Eat Those Wings | The Game Sports Podcast

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome back to the Game Sports Podcast. Dave McKay continuing to host you this evening. I got a new co host in the chair beside me. The one, the only, the original from day one, Justin Heik, my friend. How'd she go? [00:00:13] Speaker B: It's good to be back. Good to be here. Getting used to the. The new digs we got going on. It's getting comfy. I like it. [00:00:18] Speaker A: Yeah, it's definitely been an evolution, my dude, since the last 11 years. [00:00:22] Speaker B: Yeah, it's crazy. [00:00:24] Speaker A: It's crazy, crazy. [00:00:25] Speaker C: It's. [00:00:25] Speaker A: It has been. It has been. Now, we've only had one episode in these new digs. Last week we were off Thanksgiving and obviously happy belated Thanksgiving to all the Canadian viewers and listeners. But I'm going to go without further ado to the one, the only, Brendan McCarthy, BMAC the cart and the guy who submits vacation days here on this show, the one and only. How you doing, my friend? [00:00:49] Speaker C: I'm good, boys. I was almost going to take it personally today because I was in turkey coma, but I'm all set. [00:00:55] Speaker A: We don't allow personal days, but anyway. No, just kidding. That, that aside, you know, Brennan, this is the, you know, with being a part of the show for the last couple years, you. You've been through a lot of transition with this, but obviously nothing's been like with Justin. From Sports center to. To Eagle Radio to ESPN Radio to offices to. To a brewery in town. [00:01:17] Speaker B: We did a golf course. [00:01:18] Speaker A: We did a golf course. Oh, that's right. We did do a golf course. My goodness. A legendary movement of the game. But we found our permanent home and obviously very happy. You work hard, kids. This is where you get too. Sorry, I had to say a dad joke. I got a kid. I can do that. So we're going to be doing top Chad just to announce to everyone, obviously Top Shelf was renamed to Top Chat. Couple reasons, main reason because it's cooler sounding, but besides that, we're going to be talking about everything. The National Hockey League. That's what we talked about here. Trude's left. We talked. Chuck a puck. What a great segment that was with Trude's, you know, obviously a lot of hounds passion there in Ontario Hockey League passion with Trudes and definitely appreciate his involvement here on the show. But guys, we're a couple of weeks into the season. Okay. And Brennan, I'm going to go to you first. Just hot and ready. What are. What is one thing that stands out to you these first couple weeks in the season? What. What really stands out to you as we're just. We're still getting over the first five or six games of the NHL season this year. [00:02:17] Speaker C: I love boys that, that the Winnipeg jets and the Ottawa Senators are both saying a big fu to their big dogs that are either saying, I'm staying put and being very greedy, or simply said, I'm going south. So Conor Halabuk, he's, I don't know, sitting at home fishing, just wasting all this moolah. [00:02:43] Speaker B: Losing cash. [00:02:44] Speaker A: Yep. [00:02:44] Speaker C: Losing cash and, and losing value. [00:02:49] Speaker A: Is that crazy to say too? I think he's losing value a bit. I'm. I may. No, you know what? No, I take that back. I take that back. I. I don't think he is. I take that back. [00:02:58] Speaker B: I think his value holds pretty steady. I just think there's. There's a limited market for the people that are teams that are willing to [00:03:04] Speaker A: deal with apparently 16 some teams. No, no, he has probably four teams. Let's get real. That he's given it to. But I love your point, Brennan. Teams that are coming out hot. It is still early in the year, but let the fans feel good about that. To say Brady could. Chuck. Hey, how do you like them apples? Conor Hallibuck. Who are you? We don't need you. Winnipeg fans are loving that piece, let me tell you. [00:03:26] Speaker C: Yeah. I think everyone thought the Senators would just be really struggling out of the gate. I mean, they've been. They've. They've been fantastic. And I think, you know, they, they know that it's in a Canadian market. They know that there's going to be a lot of noise with that. And I think with the Senators, it's been kind of a. A by