Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Steve Dangle: Toronto Mike'd #190

Episode Date: September 1, 2016

Mike chats with Leafs YouTuber, blogger and podcaster Steve Dangle about how he turned his passion into a MSM career.

Welcome to episode 190 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a local independent brewery producing fresh craft beer. I'm Mike from TorontoMic.com and joining me this week is Maple Leafs blogger, YouTuber, and podcaster, and a whole bunch more we're going to learn about soon, Steve Dangle. That's me. I'm that person. But there's no way Dangle's a real name.

You invented that. Yeah. No, my last name is Glenn. Okay, because that would be too perfect if you were like Steve Dangle. I know, and it's an accident. It's not intentional. It's not supposed to have a

hockey connotation. Oh, get out of here. Yeah, it was from my high school newspaper. For some reason it was a tradition to come up with a goofy nickname for yourself. So, you know, Steve whatever, Glenn. And my

friend Diana Bailey, who's now a I think she's a stand-up, I want to say she lives in Texas now, she brought in this book. I don't remember who it was by, but there was a chapter in it where the author goes through the names of like all the homeless people he's ever encountered in his life and their weird names, and one was Floyd Dangle, and I thought it was so funny. That's funny because it's got such a hockey connotation to it. It's perfect. It's perfect. Yeah, drop that glim thing, you know, just Steve Dangle works for me.

And by the way, I'll say this right off the top. So I've had some interesting names on this podcast, like for the guys, my generation anyways, right? And then I always, my 14-year-old son, he's a puck head. He lives and breathes hockey. And I'll be like, hey, James, Ron McLean's coming in. He goes, okay, that's cool. Damien Cox is coming in. Oh yeah. Elliot Freeman's coming in. That's cool. He just saw me interacting with you on Twitter and he goes, dad, did I see you chatting with Steve Dangle on Twitter? And I go, yeah, honestly, it was, he was so thoroughly impressed. I could, it could have been George Clooney coming

over. Finally, I've earned the respect of my teenage son because you're on this podcast. Well, I'm happy to do that for you. I'm happy to do that for you. That's funny, though. It's funny. And I want to get into this because my brother, who's a little bit younger than me, but is a big Leafs fan and hockey fan, I told him, I said, oh, Dave Hodge is coming on. He goes, oh, that's cool. And then I go, but first Steve Dangle's coming on. And he said, who's that? Okay. So what I've noticed with you, and we'll get into this later, is there's, I don't know if they're millennials or what. The young people who consume media in a certain fashion know Steve Dangle as if they would know like a popular terrestrial television host. And then the people my age or a little around my age or older or even a little younger,

that whole world is sort of foreign to them. They know the guy that's on TSN when they turn to channel 30 or whatever. And it's just an interest. We'll get into this, but it's an interesting generational gap, I think. You can call it weird. It's weird. It's different, man. I watched this much MTV video awards with my wife the other day and it

was like so frenetic and like so aimed at somebody half my age i just felt like they like i know that i can't complain because it's not aimed at guys my age but it was like this is what the kids need now because they're all curating their own content and stuff they can't if you're gonna package something up for like i'll call them the millennials it's almost impossible to do like everything's like rapid fire and frenetic like add it's crazy and it's and it's funny watching them trying to appeal to that so damn inauthentically yes like how do you make key and peel not funny how do you screw that up? And that award show managed to do it. Oh, I'm sending a tweet. I'm sending a tweet.

Yeah, because young people tweet. It's frigging hilarious. Oh my God, it was so bad. Come on, young people have already decided to stop tweeting. I think they're Snapchatting and shit now. I think we've already lost them on the Twitter. But hey, let me tell you a little bit about where I've been, and I want to ask you where you've been.

So hold on here. Let's take it back to the Maritimes, man. Can't take ourselves too serious. Do that thing you guys were doing. Let's do it. Here we go. Yeah. The Atlantic. So I was corresponding with you to plan this episode,

and you're like, you're going on vacation. And I'm going on vacation too. So where did you go? I went to Scotland, Aberdeen specifically. That's where my wife is from. And so we went there to, we go every couple of years or whatever. And it's her grandfather's 80th birthday. So we went to celebrate that.

I had some Cullen skink. I had some haggis stuff. I can't remember what it was. It was like a meatball. Wow. And we went to Amsterdam for a few days too because Neither of us had ever been to mainland Europe. Wow. It was a fun trip Yeah, like that's further east than I went. So I went I got to Nova Scotia. I got to like yeah

Like the favorite places. Yeah, so this is my first time ever being east of Quebec City and I took took the whole family We we we went for a couple of weeks and we went to like we went to Prince Edward Island We went we did a couple of stuff. We went for a couple of weeks, and we went to Prince Edward Island. We went all through the Cabot Trail, Cape Breton, which is in Nova Scotia. We did Halifax, Peggy's Cove. We did a lot. Anyways, a lot of stuff on my blog, if you're curious.

Fredericton and Moncton, and it just was fantastic. So I had a great time. One of my favorite places. Me and seven buddies took an RV out to Halifax for my stag. Oh, yeah. We were there for three days. It was awesome.

What's the city there? Lunenburg. Lunenburg is where they built the Blue Nose on the Dime, the boat on the dime the blue nose oh and yeah which is by the way i found out is like shipwrecked off of haiti now but there's a there's a blue nose too they made like a sequel anyways and that's the one they kind of like celebrate in lunenberg now but uh just gorgeous like it's also photogenic and beautiful and we had a great time. But your Scotland trip sounds...

I've been to Amsterdam a few times, by the way. I love the vibe in Amsterdam. It's like live and let live. It's just a cool place. Vondelpark and everything is great. Yeah, we actually stayed right next to Vondelpark. The thing that amazed me is I never saw a single accident. Not pedestrian, bike, car.

Man, it's pretty chaotic you know you got to adapt to the cycling right away or you're gonna get trampled like you have to catch on quick i remember that my first day in amsterdam it's like okay this is how the biking is here and if i want to survive i gotta adapt or die yeah it's you know how they say you can tell who a tourist is in new york they're the people who stop for lights. Right. Yeah. Amsterdam, like, way easier.

Way easier. Probably didn't even take us to get to a light to pick us up. That's right. Also, I'm, like, ever so slightly overweight. And if you ever want to feel fat, frigging go to Amsterdam. We're short. Like, I'm 5'9", okay? And here I'm fine. A lot of guys are taller. A lot of guys are shorter.

It's fine. Amsterdam, I am a midget. One year, I went from Amsterdam to Italy. I think there was a foot difference in the average height. They're giants. Same with Scotland. I felt like a giant in Scotland. I'm bumping my head off the ceiling and everything. Then I go to a place where everyone's 6'5".

It's unbelievable. I believe the Dutch are the tallest people on the planet. I believe. There's actually a study. But yeah, you're right. They're all fit. And the cycling there, I cycle a lot here. But the cycling there is very different.

People cycle in their business suits. And they don't go more than, I'd say, 15 kilometers an hour or something. Yeah, they don't go fast. I was kind of prepared for everyone to just be, like it was the Tour de France. No, they're actually really chill. And they're all in old commuter bikes. It's just a different cycling culture, but very cool. I can't imagine why they're so chill in Amsterdam.

That's right. I can't imagine. That's right. There's a show that's... Let me take us back to 1983. Way before your time. Five years before I was born. But I actually remember 83

because it's the first summer I listened to Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth called Blue Jays Baseball. It was 1983. True story. All right. So this is the theme song. If you know this theme song, you've been watching Stranger Things on Netflix. Steve Dangle, have you watched Stranger Things on Netflix?

Not yet. Not yet. But the whole world is yelling at me to do so. So I think I kind of have to, whether I want to or not. It's eight episodes and it's easy viewing. I hate to burst bubbles. It's eight episodes, and it's easy viewing, but it's, you know, nothing... I hate to burst bubbles. It's nothing special. Like, it's... I like it...

And I was trying to think, like, if I don't... If I didn't have a good nostalgia for the 80s, like, let's say you didn't feel anything for the 80s because you don't remember the 80s. This is just a pretty good show. Like, it's nothing at all special. A good episode of The X-Files I think is superior to this

eight hours I spent. And there's a kid in this who's got no teeth on the top. When you watch it, you'll see. The cutest freaking kid in the world. I wanted him to have more screen time. He's fantastic. And there's a lot of cool stuff because it really does capture the 80s. A lot of references and it captures the ambiance and a lot

of synth music like that. But in terms of actual writing and quality of a sci-fi kind of show, just letting you know, it's nothing special. People are talking like this is some new revolutionary thing. And that's okay. But The X-Files was better. I'm not even a big X-Files guy. I just think the Stranger Things, we've blown it up into something.

It's not The Wire. It's not The Sopranos. It's blown it up into something. It's not The Wire. It's not The Sopranos. It's not Six Feet Under. It's not even Breaking Bad. It's just an okay show. We've talked about this on my podcast a few times. I have this weird reluctance, this weird arm's length that I keep with everything that people kind of unanimously tell me is awesome. When the whole world tells me, oh man, they're working on Stranger Things season 2. I'm like, didn't season 1 come out two seconds ago? How quickly do they

make this show? Is it like sticking around where they just draw stick figures on paper, use boiled paint? I don't know. I'm sure it's nice. I heard the cute kid, the kid I enjoyed for eight hours, I heard his voice has changed. I'm sure it's nice. I heard the cute kid, the kid I enjoyed for eight hours, I heard his voice has changed. I read something like they couldn't even,

he couldn't even deliver lines at the end of filming because he sounded so different from when he started filming. That's actually pretty funny. Yeah. And I was like, oh, damn it. The cutest thing was when this kid talked. You got to see the kid. He's got some disorder that makes his teeth grow in later or something.

