labor Day, usually a Tuesday. Yeah. Labor Day is always a Monday. Until the end of June. That's your calendar. Okay. And so I am starting when sports start,

uh, for the most part, when sports radio was supposed to start, I'm back on in the normal schedule, back to the main stage. That's what I've done. Have you talked to John Derringer since the, uh,

Jennifer Valentine video dropped? Okay. No, I have not. And probably laying pretty low. Eh, well, it's certainly understandable.

And I wouldn't know what the headspace is. I couldn't know what that is. Game Plus Network, big announcement. Mike Richards, love it. How do you say the name Mookie Wilson? Mookie Wilson? Say it again. Mookie Wilson.

So moo like a cow, right? Mookie. I got some flack in my last episode of... You mean Mookie Wilson from Calgary? You're talking. No, Mookie Wilson from the 89 Blue Jays. Oh, I see you're going back that far. Okay. What are people saying? Mookie Wilson?

I know. I think I might be saying it wrong, but I said it several times because I was chatting with Ben Nicholson Smith on Monday and I said Mookie Wilson many times and I think I'm saying... Mookie. Mook. Like a mook, which is not good in Italian. Mookie. I can't believe it.

I got multiple people telling me they were fascinated by my pronunciation of Mookie Wilson. I will work on it. One of many words I need to work on. Thank you, Ford Canada. They put me in an Expedition Max so I could go camping with the kids at Pinery this week. And it was a lot of space. Did you like the Pinery? Did you like it?

Love it. I go every year. I've been going since, I went as a teenager but then I started going again when my oldest turned three. Actually we went to Clarny and then we went to, but bottom line is I've been there maybe 20 times or so in the last 20 years and we always love it.

The Pinery is amazing and the expedition I drove this week thanks to Ford Canada was amazing. Mike Richards, you're an amazing FOTM. I really hope you can make it out to TMLX 13. I can, and I can tell

because I know what that weekend is. That's a Friday, right? That's a Thursday. That's a Thursday? Okay, well, I will be there. I'll remind you

because if I can promote this as Meet the Game Plus Network's own Mike Richards. Brought to you by Homestand Sports. Brought to you by Homestand Sports. Let me know

if there's anything I can help you out with in this, uh, consortium here, because you got some big pros on it, but I'm always here to, uh, to help you. You know that looking for work now,

is that what this has become? Hey, that's, this is the gig economy. It's all about cobbling together gigs. And that note, the reason we're not going two or three hours, I could keep talking to you about all this stuff,

but, uh, Donovan Bailey is going to be at that door in five minutes. So, uh, you know, he was once the world's fastest man. Oh, well, if you look at the pictures, you can see me at Y95 holding up the Donovan Bailey street sign. Well, maybe if you guys cross each other in the driveway right now, I'll snap a picture.

You know, him and Jason Porwando. You know Jason? Really? Is he coming in today? Well, he co-hosts Donovan's show, so they're both going to be here running things. It's a great show, and it happens down here. You've got a great show. So what's the name of your show? Raw Mike Richards. I'm not changing that. That part has done well. And will you miss Saga 960? You know what? You're going to hear me probably from time to time. I will never lose my association with it, so when they need help, or probably when you hear a big interview, for instance, I'll be talking to a lot of the live golfers.

Yeah, you heard me. Wow. So when I interview Phil Mickelson and that is coming, then don't be surprised that that shows up on big names. Yeah. Oh, yeah. The big one there. Save it for the end. Okay. Don't bury the lead. And that brings us to the end of our 1304th show.

You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Mike is at Rob Mike Richards. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Don't leave without your lasagna. Getting Hip to the Hip is at Getting Hip Pod. Get your tickets now.

September 1st is coming soon. Recycle My Electronics are at EPRA underscore Canada. The Moment Lab are at The Moment Lab. Mike, let me know if you want underscore Canada. The Moment Lab are at The Moment Lab. Mike, let me know if you want me to introduce you to the guys at The Moment Lab. They have a great team of PR experts ready to help you out. And Ridley Funeral Home are at Ridley FH. You won't need them for

many, many decades to come. No. I mean, they can stop counting on that money because it's not happening. You're not going to be there anytime soon. Never. I'm back Sunday night. So Sunday night at 7pm for another episode of Toast with Rob Pruce

and Bob Ouellette. We'll be live at live.toronomic.com but that'll be episode 1305. See you all then. then yeah the wind is cold but the smell of snow warms us today and your smile is fine and it's just like mine and it won't go away Cause everything is rosy now Everything is rosy Yeah, everything is rosy and gray

Yeah, yeah, yeah