committee. [00:03:48] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:03:48] Speaker C: With their, with their recent surge or their. Their surge out of the gate and then with the Jets, I mean, that locker room is. Is full of a lot of leadership. Right. And it starts with Adam Lowry. [00:04:00] Speaker A: Y. [00:04:00] Speaker C: So I think for both of these Canadian markets, it's like, we, we know there's a lot of noise, but let's go in and. And prove everybody wrong. And they've done that. Stu Skinner has come in and, and has been pretty solid tending twine. And then for the Senators, like, sure, I'm sure they'll come down to earth. At one point in the locker room, they're probably like, yeah, we don't need Brady. And in Winnipeg they're probably like, don't need you either, Connor. [00:04:28] Speaker A: Exactly. And you know what? [00:04:29] Speaker B: We've. [00:04:29] Speaker A: We've talked about this off air, but the, the locker room, you almost don't want Conor Hellebach to come back because you messed the mojo that's going there. Yeah, baby. The mojo, Vivie. Okay. You're messing. You're messing that you mess it up a little bit. And don't get me wrong, they would. It's Connor Halbuk. Okay. It's Connor Halabuk, people. But you got to have the mentality. I love how shovel day off is. Is holding up and staying with it. That. I ain't. I ain't. You don't want to play, that's on you. You got to give credit there. But eventually something's got to give. [00:05:06] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't. I. It's almost like it's kind of. The team's kind of galvanized around the. The fact that he's not there and everyone kind of naysayed them. [00:05:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:05:15] Speaker B: And. And similar in Ottawa to the performance you're getting out of players like Tim Stutzlow so far this season. It's almost like. [00:05:21] Speaker A: I loved his comments about Tkachuk, too. Just shoving it right to him. So you don't want to be here. I love that. [00:05:27] Speaker C: But. [00:05:27] Speaker B: But it's almost like it gave him room to breathe. [00:05:29] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:05:29] Speaker B: The players are. They're out there. Like, there's. There's a game we're seeing out of Stutzlight. I mean, we're. We're two weeks in. Less diving, but no comment. But. But we're just seeing a little more out of him. Like the. The. Like he's. He's taken some more ownership of the team, I guess, is what I'm seeing there. [00:05:45] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:05:46] Speaker B: And. And even to this, the guys that don't want to be there. Extent. Dylan Larkin in the last week. [00:05:52] Speaker A: Guy getting booed in his home opener. [00:05:54] Speaker B: I mean, Nick Cousins killed him. Absolutely buried him last week with the. Yeah, that was. [00:06:00] Speaker A: See on the shirt. That was Hounds alumni. [00:06:03] Speaker B: Yeah, that was a good one. But you know what? He's making the best of the situation. They had him in in the shootout [00:06:09] Speaker A: tonight, and he's getting points. He goes to Montreal. The fans are chan. We want Larkin. Not happening. Montreal fans, just so you know. [00:06:18] Speaker C: I don't. [00:06:18] Speaker A: I don't think that happens, but you never know. And Larkin, another mat, another sign of respect. Guy is. Gets booed, requests a trade, lost the C, comes out and just playing the game that he loves. And you know what? It's. That's a different mentality. [00:06:35] Speaker B: Okay. [00:06:35] Speaker A: He's doing the opposite of Conor Ellebak. It's literally the opposite. One sitting doing nothing, one's not sitting doing nothing. Okay. And the trade will happen just like Simon Edmondson is going to get traded from. From Detroit. Detroit's having a problem right now. There's some issues in that locker room. They have new management. They're going to have to come try to fix that culture. You speak of an HR type of mentality. There's culture to look into. Okay. And Brennan, like, you know, I, I don't know if that was your point, Justin, that you want to bring up in the season. I don't know if I took. I know. We just. [00:07:09] Speaker B: No, no, I just kind of. I tagged on. That's. We can roll with it. Let's roll. [00:07:13] Speaker A: Let's roll with it. Okay, so Wings culture. Brandon, you gotta admit, Larkin showing up