So he's got no upper teeth, but he's like, I don't know what he is, 12 or something. I don don't know but he's got this big hair and he wears this cap and he's got these cool eyes he's just a cute kid but his voice has changed and it's like okay that's it for me and stranger things i don't i don't need to hear a deep voice guy but it's uh one kid and it's ruined ruined everything's ruined hey before i even continue because i want to talk about your podcast and i need to talk about um the final hip concert but i know you're what are you eating by the way tell the people they can hear you chewing yeah i'm sorry i'm trying not to uh chew uh uh poached eggs female bacon and i i'm not even sure some kind of you

know the shredded hash brown? Yeah, like a, okay, yeah, they shred, okay, it's like potato.

Kind of like a latke, but not in latke form. Yeah. Okay, can I tell the nice people at home what you were telling me about the fasting earlier? Can you tell me that?

I hate it. Okay, so you told me that you go through like extended periods where you fast. I just started it. I only just started it. What do you mean? Like today's your, because you're doing a terrible job because you're I just started it. I only just started it.

Because you're doing a terrible job because you're wolfing that down. I know. Well, no, the fasting's done. So once it's done, I get to just hulk out. Can I ask, though, does your doctor know you're doing this? Do you think your doctor would say, hey, Steve, that's a good idea?

Or do you think he'd say, maybe you should eat regular but just portion control or whatever? I don know i i actually well yeah my doctor would definitely tell me portion control i'm uh half italian i have no i have uh no willpower like if there's a bag of chips in front of me and it's open it is gone it is i am dummying it there's none of those rolling the bag up crap it's in my face. I hear you. I was there too. First of all, I'm going to tell you now. You're not a fat guy. I've seen fat guys. I know.

Lift up your shirt for me. I'm self-conscious. I heard I might be doing some TV soon. What channel? I just wanted to trim up. Sportsnet. I should have known that. I did my homework. I got notes here. Can you imagine? I was like, TSN. What? It would be like Leafs TV or something like that. I did my homework. I got notes here. Can you imagine? I was like, TSN. What?

It would be like Leafs TV or something like that, but Sportsnet. Okay, let's get there. Okay, so there's beer in front of you. Do you drink beer? Yes. I almost feel bad talking to you while you're in mid-meal. No, no, it's fine. The last guest who ate was...

I can pack this up. I can pack it up until we're done. No, no. You eat. No, seriously, eat. Do you know Todd Shapiro? I definitely know this up. I can pack it up until we're done. No, no. You eat. No, seriously, eat. Do you know Todd Shapiro? I definitely know that name. Okay, so he was on the Dean Blundell show when it was on Edge 102.

Yeah, yeah. He ate eggs during his episode. But you're not even a precedent setter here. This has been done before. So, no, you didn't have to wrap that up. I kind of want you to keep going. I'm going to talk about the beer in front of you. So, Great Lakes Beer wants you to take that six-pack home with you.

Do you accept that challenge? Will you take that six-pack home and drink it? Has anyone said no yet? One guy did. That's weird. One guy asked me to take, he said, I don't drink. I want you to have this beer. And I said, okay.

But most people, even if they don't drink, usually they give it to a neighbor. Exactly. You got to have a friend. No, I'm taking this beer. And I said, okay. But most people, even if they don't drink, usually they give it to a neighbor. Exactly. You got to have a friend. No, I'm taking this home. Do it up. I gave you like a variety pack. They got... Let me see.

Actually, it's funny. This one, the blonde lager, that's the one that basically, if you like Heineken or like, which in Amsterdam, everybody seems to drink Heineken. This is like their Heineken, the blonde lager. But you got a little bit of everything here. Great. Might have to wait till after the World Cup when I'm less self-conscious, hopefully. Oh, the beer.

Now I'm on TV and I just get a bunch of people tweeting me, you're fat. Okay, look. In 2012, this is how specific I'll get. In January 2012, I went to Germany for business. And in Germany, they keep bringing out the big meals. Like we'd have a big lunch and then a big dinner. And we ate nonstop because I think they were hosting and making me feel comfortable. They kept feeding me.

But they also drink a lot. Like so there'll be, let's go to the bar for the drinks. And then there'll be drinks at the meals. And then it would be like, let's go to the bar for the drinks. And then there'll be drinks at the meals. And then it would be like, let's go to the wine bar for that drinks. And I'm like, I drink two beers and I feel nice and I stop. But like, I don't know, I'm not driving anywhere. I'm in Berlin. I ate and drank like a pig for a week. And when I got home, I think I was like 186 pounds and I'm not a tall guy. And I felt slow. And I turned a switch in my head I'm like you the open bag of chips gone with my wife buys decadent cookies from president's choice

does I gone like I gotta dunk these in milk and I gotta go I'll have one sorry did I say one I meant six we actually it's three rows and if she cracks it open during the jays game or whatever I take down two rows and I leave her a row because I you know what kind of an asshole am I but I can't it's like I have the same thing you're talking about with the discipline, but this is a long boring story, except I found a switch in my head that I turned. And basically for six months, I didn't touch a cookie. I didn't touch a chip. I did portion control and I ate more sensibly and I stopped pigging out and I ate more sensibly, and I stopped pigging out. And I dropped with almost effortlessly 40 pounds. Wow.

I know. And I used WeFit, but I was recording my weight every day, so I have a line to show you, like this line. It's nothing scary, but it's a gradual decline over six months where I started 186 pounds. I finished 146. I'm like, I don't know what I am now, but I'm probably closer to 160 now. I'm starting to hate you. I'm not going

to lie. It's a switch. No, it's a switch. But then when I was done and I was maintaining it, I put the switch back and I'm back now. But you almost just got it. It's like a switch and you find it. And then suddenly you have this discipline. And when you have the bag of chips open, you'll see it's like, I don't eat chips right now. And you won't grab a chip. You at your heaviest were like what I graduated high school as. Well, it didn't look good. I don't know. I saw the double chin showing up. I said, it's time to fix this. But I guess the fasting thing, and I just met you, but I don't think the fasting, I mean, maybe I'm not a doctor either. But let the doctor know you're doing the fasting thing. I think there's a better way for you to...

I did a little bit of research on it. It's... Nothing bad's going to happen to me. No? And when my window opens up to eat, oh, I'm eating. I'm not eating less. But that's my thing is,

that's my thing is, I think you're going to go nuts when you... Because you're starving, you're cranky, you're angry, and you're just going to eat like a pig when the fasting ends. I think it's just that

because of the lack of discipline, this is something that gives me the discipline. So when I can I guess quote unquote pig out, I'm pigging out with smart food. You know, I'm not smart food. I'm pigging out with smart things to eat.

So no chips. Like you grab an apple instead of like a bag of chips or whatever. Yeah, something like that. Something like that. I was in Inganish, Nova Scotia on August 20.

And we had, we did everything through Airbnb like rentals and then we had we did everything through Airbnb like rentals and then we had a house with cable TV nice TV and I wasn't watching TV I was only watching like Andre Degrass events at the Olympics was what I was tuning into

but I made sure that we were like an hour so for me it was like 8.30 this time but it was 9.30 over there. And I made sure I watched the final Tragically Hip concert. That's my favorite band of all time. I saw them in Toronto a couple of weeks ago at the Friday show. Did you tune in?

No, because I was in the UK. But it's funny you should say that. I actually watched the whole thing start to finish for the first time last night. Wow. My buddy PVR did He's a Cop, and he was working that night, so he couldn't watch it. Super bum. So we watched it together with a buddy of ours who actually was at his cottage during the concert. And what he did was he set up a TV on his dock and watched the whole thing on his dock in Cottage Country.

I think that's the way you were meant to watch it. It's perfect. Evie on his dock and watch the whole thing on his dock in cottage country. Like, I think that's the way you were meant to watch it. It's perfect. Uh, just, I, I, so I watched it with the family, but you know,

there's not a lot of big hip fans that my, my wife's not a big hip fan. Like she doesn't really get it. And, uh, that's fine. My first wife didn't get it either grounds for divorce, by the way.

Oh, okay. And then, uh, my oldest son, he got all excited during the concert because Frank Ocean dropped an album

and he wanted to hear that. So he didn't care. But my daughter just saw Daddy was so into this, she watched the whole thing, my 12-year-old. And there was a moment

during Scared, there's a line in Scared at the end where he says, I've got to go. It's been a pleasure doing business with you. Just that moment, this man saying that, like in that condition,

I start crying. Like I start weeping. That to me, you know, what was making the rounds on Twitter I saw was that, you know, screaming stint there with Grace too. Right. But that moment, the wave to the crowd was much more powerful i thought i and i was holding because fiddler's green usually like i mean i was already like on the edge because fiddler's green was such a beautiful song and i'm like but i was holding together with my daughter

but then that line and scared and then i start crying and then i look over and she's crying because daddy's crying and now even taught telling you about it uh don't tell the people at home but i can get misty-eyed like it was just such a heavy communal experience like and this leads to another interesting discussion but like uh i'm thinking like i'm sharing this with the whole country my my wife who is not a who's not a white person okay shows me her facebook feed because my twitter and facebook feed it's all all hip, like, pure hip, and hers, there's nothing about hip, and I think what I realized is, it's not so much a shared Canadian experience, it seems to be like a shared English, white English Canadian experience, and I know this sounds, and I hate to draw the race lines but um it seems like it's it's my part of mine i share

it with lots of people but it's not essential it's not the whole country it's just it's you know it's a it's just a thought that like she's showing me she says you know it's like the hip is like white people like the hip and then i started thinking of all my friends and family that uh worship the hip and i was trying to find the non-white example. And it wasn't particularly easy. I'm not suggesting there's no non-hip fans. It was an observation I made scanning the audience during the show, actually. So then, on Twitter, though,

I follow lots of people on Twitter I don't even really know. And I was like, let me find the hip. Okay, so there's a guy named Karim Kanji, who I know through some social media stuff, who was tweeting about the me find the hip. Okay, so there's a guy named Karim Kanji, who I know through some social media stuff, who was tweeting about the hip during the hip concert. He's a brown guy. Karim Kanji's a brown guy. And that was the only example I could find.