that. You gotta get credit to the guy for showing up the play. Evanston's not playing. He's not playing until he's traded or has the deal that he wants. [00:07:24] Speaker B: He's not even on this continent. [00:07:25] Speaker A: Yeah, he's not. He's in Europe right now. Okay. He's in Sweden. So the landscape of the game is changing because players are picking where they want to play. Dude, they are. And they sign contracts and they don't. They don't honor them. And we're not going to double contract validation. We've already talked about that on the show, on the, on the first episode to no end. But you got to admit, Conor Hallibuck, Dylan Larkin, this isn't great for the game. It's. [00:07:50] Speaker B: It's. [00:07:51] Speaker A: It's not good for the Canadian markets. [00:07:54] Speaker C: No, it's not good. And it wasn't too long ago that a couple of the. Well, a couple current Leafs and one ex Leaf, they. They held out as well too. And that, that, that sent shockwaves through the city of Toronto. Right, The Nylander deal. And then it was Marner, right? There was, there was. There was talks about him going to play in Switzerland up. No, that was just obviously, you know, a fabricated thing. But it was. I think he was offered like a. A whopping contract and I think the agent and him turned it down. Right? [00:08:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:08:27] Speaker C: So this has happened before. I think that was pre. Covered, right. Because it was a Nylander deal first and then. And then Marner. So that, that went on. I, I think Willie took until December, decided it was. [00:08:39] Speaker A: Remember, that was December and he took a six million dollar six to seven and a half around that range because [00:08:46] Speaker B: now he makes over somewhere around there [00:08:48] Speaker A: and people are like, oh, that's expensive. Like it. [00:08:51] Speaker B: Nope, that. [00:08:52] Speaker A: That really worked out at the time. [00:08:54] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:08:54] Speaker A: His contract now Is not even that bad. [00:08:56] Speaker C: Very rarely do you see. And maybe it's just more of the. The experienced vet group that you see. Like the. The Pittsburgh's and Boston's of the world is just a collective buy in. [00:09:07] Speaker B: Right. [00:09:07] Speaker C: Like Boston, when they had Marshawn Bergeron and. And Pasternak, it was like, yep, team friendly. Lock it in, let's go play hockey. [00:09:16] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:09:16] Speaker C: Said obviously the. The famous Hulk 7, right? Yeah. So maybe as you said, Dave, it's. It's kind of the, you know, the landscape now of the National Hockey League. Like, you see these young guys who haven't even done anything in terms of hoisting a cup, but they're making running back money. Running back money. Not even running back money. But for the NHL. [00:09:40] Speaker A: I wouldn't have paid him. Dude, I said that in the summer with clips when I was uploading clips. I wouldn't have paid him. I would have let him go. I know it's like, oh, you can't. For the organization. Right. A look. But it's almost like, I ain't paying you that. [00:09:51] Speaker B: I don't. [00:09:51] Speaker C: I. [00:09:51] Speaker B: That one I kind of had a hard time with that. That blew me. But Anna, Anaheim caved, I think, on that one. And it's a leg up for agents and players alike going forward, especially with the cap. [00:10:05] Speaker A: Maclin is Cale McCarr, $20 million. McDavid's first. His contract starts with a 1, and his second number might be a 3, so. [00:10:14] Speaker B: Right. The Leafs can afford it. [00:10:16] Speaker A: Let's start that train. Love that. Okay. You went with that role. I'll jump to. The one thing I want to jump into is kind of Leaf focused. Guys. [00:10:24] Speaker B: No, no. [00:10:26] Speaker A: Papi is back or what? [00:10:28] Speaker C: Here. [00:10:29] Speaker A: Okay. Buddy's first star of the week. Sniping top Ched. Pun intended. Yeah. There it is. A Gavin McKenna. There's absolute excitement everywhere. Remember the first beginning. Oh, my God, he's a bust. Three weeks. And listen, Leaf fans, I'm gonna tell you from an actual Leaf fan, that isn't a. Who's not gonna be biased to. Believe it or not, you might roll your eyes at that. They might. Everyone, even the producers are rolling their eyes at that. I'm telling you right now, Gavin McKenna is not a bust. It's gonna take time for him to grow. He is special. He's great to watch. But Pappy o. Pappy looks back. Nylander looks like it's watching the Colorado game is like, oh, boy, they're down. But they fought it off. Bobrovsky, the. The composure in the Net just makes you feel so relaxed out there. And Pappy looks so happy and confident. McKenna looks comfortable. Nick Paul and these bottom six guys that are just a bunch of guys throwing the blender, okay? They know how to defend leads, they block shots. 