So there's that. But that was a great, fantastic concert and an emotional goodbye. And I did see it again because in Gatineau, my wife's cousin's husband had a pvr and we watched it again at his place so i've seen it twice now and it was just fantastic fantastic three encores yeah i i like that he got all the uh all the sad out i thought during encore two and then three is the way he should have gone out i thought i think i think it's his first time i

think i don't think they've ever done the three before, but I've definitely never seen three. But that 50 mission cap is a good segue. So how long have you been a Leafs fan? Birth, pretty much. My first, I think my first Leaf memory that I still retain was I went to a Leafs-Red W red wings game i want to say the early part of the 92 93 season uh felix the cat net um childhood idol you know that that's that's who

i idolized that so many people i work with are like oh sitler and i'm like totally that's older than me well yeah exactly and i'm and i'm, yeah, totally. Or they have more of an affinity for Wendell Clark, who was still the man when I was getting into hockey, but tail end of being the man. Felix the Cat was just getting started. So it wasn't Gilmore, though,

because it sounds like that's Gilmore era. I liked him. I had a 93 jersey. But people forget, Gilmore was elite for five years, if you don't count that ridiculous thing. The five minutes?

Exactly, literally five minutes. So it was either that, I can remember being told the Leafs were going to play the Kings in the conference final and being conflicted about it. When you're a really little kid, like I was like four or five years old, you think your

team is invincible but i remember being so conflicted okay my invincible team is going up against wayne gretzky the invincible player how is this going to work and of course we all know what happened right yes we do uh okay but you came at that's the right time like yeah you're very young but that's like uh because i'm i don't know i'm i'm 42 and that's still like in my lifetime that's still the peak like was that those two years basically the uh conference final against the kings and then the 10 and 0 start to start the next season and with conference finals again uh like that's still the that's still the peak it was never better than that with that team. So I've been wasting my time ever since. So you started high and you're still waiting.

I started very low. I had like Greg Tarian and Dan Dau and a lot of these guys. But yeah. So basically, how do you go from fans? So you're a Leafs fan. And then you become, I don't know if you like the term content creator, but you're basically, you know, you become a content creator. And I first see you kind of on YouTube doing videos,

which I would click over and see. And so how do you make that transition where you start to share this with the masses? Well, I mean, I was always a big fan. I think, you know, I obviously watched for a very long time, but I think a big turning point actually was getting NHL 99 for Christmas one year. You know, keyboard and then later the joystick and everything. And it, because this was pretty much pre, like, high-speed internet, right?

So video games, to me, were actually a much better way of learning about all, you know, where all the players are from, uh, you know, their, their name, the teams they used to play for, uh, their position, uh, their skills and all sorts of stuff. So it grew there. And then, um, I would talk about it all the time in high school, but I think it's when I started working at the Toronto Zoo in the summers, you know, still in high school. I would get bored and whenever I was in the ticket booth or anywhere with receipt paper, I would just take out some of the receipt paper and like write out what I thought the Leafs line should be the next year. Or, oh, what if they sign this guy and then write out those lines? And I started noticing I always had way too much to say about the leafs and uh youtube comes along

and uh i finally had an outlet yeah that's a perfect marriage of like you have this passion and this this sort of like it's oozing out of you and then suddenly technology sort of catches up and there's this like forum like this it's like you don't need to get a job at sports net now to broadcast was there a sports net back then yeah uh you can now do this on your own like you could do it in like literally in your basement or whatever it's pretty wild it's pretty wild and yeah when i was uh at my parents house i was doing it upstairs i used to always tell people and now that i'm in my own place it's in the basement. That's right. You know what's funny?

You're just, whatever, podcasting from your basement. That's literally true. I podcast from my basement. Yeah. And I'll wipe my tears with my gainful employment. Is that supposed to be an insult? Who is it? Was it Damien Cox who used to tweet about the guys in their basement?

Everybody who didn't like their opinion or whatever was in their basement. And that was the big knock. I guess they're living with mommy and daddy. I guess that's it. You shall refer to me as your co-worker. I am. Yeah, that's right. You're Damien Cox's colleague.

He's got a fight going with Dave Schultz. Not like a gentle ribbing fight. I don't know if it's, I don't think it's very friendly either. But Dave Schultz versus Damien Cox. And I'm friendly with both. So, Damien Cox says he'll come in with David Schultz on this show. And Schultz is like noodling the idea. He actually

just went... I think he's going to Prince Edward Island. I think that's where he's from. He gave me a lot of good tips when I was planning my trip to Cavendish PEI. He was a very good resource. But this is a side, just to say that that would be kind of neat if I can get Dave Schultz and Davian Cox. It would absolutely be neat. Schultz, he doesn't know this,

but he's a bit of a benchmark for me. I remember these days I try to be a little kinder to people on Twitter. A few years ago I wasn't as good at that, and I don't think a lot of people were, and a lot of people still aren't. But he was a guy, I don't know, he would tweet a couple things that I disagreed with, and I was a bit of a dick. And then I see some of the things he's gone through in his life. And he's done stand-up, which is something I want to do so badly, but I just don't have the stones to do it. And he did it. And it's something I really admire.

He doesn't know I think that about him. He listens to the show. Because this is like research for him. Because I'll get the Rogers guys on, and they'll say the shit that they won't say to him. And then he'll allude to it in his article or whatever. So it's like, this is his way to like, what's Friedman really thinking about this? Or Strombo, whatever. But yeah, Schultz is a great guy.

And you're right. The personal stuff he went through, he's been on twice. And his third appearance is when we're going to sort of go there because he's going to talk a bit about that. And the whole stand-up comedy thing is so fresh. This is all 2016 thing for him. He just started that earlier this year. But he did it.

Yeah, he did it. He is doing it. He is doing it. It's something I really admire and I believe he hangs out with Sasky Stort sometimes and anyone who's a friend of hers is a friend of mine. Is that right? I know when he started off in Calgary, his colleagues were people like Howard Berger and

Steve Simmons. These are the kind of cats that were all hanging out there. Eric Duhacic. Oh, yeah. I've realized how small of an industry it is. I, you know, I got, I got, I'm starting to get more and more opportunities. And when I went to the Winter Classic this past year and, you know, just outside of Boston. Yeah. It was cool seeing so many people and meeting people for the first time who I'd known online for years. But then I saw, you know, I was looking around.

I did see a couple people where I'm like, well, I definitely can't say hi to that guy. And I can't say hi to him. Who are those guys? Ah, let's... I can help make the peace here. Come on. Sure. Kevin DuPont, I think is his name, out in Boston. Yeah, I don't know.

He was... Preeded ignorance on that one. Yeah, no, at the height of the whole blogger mainstream media kind of fighting for yeah you know any any stake in the game uh i don't know i didn't think he was that nice to me and he had all these opinions that he was perfectly happy to tweet for free and so i said hey would you mind doing a guest post on i think it was on the leafs nation.com or whatever and he and he got a little snooty and said, no, the only things I write I get paid for, basically. And I was like, all right, I'll keep that in my back pocket.

Interesting. I had one guest who, before they agreed to come on, asked me if I pay my guests. So it's only happened once. You're $1.90. Okay, $1.90. Oh, is that how much I'm getting? Yeah, $1.90. That happened one you're up you're 190 okay 190 and one oh is that how much i'm getting yeah a dollar a dollar 90 that's what you're getting here look i i'm letting you eat on my pot and by the way yeah keep eating and i'm giving you beer which is more than most podcasts

actually that's that's a payment and i want to get your podcast but first i need to understand like the order let me know if i screw this up okay so do you you start on youtube and you start to put out like your your maple leafs opinions on YouTube, right? This is like the beginning of your social media. Yeah, October 2007. I made a few videos that sucked before that about just random topics. I deleted almost all of them. And then once the Leafs season started, the front page of the Toronto Sun after their first game of the season was Leafs better luck next year.

They lost their first game and it pissed me off um you know it's funny it's a funny headline but at the time you know I'm a 19 year old rabid Leafs fan and I'm like you can't say that about my team so I get on there and I do a 16 minute sarcastic you know a little or sorry 16 second little sarcastic rant back then you couldn't even do videos over 10 minutes long. Oh, that's right, yeah. YouTube had a cutoff. Back then! That's how I'm talking these days. And then I did one after the second game again,

and then I remember my girlfriend at the time, who's now my wife, she was going downtown for something. I couldn't go, but I was pre-drinking with her and all her friends, and they dropped me off on their way downtown. And it was in that state that I

decided, you know what? Leafs play last night. I'm going to do one for that game, too. And I'm going to do one for every game. And it was that fateful night. I guess after the third ever LFR, Leafs fan reaction, I don't know, kind of changed my life.

And that's when Steve Dangle was born. And you always were going to be Steve Dangle, right? This was the handle you were going to use for your Maple Leafs. That's a funny thing. The first time I realized people were watching, and I'm talking like 50 people, maybe, mostly my friends. I was like, oh, I should change my YouTube name because i don't want it to say my real name and i saw that i like i'd forgotten what i even made my name and i saw that it was steve dangle i'm like oh that actually works perfectly because of the hockey thing yeah yeah okay i'll keep that and now that's like what people yeah it's messed up

like it's not funny so i went at the hip concert i'm there i'm walking in my seat and the guy comes up to me. He goes, Toronto Mike. He goes, I follow you on Twitter. I love your podcast. Keep it up. And I go, thanks, man. And I realized, yeah, people just call you Toronto Mike.

First name Toronto. Yeah, that's right. So Steve Dangle. That's great. I mean, I knew it was fake, but a lot of people are probably not even thinking about it. They're like, his name is Steve Dangle. And it works. It works.

Someone asked me if I knew the Dangle family in Florida and they were being serious. Yeah. I'm like, oh, I can't believe people are actually unfortunate enough to have that name. You know, people will believe anything. You gotta never underestimate or never overestimate people.

Hey, I'm gonna play a bit. I'm gonna give people a taste. Like since a lot of my listeners are older than you, I believe with some exceptions, I think they need to hear what this sounds. So I'm going to play just a clip of you doing one of your videos. This was the Phil Kessel reaction to his betrayed to Pittsburgh. Apologies in advance.

So you eat, and I'll play you from then. Dude, dude, I got the best idea for a Kessel video. Okay, here's what we're going to do. If it's a list of hot dog jokes, get out of my face. I- it- it- you're in a mood! Get- go- shut up! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm In a few days, when all the dust settles, right now, it's all about one thing and one thing only. Phil Kessel. And the Phil Kessel trade, which sends him to the Pittsburgh. Phil Kessel's a Pittsburgh banquet! Don't worry, I won't play the whole thing.

But, just because the Steve Dangle I'm talking to now is a little more subdued than the Steve Kessel. Sorry, the Steve Castle. I'd forgotten how psychotic the start of this video is. Is that what it is? Yeah, you're up for this. By the way, you've got to be larger than life for these things. That's part of the deal. The thing I always notice in these YouTube clips you do

is the jump cuts. Lots of jump cuts. Is that what it's called? Yeah, it's just kind of... I don't know. It's the way a lot of video bloggers talk. And that what it's called? Yeah, it's just kind of, I don't know. It's the way a lot of video bloggers talk. And that's when the MTV Video Music Awards, it's sort of that's designed. This audience, they have, like we thought we were bad

because of Sesame Street and MTV and everything, much music, but there's no attention, right? They like vines and six. They need things, rapid fire. Kids today. See, I don't know if it's it's about it might be about that that might make it easier to digest as a as a viewer but for me making the videos um i think i can still hear myself yeah i just i just shut you down i uh for me making the

videos like i come up with stuff between the takes right so? So it makes the video better. If I just do it in one take, I'm going to forget stuff. And I can't leave things behind. It'll bug me. So if I shoot a five-minute video and I think it's good, but I left behind this one really good point that I wanted to make, we got to do it all over again. And that's what I did for almost the whole first season. I would reshoot videos start to finish

like seven, eight times. My two older kids are both into what I call, I guess, YouTubers, YouTube personalities. They subscribe to their channels and stuff. I have noticed the jump cut is the go-to. Yeah, because it's just wrapped.

There's no gaps or there's no coming to the thought like sort of organically. Like you just cut to the chase, if you will. You know, just the meat. Yeah, and it's funny because every now and then, you know, four or five times a season, something like that, I will do a one-taker.

And people seem to really, really like them. The feedback is almost always positive. So, I don't know. Maybe there's almost a nostalgia for non-psychotic yeah organic talk i might edit this podcast to make it sort of jump cutty maybe i can get it down to like 30 minutes just just the meat so that's okay that's the kessel rant and that's kind of a flavor of the steve dangle videos and uh so how many subscribers do you have i think it's 43 000,000. That's a lot, right? For like a hockey team blog YouTuber, because a lot of people watch you don't subscribe. Yeah, and it's pretty

niche, right? I could definitely get more subscribers or anyone could get more subscribers if they talked about something that was a little more popular. And I know that sounds like a joke because we're talking about the Leafs here. I was going to say. Yeah, hockey out of the North American sports is at least fourth, and it's one team, right? If I did an all-hockey video blog, which is kind of what I'm going towards a little bit,

it would be bigger. If I did every sport, you know, do towards a little bit, it would be bigger. If I did every sport, you know, do baseball, do whatever, it would be bigger. But I kind of like this one little thing. I think you're right to target the,

like, I think it's better to have it like, like, I don't want to call it a niche because it isn't, there's a lot of Leaf fans. This is the biggest hockey team on the planet. But I think it's better that it's, you know,

Maple Leaf fans go here. Like, and if you like like hearing about the leafs this is where you want to be and if you want to hear only about the bruins and you're in the wrong place like i just think it's better that you uh target the way you have and make it make it all about the leafs i think but you're moving away from that like to broaden the base is that the uh sort of it's i'm not moving away from it moving away from it would be not doing the leafs anymore but what i'm doing is just doing more videos which is great because it's not a hobby anymore it's what i do okay so yeah it's so fun and i'm trying to so we're gonna yeah we're gonna get to that so so so so tell me how the blogging comes into play so there's there's the youtube going on, and then you start blogging.

So where do you blog? I write for sportsnet.ca. I have my own blog there. It's called the Steve Dangle Blog. You can go ahead and Google that. Did they approach you at some point and said, hey, we like what you're doing. Would you do it for money? How did that go?

Because no one's ever approached me. I should just keep waiting. Someone's going to come to the door. Yeah, totally. Well, it actually started years before that. Okay, tell me the story. Sure. I was writing... So my first ever foray into any kind of legitimacy

in sports media was I was an intern at the Fan 590 and mostly did evening shifts, cutting clips for primetime sports, getting Bob McCowan's coffee order with Jim Kelly. Bob McCowan was a large tea milk double sugar. Jim Kelly always had cream in his tea, which I thought was weird.

He was great, Jim Kelly. He really was. Yeah, I missed him. He was a very kind man. He gave me a ride home from the GM Center in Oshawa one time to my parents' place in Scarborough. And because I just didn't budget my time effectively and I missed the last GO train,

and he dropped me off right at my door. Gare Joyce was in the passenger seat, I think. And I would highly doubt if either of them remembered. I always felt he had an unfortunate name for like a buffalo sports columnist i know oh my goodness but and i always um and i actually still remember like when they announced i was listening i used to have a commute like i work from home now but when i had a commute i listened to a lot of bobcat and jim kelly was great with bobcat he was like the regular co-host i think for a long stretch there but i still remember when they made the announcement

that he was going to take some time to battle his cancer. We lost Jim Kelly way too soon, but he was a fantastic broadcaster. Not to bring it down, but anyway, that's where I started. Real talk, man. That happened.

Keep going. I was there for long enough that uh the next hockey season rolled around uh i kind of started like winter i want to say 2008 so the next hockey season rolls around and they they uh have the show called rbc junior hockey magazine gino red is the host right and uh they interview three guys for it. And these two guys, the other two guys are in their like early twenties sort of thing. And I think they're out of school already. And one of the questions during the interview was, you know, if you were to get offered

part-time or full-time work that would pull you away from this job, would you take it? And their answer was, yeah, of course. And then they go to me and I'm in my, I think third year of university and they, they go, you know, ask me the same thing. And I'm like, well, that's not going to happen. So I'm yours for 75 bucks a week. Let's, let's do it. Um, so I got to do that show and I was doing the videos at the time and they were starting to chugga chugga chugga chugga a little bit, you know, a few hundred people a video every now and then it would hit 1000 or maybe 2000. And one of the guys who worked on the show was a guy named Chris Clark. And he was a big cheese at Leafs TV. And he's telling me about this concept he has called

Leaf Space, which is basically just the Leafs fan version of MySpace. And, you know, we're doing this with it. You can blog on the site. It's, you know, social networking. And also we're hoping people can upload videos to the site and we're going to put those videos on TV. But for a couple months, at least, I had kept my video secret from Gino and all the guys in the show because like i was just a lunatic on the videos and and finally i built up the courage one day i can still picture it we're driving down the esplanade uh because uh clarky would sometimes give me um like a ride to union and i uh i go you're gonna think this is stupid, but I do these Leap videos.

And he goes, you know, all right, well, show me them, and I'll let you know. He calls me back a couple days later, why didn't you tell me about these sooner? This is exactly what we're looking for. That's funny. Yeah, and so it, you know, built up over the years and kind of everywhere I went, you know,

because, like, at Leafs TV, I had to do highlights and you know other stuff that was a little out of my comfort zone but I learned how to do it and while I was doing that I could go and I also have these videos same with CBC you know I was doing highlights there oh and I also have these videos and every now and then they would show it on the website as well and all the while i'm learning all these extra skills and building up a name you know so after i i think once the uh 2012 lockout hit i was kind of an angry man because the the leafs had uh tanked really hard and sucked and they had you know the first of like four straight collapses at the end of the season yeah and uh but i was at least at cbc and i'm like you know what it'll be cool i won't focus on the leafs as much uh next season's gonna come and even though i'm

not at cbc during the summer i'll go back to my job at the zoo and that'll that'll be super fun august 15th hits they announced the lockout and i'm like, Oh no, I'm just some, I just work at the zoo. That's all I do now. Right. Right. Damn it. So I did a whole bunch of stuff, KHL and whatever until the lockout ended. And then when that lockout ended and I could do videos again, it was, I was just so thankful. like I had all my toys taken away from me and um I I couldn't be happier to have them back and that's when the videos really started to shoot up and and I gained a you know a bit of a name and then you know CBC with a big wave of layoffs um I became a free agent and I was just I don't even know how many I probably got laid off

half a dozen times between the ages of like 22 and 26 get out of the way early that's smart yeah and I was just so sick of it

we had the podcast at the time so that I'm skipping ahead a bit and that was sponsored and I'm like okay this is sponsored I'll just find a way to get the video sponsored

and screw it that'll be my job that'll be what I do and one day and this is why i'll just find a way to get the video sponsored and screw it that'll be my job that'll be what i do and one day and this is why i started at the fan that started the story at the fan i get a call from someone who was like a the mid-morning show producer who when he called me a few years later was the um oh god uh assistant program director. And he goes, we have this idea for this prep sheet that you're going to do. And you're going to basically tell everyone in Rogers what to talk about when it comes to hockey.

I was like, are you freaking kidding me? Yes, I would love to do that. I would love, love, love to do that. So I did that. And then Sportsnet was like, well, we have them. So, and again, and I also have these videos that I do. So they took them. And then they did well enough.

And I guess my name built up enough that this year, living 100% the dream. I'm writing for a living. I'm podcasting for a living. I'm doing videos for a living. So just to clarify, so you now work for Rogers Media. Yeah, sure. Close enough? Close enough. I don't even think I have a job title. videos for a living. So just to clarify, you now work for Rogers Media. Yeah. Sure. Close enough?

I don't even think I have a job title. It doesn't really matter. What's the term? You're employed by Rogers, though, for their many outlets. As we know, they have many different outlets. Radio, TV, and... They own a couple things. They own a few things. They need a lot of content.