10F goes down, but it's okay, it's okay that the next man up mentality is what you're seeing for the early in the season in Toronto. But my topic is Pappy is back with Willie. Styles is a style that I want to be a Trend on and McKenna, look, it's still only week two and a half. They're going on to three and week one wasn't the greatest, but give the kid some time. He's going to be good Leaf fans. Sit down, be quiet and stop calling him a bust. I've had enough of that. He is some going to be special, Brennan. [00:12:00] Speaker C: I, I think the last episode boys, we were going to bat for McKenna and then he scores his first as a Leaf against the Predators. So we, we kind of, you know. [00:12:10] Speaker B: Yeah, we put that out there. [00:12:12] Speaker C: I'm not gonna say it's a, a top chad bump or anything but we, maybe we help number 92 out. You never know. [00:12:18] Speaker A: Yeah, he was on the bus. It was on the first class plane. There's no bus. He was on the plane. He was strolling tick tock and he saw, saw this these three beautiful lads come on the screen and just absolutely pump him up. He is, he's so good. [00:12:29] Speaker B: Brandon, I think, I think we gotta come up with a chart like week to week. Like the hype chart. Like last week we were down. This week we're up, we're back up again. Honorable mention in that whole statement, I think you did a disservice not mentioning, mentioning Easton Cowan. [00:12:43] Speaker A: Oh geez. Yeah. [00:12:44] Speaker C: Yep. [00:12:44] Speaker B: Because that he was playing last week, that was. We'll see again tonight. He might just keep it rolling, but that's. Yeah, he was on fire. [00:12:54] Speaker C: Have you guys noticed too with, with Matthews and Nylander, you know, we talked so much how fast this group is, but when Matthews and Nylander are, are leading the way and are not just being impactful offensively but just little details. You know, Nylander is not always going to back check but like that, that's, that's no news. But they are a fast and hard skating team. A team that'll skate you into the ground. And we've seen, we've seen cases where when they're chugging offensively and they're going to get pucks in corners, they are so hard to get the puck off of Matthew. Six, three, two, three. Big boy Nylander controls the puck so well. Some of those passes he made in the slot were 10 out of 10. And I just think, you know, those guys, I said this a few years ago, if the Leafs are going to have any success, Matthews and Nylander are going to have to kind of two head monster this thing. Those are the guys that have to. Dave, we talked about this in, in the Panthers leaf series. There's got to be a guy or two guys that will their team to a win. They, they didn't necessarily deserve the win against the Avalanche, but they willed their team 34 and 88. Obviously you get, you know, secondary contributions. You know, Blankenberg, Cowan, Nick Paul starting to find his groove. Gavin McKenna, you know, monkey off the back can finally breathe. He's got, he's got a goal, so that helps. And that's a nice little supporting cast and you add those ingredients together. But 34 and 88 have been here for a long time. 10 years. A long time. And they've suffered a lot of disappointment. A lot. Countless every year. But, you know, we're very, very early. It's a very early into the season that we're talking about this, but it's, I guess it bodes well because this time last year it was like, this is a Peter Horace team. And you could, you could see it from this time last year. Very early, but it's, it's a nice, it's a nice sign of what. What could be a consistent thread throughout the season. [00:15:10] Speaker A: And Gavin McKenna's back check. Oh, my God. [00:15:13] Speaker B: I mean, I don't, I don't want to say it because I'm a, I'm a big fan in a Jersey sl several memorabilia holder here. But Johnny T out of the lineup for a few games and now we're kind of the boys. The boys started the gel a little bit. [00:15:28] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:15:29] Speaker B: The power play started buzzing a little bit. I don't want to say it. I don't want to put it out there in the universe, but is, is there maybe like a little stormy cloud in the locker room with him or is that like. I don't, I don't want to start. I really don't want to start anything, but that's one of the first things that came to mind. Watching this is like. [00:15:49] Speaker A: It's like I said at home, it's [00:15:51] Speaker B: like dad's gone out for the night. [00:15:53] Speaker A: And I said at home that I thought Johnny, as great as he is at face offs, that he needs to Play wing. I think it's time that Johnny Tavares moves over to the wing. Complete wing with Nylander and you look at bringing us a guy who can play both center and wings. I've, I've mentioned people like, hey, what names would you be thinking of? Some names that have popped in my head. Jarrett McCann, who's a former hound, you know that, and who was drafted by the Leafs in a, in the, in the expansion draft trade. Sorry, not drafted, traded and all that, then let go to go to Pittsburgh. But there's some players that you could look at bringing in the place center as a first or secondary position to rotate and give that off Johnny, because the speed is not there, but his touch and his leadership is, I still think something that's unmatched on the team. And despite that, Matthews is the captain and, you know, Gavin McKenna seems comfortable. Morgan Riley is still Morgan Riley. He's been there a long time. Give credit words too. Johnny is still like the leader behind the scenes, but chemistry. I get your point. [00:16:51] Speaker B: I think, I think they're giving him main character story lines and I don't think he needs it. [00:16:55] Speaker A: Maybe it's time for third line. But he doesn't play the style for third line. [00:16:59] Speaker B: I just, I don't, I don't know. I don't. I don't think he's using. I don't know. [00:17:03] Speaker A: I might not be using them right. [00:17:04] Speaker B: Maybe. [00:17:05] Speaker A: Jim, figure it out. [00:17:06] Speaker B: I'm starting a conversation I don't have an answer to this week. [00:17:09] Speaker A: What do you think, Brandon? What do you is. What do you think about the take about John Tavares here? [00:17:14] Speaker C: Look, man, I think at this point you're. Especially on that rumor. Let's remember his contract. What's he making? 4.5 mil. [00:17:22] Speaker B: It's the more. It's more team friendly than mine. [00:17:25] Speaker C: It's more than just slightly more than what Dave McKeg pays. [00:17:28] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:17:30] Speaker A: Oh, God. [00:17:31] Speaker C: I think at this point you kind of, you kind of know what you're going to get from Johnny Tyler and the fact that he had to basically eat it and hand over the sea two years ago if he, you know, if you get to march and they, you know, I don't think these guys are done and like they could pick up a stud, you know, bottom six center. And that pushes Johnny T. Down. Right. Because you have to take advantage of Bobrovsky. You have to take advantage of, you know, Matthews still. [00:18:00] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:18:01] Speaker C: Tan is injured again. So like if he, if he can come back. Finger. Fingers crossed. You have to take Advantage of all these incredible impact. Impactful pieces for. For a run. [00:18:12] Speaker B: Right. [00:18:12] Speaker A: So arguably an open Eastern Conference. Arguably. I know. [00:18:16] Speaker C: Arguably an open Eastern Conference. That's a great point. Yeah. So, you know, if they do decide to shift him down at this point, like John, like the C was taken off Johnny's sweater, I don't think he's going to be, you know, sulking if he's. Hey, you know what? Can you just take a turn on the. On the third line? Maybe it's the fourth line, but if it means a cup comes to Toronto, I don't think he's gonna be pissing and moaning. [00:18:38] Speaker B: That's true. The ultimate team player. I guess that's. [00:18:41] Speaker A: That's good. I love the freefall. Free flow talk, gentlemen. Love that very much. Now, I know we don't have too much