You're employed by them, and then you're providing content these different platforms. So your videos, though, do they appear on Roger's sites, or do they just embed your YouTube? They'll embed my YouTube, and I'll do some stuff for the Sportsnet YouTube channel as well.

Okay. And that all goes on sportsnet.ca. And I do a dangle dial. We call it. I call into the Jeff Blair show a couple times a week. Jeff Blair. I've never in my life said a negative word about Jeff Blair. I've said a negative word about a lot of people.

I've never said a negative word about Jeff Blair. I can't see his tweets because he's blocked me. And sometimes I'm having a beer next week of this guy mike in boston and he writes for this um torontosportsmedia.com jonah's got this guy jonah has that site uh you've probably been mentioned a few hundred times okay yeah uh right you know he was on the show actually he was a good guy but um so i'm having a beer of mike in boston mike boston somethings will like retweet and comment on something Jeff Blair tweets, and I can't see it because I'm blocked.

I guess what I'm saying is why would Jeff Blair block me when I've never had a negative thought about Jeff Blair? I actually think he's the most improved broadcaster there because he started rough, and now he's, well, last time I've heard, he was much, much better. He's the most improved broadcaster there. I have no idea. I have no idea why he would block you if you didn't say anything. I don't know.

And I'm also surprised he monitors his Twitter feed closely enough that he can block people. We had Nick Kiprios on the podcast a couple days ago and all show long, he was on for two hours, his phone was lighting up like a christmas tree and he's because he's a good interview right oh he's a fantastic interview but i'm looking at his

phone and i recognize the number i'm like that's the number you get when twitter texts you oh he's getting tweets and texts well and so i go you know kipper what's up with your notifications he's i don't know i just you know he wasn't even paying attention to them. So we go through all the settings. We're like, dude, you are getting a message every time you get a mention, like, retweet, or follow. You have 300,000 followers. So we fixed that for him. No, thank you for fixing that for him.

I've met him a couple of times because he's friends with the Humble and Fred show and I did a lot of work for those guys. And I've met him a few... He got me into the alumni lounge once at the ACC. Oh, very cool. But what I... And this is a little off and then I'm going to come back. But 190 episodes,

I'm talking to the great Steve Dangle now. I've never had a professional athlete on this show. Never. Not one single... Never once had a professional athlete on this show. Maybe Kiprios is a good guy. Maybe I should start with Kiprios. Did you leave anything left on his turn?

Did you cover everything with him? Is there anything left for me? Oh, he had some fantastic stories. Ask him about the China Club because there's no way he went through all his China Club stories. China Club. What is the China Club?

The China Club is this really popular club in New York. I don't know if it still is, but it was, it sounds like, in the maybe late 80s, early 90s. Supposedly, it's where Night at the Roxbury is supposed to be set. Okay. Or something like that. You ever watch the Chappelle Show? Of course.

Yeah. What do the five fingers say to the face it's it's where that um it's where that sketch took place where rick james slaps yeah i'm rick james bitch uh you know my favorite chapelle thing is um the race draft when the when the racial draft i could watch it over and over again and tiger was and the the asians want them and the blacks want them and they have their race draft. It's fantastic. I mean, most of what he did was fantastic. I like this guy because he's top of his game.

He's offered big money and he just walks away. Like who does that? Who does that? And we have, it seems like with all great things like TV shows and whatever, for them to stay great in our memory, they cut themselves off before they really need to be cut off. Breaking Bad could have gone on for 20 years if they wanted to. It was such a hit.

But they're like, nope, we're cutting it off at six. What do you mean? It was five. Okay. You can't cut five into two halves and have there be a year between the halves and call it five. You're right. Like Seinfeld, you know, that could have kept going. And at some point, Jerry just says, I'm done. Yeah and call it five. You're right. Like Seinfeld, that could have kept going

and at some point Jerry just says, I'm done. Yeah. That's it. We're over. It's better to burn out than fade away. No, that's something else. So I'm announcing that no more LFR videos. I'm through YouTubing.

Going out on top. Right. That is it. Steve Dangle, done. Done. Goodbye. So young. So much hope.

So I got on that tangent because of Jeff Blair. So you appear on the Jeff Blair show. Yep. For about I think it's like a 30 or 60 second call. I think it's every I want to say every Tuesday and Friday. It's live, right? I should remember. There's no jump cut

opportunity here, right? This is live. It's all one take. Oh, so it's not live, but it's recorded, but it's not. Don't ruin the illusion, Mike. I need to know how the sausage is made, okay? So there you go. That's my Real Talk exclusive. Dangle literally phones it in.

So you're, okay, Jeff Blair. And keep going. You were going, I think you were doing a list of like where we'd find you in the mainstream media now that you've sold out. Yeah. Oh, selling out is great. I highly recommend it. But you can support your young man. So do you have kids yet?

No. Not yet. But I want to. I'm not one of those young people. But you own a home? You're not in a basement like that your parents own or something like that? Yeah, I got my own house with my wife and fur baby, our dog. Okay.

This is Mrs. Dangle. Mrs. Dangle. I saw a tweet about Mrs. Dangle today. Yeah, she's got her own, I think she's got like 3,000 followers. It's crazy. Yeah, that's too crazy. It's almost where I'm at. It's crazy.

Yeah, that's too crazy. It's almost where I'm at. So Rogers is paying you an adult wage that supports you. Yeah, it's pretty sweet. And do you do anything outside the Rogers universe that you own yourself? Yes. Myself and Adam Wilde from Kiss92.5 and his producer, Jesse Blake, we have our own podcast, steve dangle podcast and it airs on the fan 590 when we do it okay right now it's once a week once the season starts up

it'll be twice a week again um it airs on the fan 590 we put it on sportsnet.ca but we own it it's so you own it okay when does it what time does it air i usually keep living it usually at like midnight or 1 a.m. I wouldn't say it's for a radio audience, right? So you don't swear on this thing? We can't swear for the first 44 minutes. Oh, that's how it works. The rest is just podcast only or whatever.

And when we know we're not going to be on the radio, we just let it fly. And Adam Wilde has a famous mother. He does. Alanis Morissette, as we talked about on the show. It's so impressive of him to have a Juno Award winning mom. That's funny because you can't do that on television. Did you know that?

Alanis? Yeah. Was it because of the naked music video? No, that was the India one, right? Oh, yeah. Alanis has got an interesting career because she does the you can't do that in television stuff

and then she releases a Canada popular pop album as Alanis and poppy hits you'd hear on top 40 stations and then she goes away and reinvents herself as sort of like that grungy,

angsty kind of rock star that we all know. So I like to keep up the illusion for my podcast, I guess for yours, just so your listeners There's probably no overlap. Okay.

But people don't know this? Okay, go ahead. It's Marilyn Dennis. His mom is Marilyn Dennis. People know that. I'm pretty sure that's a... I would say that's a fun fact, but I think it's pretty widely known

that Adam Wilde is Marilyn Dennis' son. But he's good. And you know him? Did you know him personally before... We went to high school together. There you go. Okay, I didn't know... Okay, that's great.

So let me talk about the podcast since I have one too and I have lots of questions. You have a paying sponsor. Yeah. Okay. We can name it. It's great. So let me talk about the podcast since I have one too and I have lots of questions. You have a paying sponsor. Yeah. Okay. We can name it. It's okay.

Panago Pizza. Absolutely. So Panago, obviously, I know you wouldn't give it anyways, but you don't have to give the number. But Panago cuts you a check in order, I guess, you have things you say about them on the show. Well, they're the title sponsor, right? Do you have more than one? No. We've had other sponsors in the past,

but Panago is the title sponsor. So at the beginning of the show, it's Panago Pizza Presents, and we have a fancy voice lady. I need one of those. Yeah, and we'll do events with them sometimes. This past year, we did Hockey Night in Cinema, where we rented out a theater, and we watched a Leaf game on a giant screen, and Panago brings in dozens of free pizzas. And we don't charge for the event, and everyone just shows up and has a great time. That's awesome.

So I have a similar relationship with the Great Lakes brewery people. But Panago, I guess I could tell the story. So I was engaged by, I think, a woman for a PR firm representing Panago about this podcast. And it was like a lot of back and forth. And this is before I did anything of Great Lakes brewery. And I was like, Mr. Independent, like, I'm not going to sell out. Like, I own this, no sponsors, whatever.

And we went back for a long time. And then she stopped corresponding with me and I dropped it. And then I sent her a note like, I'm going to say like eight months later just to find out like, wait, where did you go? Like, change your mind.

Just tell me. Like, it's fine, and then I got another from someone else at the PR said that she was no longer in her role, so basically she had left the job, and then that's, which is fine, and Panago with great pizza, by the way.

They once gave me like a free gift card to try out this great pizza. I got nothing but good things to say And Panago, with Great Pizza, by the way, they once gave me a free gift card to try out this Great Pizza. I got nothing but good things to say about Panago Pizza. But we could have been like sibling podcasts if this had evolved and worked out. Still can be. Still can be, sir. We can be? Because you're going to go to Great Lakes Brewery after this. That's great. So you have a sponsor paying you real money for the podcast. And how often do you record?

During the hockey season, it's twice a week. We're going to start early this year. Pretty much after the first weekend of the World Cup. We'll go back to twice a week. How often? Sorry, where do you record? Is it like a Rogers studio or do you guys get together at? Yeah, it's great.

So we have the ability to record on our own and we used to. Like we had a mixer, we have a bunch of mics and Jesse would just, you know, plug into his laptop and he can do all the editing that way. But as you know, Adam has like 12 jobs and it just got easier you know between breakfast television and him sleeping maybe 45 minutes a night and his radio show and the podcast that we record the podcast at Rogers and it's right down the hall it's if I stuck my head out the door and he stuck

his head out the door and I yelled he would hear hear it. With all the soundproofing and everything. It's more convenient for him, more convenient for Jesse. It's airing on a Rogers station anyway. Let's say Adam Wilde quits his job. Is it 92.5? He quits his job at Kiss

because he's now going to be in the booth with Marilyn and Roger Ashby. It's going to be Roger, Adam, and Marilyn. This is the new show. They've got to replace that guy who quit and went to Aaron Davis' channel. Darren B. Lamb. He's gone. They need a new replacement.

It's Adam Wilde. Wow. Now he's working for a Bell Media company. Would he still be allowed to record the podcast in the Rogers facility? I mean, Gino Retta used to record out of the fan studios. Yeah, he used to. No, but he was with TSN at the time. That's true. That is true.

If you rent the studio space, I'm sure they won't say no. Right. Panago is going to have to cough up some more cash. So you got your podcast. That's fantastic. And what's the easiest way for people to listen? Where should they go if they want to hear this podcast? It's available a few places.

If you do the iTunes thing, it's on iTunes. Just search the Steve Dangle Podcast. We're right there. If you do SoundCloud, we're there as well. Search the Steve Dangle Podcast. I think we're on Podstitcher and a few other podcast things. Worst case, you could Google us. Come on. If you can't find it, you shouldn't be allowed to listen.

Like, this is just... Google it! Come on, Steve Dangle podcast. Anything, Google it. That's it. When was Genghis Khan alive? Google it! I don't know the answer.

I can know it in five seconds, though. And if you don't want to subscribe to the podcast, you just want to listen to, you know, maybe one or two individually, or you just want to hear the Kiprios episode, you could obviously go to the iTunes channel or the SoundCloud channel, or you could just check out the Steve Dangle blog on sportsnet.ca because that's where I post

all the episodes as well. So is Adam Wild a knowledgeable hockey guy? Oh, yeah. Oh, he, like, I never hashtag played the game. Adam did, like, actually up to, like, a pretty high level. You didn't even play House League? No. Really?

No. I'm surprised. Yeah, me too. But I always loved it. Always loved the game. When I was a young kid, my sister was born four months premature, and she's got some physical disabilities,

cerebral palsy, autism, and that took up a lot of my parents' time. And if they wanted to, they really could have put me in hockey or something, but they were burning at both ends of the candle as it was. Yeah, now I feel bad for judging. No, no, no, it's fine. Because a lot of people ask why, right?

And my dad also, I hope he doesn't mind me telling this. He was off work for a long time because he hurt his back. And he kept seeing specialists, you know, what's wrong with my back? What's wrong with my back? And they, you know, kept telling him the same old thing. And he goes to one specialist finally with like tears in his eyes explaining what's wrong with him. Doctor looks at him for about 30 seconds. He goes, oh, your hip's out.

He's misdiagnosed for a year or something like that. There wasn't a whole lot of time when I was really young for hockey. I say that because I know my boys in house league. I say that, but I realize I have two nephews. One who's like 12, so that's ship of sale.

The other one's six, and neither play house league, so it's not a crazy rare thing. Not everyone has to play hockey. And it was partially up to me, too, because when I hit like 10, they were like, okay, if you want to play hockey, we'll look into it. But all my friends played rep, and I could barely skate, so i was like nah don't bother i'll stick to soccer yeah soccer yeah yeah you don't you can't uh you don't have to wear skates and it's cheaper to play soccer it's way cheaper i got a question about theleafsnation.com yeah still with them too yeah

you write there but i noticed like i'm on there checking it out and I see uh my buddy Greg Brady writes there so like are there some like so tell me like who owns this is this like a consortium like a collective of uh sports writers yeah oh I love the nation network so basically a few crazy dudes um headed by the great Wanya Gretz uh on Twitter um few years ago. I think it was 2007, actually. So it was right around the same time I started making YouTube videos. They started theoilersnation.com. And it just blew up like crazy throughout the years. Those guys get millions and millions of page views a month.

Lots, tons. And they decided to branch out. So they have Flames Nation, the Leafs Nation, NHL Numbers. They bought Daily Faceoff. Oh, my God. I'm probably missing some. They have a Blue Jays Nation now, so they branched out a little bit into baseball. I think they have a Wings site now now so they branched out into the united states

and they also have canucks army which uh was getting a lot of traction in twitter the last couple days because that website has been poached um by uh nhl teams at an unprecedented level like three guys who used to write for that site now work for the Florida Panthers alone. Oh, wow. Yeah. You know, Tom Drance is with Sportsnet now. Cam Chiron, who used to write for them,

and theleafsnation.com is part of the Leafs analytics staff. So it started off as just kind of a place for fans to vent, but it's actually got a lot of really intelligent writing. And no matter what Mike Harrington says, blogging does appear to be a way into the industry, doesn't it? Yeah.

I think if you wait for, like, a mainstream media company to give you the platform, I think you could be waiting a long time in the cold like i think the content is king and you self-publish and it's good then in the new way we're set up with like twitter and reddit and all these different like aggregators and that people will will will be linked there if it is quality work yeah years ago uh john mauley, who is one of my bosses at Leafs TV, he was ahead of his time in knowing this, that the way it's going to work in a few years, he said, is, you know, you're going to go for a job interview at the Toronto Star.

And they're going to be like, all right, you know, we read a few samples of your writing. It's really good. It's fantastic. How many followers you got? Well, I got 2,000. Okay, well, tell you what. Come back when it's 20,000 and we'll hire you. It's a little bit like that now. Except I know people, well-known personalities in the mainstream media who bought many followers on Twitter and many Facebook friends and have enormous

numbers and most of them are just fake bots and everything that were purchased. Yeah, well, and that comes out in the wash, right? Like, I was accused a long time ago of buying followers. That would be of no benefit to me. First of all, I'm glad you put that on the record. You've never bought a follower. Never once.

Because fake followers can't click my YouTube videos. True that. Yeah, true that. But like in the interview, in that situation, you explained where the guy was like, do you have But like in the interview, in that situation you explained where the guy was like, do you have 2,000? Okay, come back when you have 22,000.

At some level, to some people, it's just a number and they never dig further. Like it's just a number. It's true. But it comes out in the wash, I think. If you don't have any followers... See, I would never do it

for that exact reason you're describing because I only want real human beings who actually might read or click to follow. I agree what's the point you're talking the point is that one guy who says hey they have a hundred thousand uh followers they must be a big deal maybe i should follow them and see what i'm missing that's the guy i think they do it for you'll get those people you'll get those people but again i i think there's a shelf life to that lie i hope so i hate it i hate this whole because it's not fair. You work your ass off, you get,

let's make up a number, 10,000 real people following you, and your buddy goes and buys 50,000 followers, and it, like, you know, spends, it's so dirt cheap, and it's just, it's not fair. Well, and, like,

I'm not saying bots don't follow me. Like, I can't, like... Well, that's different. I'll get a notification, and I'm like, oh, sweet, and it's something I posted three years ago, and it's some lady with three followers. Do you want to see my bare breasts? Click here.

And I'm like, no, get out of here. That's different. It's a little different. No, never bought a follower. I don't think it benefits anybody. No. Theleafsnation.com, where you write, do they pay you for that, or is this just a way for you to get your stuff read?

Yeah. They can't pay everybody. The goal is to eventually do that, obviously. The Oilers Nation does fantastically. The other sites are trying to catch up. So the Oilers, you'll see, have a few more mainstream guys. I think Jason Greger, Jonathan Willis. Those are all, like, fairly big names in Edmonton media,

but Leafs Nation's still building up. But, like, you know, Jeff Veyette. Yeah, who I recognize from Twitter. Yeah, Jeffler. I mean, he'll – I'll let him talk about it, but, you know, he gets paid. If you manage the site, it takes an amount of time, right? It takes a little bit more dedication than just writing a couple things here and there.

So you should be compensated for that, for sure. And when somebody like, let's say Greg Brady, because he's a guy I saw. So Greg Brady has a good-paying mainstream media job for a long time. Yeah. Then it's yanked from him. And now as he looks for the next mainstream media gig he wants to keep exercising his muscles so he might contribute uh something to like the

leafs nation.com just to just to keep keep active and to keep people interested in his content yeah and i and i think if you really really care about what you do um you know he talks for a living right if you really care about what you do you don't you know, he talks for a living, right? If, if you really care about what you do, you don't let that muscle get fat, right? Like you, you have something to say, you are interested and, you know, hopefully you have a fan base that's interested. And with him, it certainly looks like that's the case, right? Yep. And one of the things I think they struggle with is the, uh, like, so Greg Brady, for example, uh, he's still being paid by Rogers not to be on the air. And there comes, there's all these stip by Rogers not to be on the air. And there's all these stipulations that come with this,

one of which is that you can't just, for example, maybe he can't start a podcast. Maybe this is some kind of conflict or whatever. But he's got terms and conditions he has to meet in order to keep his salary going until his contract expires, which I think is April. And then the day after his contract expires, I get his ass in here because I got questions for him. So Greg, come on in. I was on Reddit the other day

and I noticed there's a subreddit for you. Yeah. That's cool, right? It's super cool. We started it for the podcast. Like we, the fans are just, they're awesome. They're so awesome. It really hit a next level

this season and it's not the amount i don't care if you like the show i don't care if you like the show or like the videos i'm not interested in likes i like loves that's what i want and i think the people who listen to the podcast love it so i tweeted tweeted, we went to one of those Marlies games that was at the ACC. Yeah. So we're like, okay, we'll do a meetup outside of our section.

It's 120 whatever. It wasn't the 9-0 game, was it? No. Oh, man. Who did they? They won. The Marlies won. They won most of it.

Sorry, because I was at a Marlies game at the ACC. We won a 9-0 with, what's his face, Annette? Garrett Sparks? No. Oh, Bernier. No, Bernier. Yeah, Bernier.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think they had like nine goalies last year. But no, he said, yeah, meet us outside of the section. And we're climbing up the stairs, and it's taking forever. And I'm like, what the hell is going on? Why is everyone so slow? We get to the top of the section. There's like 50 people there waiting to say hi.

It was pretty incredible. It's pretty young. I'm going to guess. This is like, would you say it's like 50 people there waiting to say hi. It was pretty incredible. It's pretty young. I'm going to guess. Would you say it's like early 20s maybe? Yeah, mostly for sure. But we have parents come, a couple people to those events. They brought their kids or whatever, which I mean, we do swear on the show so i always feel bad about that sort of thing but yeah generally like um you know mid high school like through university and and i mean guys my age like i would that's a desire demo like don't even like feel bad about that because i think that's the demo people want i don't feel bad about it yeah like you if you do well in that demo good for you because there's a lot of companies who die for that like which is how do

we reach that demo that's the hardest demo to get i think and i think it's also the hardest demo to speak to and i think it's like that key and peel thing yeah we were talking about a lot of people suck at it and i i think what would help a lot of people out is if they realized all you got to do is be genuine like uh i don't um i can't stand i know it's an extremely effective model and it has been for decades but i can't stand this i have an opinion um just because i'm taking an opinion sports guy i cannot like where everyone's going this way, so I'm going that way. I can't stand the Skip Bayless model. I hate it. I hate it so much.

It's so phony. And all you're doing is making people mad. It's so much easier to make people mad than happy. Yes. And he's doing

an easy thing, I think, and getting paid millions of dollars for it. And all you need is a lack of shame. Is that a simplistic view for a 28-year-old? Yeah, it reminds me of Marty York.

I recognize the name. That's fine. Don't go Googling him. He's allegedly potentially a little bitter about his lot in the sports media world, where now he just basically shits on anything Blue Jays. Oh, is this the dude with the beret?

Yeah. Oh, shit. Oh, yeah. So, okay. I'm not supposed to talk about him anymore, but he's been on the show and actually in person

he's actually quite amazing, delightful and easy to talk to and a nice guy. Great with the kids. But the Twitter persona is just such an asshat. But he's now protected his tweets and I don't follow him

so I can't see it and it's all for the better because my blood pressure has gone back down to normal. It looks like you just came up with a new name for his beret, though. What did I call it? Asshat? Asshat. That's right. So on the subreddit, hashtag DangleNavy.

Is this the term that we've gone with? Oh, my God. So people said, do you have a nickname for your followers? And I was like, no, I think that's a corny thing to do. But Adam and Jesse, anything I don't like, they like they're like well we're going down that path and um so they were going through different celebrities and what their fan base oh yeah yeah like katie perry's got like the kitties or whatever they call the kitty cats or something like that uh and for some reason rihanna has rihanna navy i think she was in like movie, like Battleship once or something like that.

So we were like, Dangle Navy, sure, let's do it. And it took right off. And we had a Dangle Navy night at the ACC for the Marlies. People showed up in like sailor outfits with sailor hats and pirate hats. So does the Marlies PR team contact you and try to set that up

or do you go there? They have recently, yeah. And if you're a podcast listener, big tings of one. We're going to have some things this season with the Marlies, don't you worry. It's a shame that this rule exists that Marner can't be a Marley, because it just seems natural that Mitchell Marner should be a Toronto Marley for a year. Yeah, I hate that rule. If the rule is truly for the protection of a 19-year-old, then you won't let William Nylander play there or Kasperi Kapanen play there. It's not because of that. It's for the protection of the Canadian hockey league. Exactly, yeah. So either we cut the bullshit or you make it for everyone or you make it for no one it does present and uh i i'm not gonna do

a lot of like hockey talk with you because you do that all the time i'd rather talk about like your enterprise and what you're up to but real just quick thought is uh what do you do with marner next year like uh because you can't put him to the marlies so you can't put him back in the ohl where he's dominated like absolutely dominated a couple years in a row like you can't do that again can you it's like a kid graduating in grade 8 with honors, and then you put him back in grade 8. You know what I mean? I think he's got to play at the Leafs next year.

That's a great way to look at it. I think he's got to be with the Leafs next year. And I would say putting him back in the OHL would hurt him. But then I saw someone tweet, name an example of someone who went back for an extra year in junior and it hurt them and i can't think of one but um how many times has a player who

should have been in the nhl got sent back down to junior when it looked like it shouldn't have been an option at all um you know defenseman i don't think it ever counts you know defenseman could always learn something more um i think it might be a little different for forwards because i mean you saw how easily marner was able to score um as a 19 year old at 20 it's going to be a joke um so he just needs to play with bigger bodies if you will like men he needs to play with bigger bodies, if you will, like men. He needs to play with strong men, if you will, because I just think development-wise, since you can't send him to the Marlies, which is the obvious thing to do,

I think you're better with him on the Leafs, but Shanahan has never... He went to my high school, by the way, Brendan Shanahan. Oh, no way. Yeah, and he's a Mimico guy. I know you came from the Mimico station there, but that's what I would do, but no one asks my opinion. guy. I know you came from the Mimico station there. That's what I would do, but no one asks my opinion.

I also feel like, and this might be a stupid take, but I'm going to go ahead and say it. We love stupid takes. I guess the worry is he's going to get hurt because he's a little guy. I think he's less likely to get hurt in the National Hockey League than the American Hockey League.

The hits are a little sloppier. It's a little more violent. You know, the calls are a little harder to come by. And there's more guys looking to be noticed. Like, I find that you've got those guys who just need, yeah, they need to do something to make a statement to be, yeah. Absolutely. Do stupid shit. And, you know, you get hurt in the NHL, you get an NHL salary,

and people remember that you're hurt in the NHL. You get hurt in the AHL, watch how quickly you get forgotten. Right. You get buried and lost to time. So I'm thinking of your career path here. I know on your Twitter bio you say weird career paths are fun. So you're taking what's like a new path. It's not a typical path.

It's like this new one. But I was trying to think of people I know who have kind of done similar things. And the name that I keep thinking of, and it's like this new one, but I was trying to think of people I know who have kind of done similar things. And the name that I keep thinking of, and it's a guy my age, but Down Goes Brown. So Down Goes Brown has a whole different career and a whole different job. Sensei. Yeah. His passion is to...

I've been following him since the beginning because he's a hilarious Maple Leaf... He was a hilarious Maple Leaf blogger who had the same memories I have because he was my age. I blogger who had the same memories i have like you know because he's my age group and i loved his shit you know the wendell clark stuff and everything uh and then at some point like his his job is taken away from him his his non-sports media job and he starts to make a living doing what he loves like it's kind of a kind of a similar

tactic similar not dissimilar. Yeah. And what's so great about him, well, just one of the many great things about him, is he's now gotten to this point where, so obviously, you know, some stuff with ESPN happened. Oh, the Grantland? Yeah, Grantland went away or whatever.

But he's got such a name and such a following and, importantly, such a respect. His followers love him. They don't like him, they love him he's got that you can't take his toys away if you lay him off, he'll do it on his own. He could go somewhere else he can do whatever he wants because his name is

beloved and I mean no one more regularly tweets stuff that I wish I came up with myself i agree yeah i think exactly yeah drives me i so funny it makes me mad that's how i like to you're right no and uh i noticed he's not as overtly funny as he used to be like i think for some of his outlets now he's more a little bit more serious uh in fact the first time i saw him on like i saw him on like ctv news net doing going straight like he wasn't funny he was just straight analyzing some hockey stuff and i found it jarring because he's the he's the funniest guy was he on camera

yeah he was on camera and he was sean mackindoe yeah and he was doing a straight up hockey analysis no humor at all and it was jarring I wrote him and I'm like that was weird to me because he's just so friggin funny he's kind of dry in person and every now and then this animation comes out and you're just like whoa I've only hung out with him a few times

he's one of my favorite people I've had dinner with the man that's a true story at Wendell Clark's at 7 and 400 is that where that is? I'm not sure I've never been true story. Wendell Clarks at 7 and 400. Is that where that is? Yeah. 7 and 400. Not sure. I've never been. Yeah. That's like that. Yeah. There's a Wendell Clarks and I had dinner with

the guy. But yeah, you're right. He's dry in person. You're right. The first time I hung out with him was in Philadelphia at the 2014 draft. And every time we took a cab somewhere, I would try to pay because we would take cab after cab after cab and i noticed he was paying for them all and i'm like here man let me pay and he would just keep going no no it's on walt it's on walt and i'm like who

the hell is walt who the hell is walt and i don't even think i realized till i got home or i might have even asked him like who the hell's walt man yeah grantland is owned by espn who's owned by disney yeah there you go w Disney Walt Disney is picking up that time it's on Walt I heard you said you went to one of the winter classics now you're getting sent places sometimes

I had never been on a plane before 2009 the first plane I ever went on Nike sent me to the Team Canada roster announcement for the World Juniors. Where was that? 2009. That was in Regina, Saskatchewan.

I've never been to Saskatchewan. And I went in the dead of winter. No, it was for the 2010 World Juniors. But the announcement was in late 2009. Yeah. So I still have this huge respect, gratefulness whenever I get sent somewhere for something. Because I know it's expensive, man.

Yeah, because not only do they have to pay for your room and pay for your flight, but they pay for food too, right? Sometimes? No? Yeah, so we end up going to the World Juniors in Saskatoon. Yeah, so we end up going to the World Juniors in Saskatoon, and one of the ladies from Nike who I was working with noticed that I kept asking over and over again, like, when are we going to lunch? When are we going to dinner? When are we doing this? She's like, dude, just get room service.

I'm like, yeah, but it's like $30, man. And she's like, yeah, charge us. I'm like, oh, are you serious? She's like, have you not been doing this? We had been there like a week. Yeah, that's funny. But I can see how you thought that, because you don't know until you know. yeah yeah charge us i'm like oh are you serious she's like have you not been doing this we had been there like a week yeah that's funny but i can see how you thought that because you don't know till you know like it's one of those things you get you just treat i still do it too i treat other people's money like it's my own and but but you're right like you're right you have to kind of

like turn the switch like they're picking up the tab and everything i'm gonna get the uh full rack of ribs not just the half rack like this is a whole new ballgame. I think we're starting to see where my obsession with food comes from. It's right. But, like, you know, I'm only half Italian, but, like, I think that part of me, like, someone giving you food,

that's a gesture. You know what I mean? Like, and I'm always amazed, you know, a lot of sports media types, especially, like, some of the older school guys, there's, like, this entitlement to it. Oh, yeah, and they hate that media types, especially like some of the older school guys, there's like this entitlement to it. Oh, yeah, and they hate that some of it's slowly being taken away and it's driving them crazy.

Or like in Edmonton, like, oh, they're only giving us healthy food right now. I'm like, you know healthy food is much more expensive, right? That's right. It is much more expensive. That's true. Yeah, or like, you know, sometimes if you're working a night event and it's catered, like, oh, it's pizza again. I'm like, who cares?

It's free. They're freeing us like, who cares? It's free. They're feeding us. That's incredible. It's amazing. Come on, you get a Panago delivered each night for free now. We know that's part of the deal. No, believe it or not, not every night. Not every night.

Although often, though, I don't think the fasting is going to last. I think at the end of the World Cup, forget it. One more thing. So pizza, I used to have this issue. If pizza last. I think at the end of the World Cup, forget it. One more thing. Pizza, I used to have this issue. If pizza was free, let's say there's free pizza because I used to work for a company that would order it at lunch, and it was just free pizza. I would be like four or five slices because it's free pizza,

my favorite food, free pizza. Oh, hammer it down. Right. Then when you do the switch, you know what you do? You have two slices, and you stop. You're a mentally strong man, I can tell by talking. You can do this. You don't need to do this fasting nonsense

that's making you angry. Your wife hates you. Your dog hates you. And then you just go nuts. It's like then you're like an animal who just found some scraps and you just... But imagine how much better my videos will be this year if I'm fasting in the morning and I'm all pissed off.

I can't imagine. It'll blow up the internet. World Cup of Hockey real quick. But imagine how much better my videos will be this year if I'm fasting in the morning and I'm all pissed off. I can't imagine. It'll blow up the internet. World Cup of Hockey, real quick. So this is October. What is this? No, September 1. This is September 1.

This World Cup, I'm so Blue Jay feverish right now. Like my brain's having trouble even thinking of hockey. But this thing's starting soon, right? This is like mid-September. Is that when this thing kicks off or something? I think the first game is September 17th, and practices are going to start. I'm actually going to a Team Canada practice in Ottawa on Monday. Cool. So it's starting that quick, and I think they've already started some pre-tournament games. People were tweeting me about a Freddie Anderson shutout, and I'm like, what are you talking about? I didn't know he played. No,

I didn't know they started anything, but I know Canada hasn't done anything, that's for sure. But I got to say that I'm a little bit ticked off that they messed with the country versus country formula. Like, my brain, because I love best on best. I love best on best hockey, and I love Canada. I'm having trouble, and maybe

it's because of an old fart, and maybe the kids love this. I'm having trouble with the fact, for example, Connor McDavid will be on another team. I don't like how they messed with the country thing. You know, we made fun of that at length on the podcast, to the objection of no one at Rogers, by the way. No one gave us any grief for that, but we made fun of it hard.

Well, they better not. But Kiprios made a good point. And this is no offense to any Latvians listening. I know a few listen to the podcast. Who would you rather see? Would you rather see Team Latvia or Connor McDavid, Morgan Riley, Matt Murray? Okay, those are two teams. Yes, two weaker thans would

have to exist. It's true. Now it just feels like the one formula that works, they fucked with it. That's all it feels like for this 42-year-old guy who really just wants to see how the Leafs do next season. Although when Sochi and all the Olympics

when the best on best are there, it's appointment. I get really up for that. That matters to me. Winning gold in Vancouver meant everything to me. I love that shit. This doesn't feel the same. That's all I'm saying. I totally agree with you. You know what? It looks so ridiculous

on paper, but I bet it's going to look pretty good on the ice. No, I'll be tuning in. Don't get me wrong. I'm not boycotting this thing. I'll be tuning in. If we do lose, let's say we don't win gold, pretty good on the ice. No, I'll be tuning in. Don't get me wrong. I'm not boycotting this thing. I'll be tuning in. I just think they, it won't, if we do lose, let's say we don't win gold,

it won't feel the same as like 96, you know what I mean? Oh, yeah. Well, who's not rooting? No, no, no, 06, I mean. 06 when Sweden won. Oh, that's right, yeah. Sorry, yeah.

Who's not rooting for North America or Team Some of Europe, though? You've got to be cheering for Some of Europe or the Young Guns. No, I'm a little pissed off. I even have to cheer on some Americans if I want.

Austin Matthews, Connor McDade. Nobody listens to me for my hockey opinions. Maybe close by telling me how the Leafs will do next season. I know you have a crystal ball. I saw some ESPN article that said we had the best

prospects or something i saw cory pronman yeah somebody said something uh i saw james myrtle tweeting it out or something and i'm like oh that's that's encouraging right so this year uh when matthews and nylander and got rid of that idiot bernier uh like do do they what happens this year is this one of those like we finished 10th years like one of those, like, we finish 10th years? Like, one of those? Unfortunately, yeah. And then next year, we finish 7th or 8th,

and then we have playoff hockey. Is this the trajectory I'm looking for here? I don't think you're too far off, honestly. You know, they're going in the right direction. You can do a lot of things with at least league average goaltending, which when Reimer wasn't in net, the Leafs just didn't have last year. The young players are only going to get better and better every year. People forget that the likes of Milan Mihalic and Colin Greening

and Brooks Leick will either be completely off the books or re-sign to like a quarter of their current deals. Loop will be easier to trade. They'll have a little bit more room. Does Bozak get moved? I don't know. To Pittsburgh because he needs to live with Phil Kessel? Is that the deal?

Oh, that'd be amazing. What a comeback story. What a reuniting. But, you know, Bozak, he showed a lot of people what's up. You know, I was fully against him. I was part of that big 2013 train against him being the Leafs' number one center. But you look at what some of the centers, like the two or three second or third line centers around the league are getting paid these days,

and then you look at Bozak's money and his point totals from last year on a terrible team, yeah, I'll take that. If he is overpaid, it's not by much. I'll take that. I'll take that for sure. I don't think there should be a rush to get rid of Tyler Bozak for sure. Not to mention he's like one of, what,

like five, six Leafs over the age of 25? No, I was going to say, we need at least some link back to the Game 7 collapse against the Bruins. There's not a lot of guys that link us back there anymore. Let me tell you a story, kid. It's funny. You think it's all sunshine and rainbows now.

Let me tell you how it could be. Son, it was 4-1. I don't even like telling that story because when... Who was it? Was it... Was it, was it, who, who is the crap? Fradden, right? Matt Fradden, was he, did he score the fourth goal? No, it was Cody Franzen scored the first two, then Kessel, then Kadri.

Who scored the fourth goal? Kadri. Kadri. Okay. So Kadri scores. And I had played slow pitch earlier that day. So when I came, I missed like the first period playing slow pitch. Anyways, when Kadri scored and I realized this is happening earlier that day. So when I came, I missed like the first period playing slow pitch.

Anyways, when Kadri scored and I realized this is happening, like this is actually happening. We're going to win this game. That's the furthest I've ever jumped. Like the vertical, I've never jumped so high in my life. I just leapt, like just leapt. So you can imagine the crash from such heights.

Like it's just when the higher you go, the harder you fall. And being part of it. Like imagine being on that team. Oh, God. We have Ben Scrivens on the podcast. Can I find your... He gave us a play-by-play.

Oh, yeah, Ben. I saw his wife tweeted yesterday that they'll have to move back to Canada if Trump wins because he's a foreigner in America and he'll have to undergo some psychiatric evaluation or something. She's had a summer. Holy smokes. You know, that's a strong woman. She had to step away from the NWHL.

Ben is now getting a job, or, well, has a job playing goalie in Belarus. Oh, yeah. I didn't know that. She looked like a little bit of a cancer scare and had to get, I don't know, something cut out of her chest. But apparently she's all clear now. That is a rough summer. She had a full summer.

And now, of course, there's this whole, you know, little deportation chestnut. Don't worry. He will not win for what it's worth. That's my crystal balls telling me that. Hey, anything else you want to share with everybody other than we should all seek out your podcast and find you

on these Rogers properties? Just go to a Rogers property and yell Steve Dangle and just see what you find. Yeah, that'll probably work. Google the Steve Dangle blog. Make it one of your favorites. If you're into

the whole YouTube thing or talking about the Leafs thing, if you like having sports or having fun with sports, which is what I try to do, I hope you'll like my YouTube channel. If that's too ridiculous for you,

because it is, the YouTube videos are the most ridiculous thing I do. If those are too ridiculous, the podcast is ever so slightly less ridiculous. At very least, it's slower. There's no jump cuts in the podcast? Is it live to tape, as they say? Or is it...

How edited is that? No jump cuts. Very, very little. Still more edited than this one, but that's okay. That's okay. And the writing is something I'm trying to improve.

All right, cool, man. I got to say, I'm so pleased to hear a guy like you who just produces good content, entertaining. Like you said, sports, let's not take it so seriously. Sports is for entertainment

purposes, right? Yeah. A lot of people get very angry, like very angry like, no, just enjoy the show, man. And just be glad the Leafs are going in the right direction and the Blue Jays are going to make the playoffs this year and the Raptors were in the Final Four. This is a good time for Toronto sports. We haven't said that

much lately. Believe it or not. And of course, I have no idea how the Argos are going, but they're still existing, which is cool. I it or not. We haven't said that much lately. Believe it or not. And of course, I have no idea how the Argos are going, but they're still existing, which is cool. I have no idea. Who cares? No idea.

Hey, man, so thank you very much for coming on. Thanks for the beer. Enjoy that beer. Did you finish your meal? I did. I did, yeah.

All gone. Good stuff. And that brings us to the end of our 190th show. You can follow me on Twitter, at Toronto Mike, and Steve is at Steve underscore Dangle. And our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. See you all next week.