time left, but one thing I want to make sure we. We get into as I know people have been asking about the redraft. We're going to get back into that, guys. I was hoping for maybe two more points, but depending on how we go with this first point, it is about a week or so old, but we got to make sure we give credit where it's due to the best goal scorer in the world that we got to watch. Okay. Our parents got the luxury of watching Gretzky, and we got to see, you know, Gretzky in the later career. Justin and I and Brandon, you saw the tail end of it. I know. Because you're a bit younger than I. Bit younger than we are. But obviously we didn't live through the 80s. I didn't. I wasn't in 81, 82. [00:19:26] Speaker B: I'm just keeping my mouth shook in this because I don't think you actually know how old I am. [00:19:30] Speaker A: I do. That's why when I said it, I stopped. I stopped. I looked. But anyway, jokes aside, Ovechkin's the best goal scorer we. We have ever seen. So, Brennan, I go to you first because I know you had a point to bring up, but also a favorite moment of the great eight that stands out to you. [00:19:48] Speaker C: Favorite moment. [00:19:49] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:49] Speaker C: I think I'll give you another moment. Remember when he did the. The hot stick and Don Cherry just blasted him on coach's corner? [00:19:58] Speaker A: Blasted him. [00:19:59] Speaker C: I think that was actually pretty funny. I remember watching the highlights about that. And my dad, I feel like all the dads, especially that were. Were invested in their kids hockey, just didn't. Didn't like that because they don't like the showboating. I remember watching it as As a young buck, and I'm like, that's pretty funny. But then you also saw the likes of Mike Green just kind of skate by him because, you know, maybe. Maybe. Maybe that's something where it's like, okay, I don't want to. I don't want to deal with this, but I thought that was. I thought that was pretty funny. And, oh, man, every time I just think of O. I just think of his tinted visor and the. The OG Capitals logo in the middle, like, 05.06. [00:20:36] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:20:37] Speaker C: And, man, the COVID of NHL 07. [00:20:42] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, he was on the COVID I [00:20:45] Speaker B: forgot that Capitals jersey is like a. A piece. [00:20:47] Speaker C: It's like, that's a beautiful. [00:20:49] Speaker A: Yeah, it's a beautiful jersey. [00:20:50] Speaker C: It's iconic. But if you guys were to. I mean, you don't necessarily have to give me your top five. I know we're not doing a redraft. If. But is OV in your top five players of all time? Yes or no? [00:21:03] Speaker A: Yes, Dave. Yes. I took a second because I have him at the bottom of the five. [00:21:10] Speaker C: I would have him in my five just because of the fifth. I would say pure domination. Goal scorer. [00:21:18] Speaker A: You know who. I can already say who's ahead of him. It's. It's Gretzky, it's Lemieux, it's Gordie Howe, and it's also. I. It's gonna be Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. [00:21:27] Speaker B: But it's all. To me, it's all timing. Players where they insert themselves into leagues, and the time they. He. Hockey needed someone at that hockey. You just come out of those rough lockouts. You're trying to. You're trying to grow the game. You're trying to sell the game. You needed something exciting. Ovechkin hitting the floor at the nation's capital. Truly, if. If the Capitals don't go to Vechkin, are they even there anymore? [00:21:55] Speaker A: That's another story. Same with Crosby going to Pittsburgh and [00:21:58] Speaker B: how he grew the game. Players, where you get to see players in the NFL celebrating. OVI was doing. So, like, it just. It opened up hockey to, I think, a faster market. [00:22:08] Speaker A: Okay, like, what. [00:22:09] Speaker C: What if the Penguins just got Malkin? [00:22:12] Speaker B: Or. [00:22:12] Speaker C: Or what if. What if Washington got, like, Washington? God, Synonymous. Ovechkin is synonymous with. With the Capitals. [00:22:22] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:22:22] Speaker C: And vice versa. Like, when you think Capitals, you think Ovechkin. Oh, that's. You don't think Olaf Kozik, Leaf's legend, played with the Caps, right? [00:22:32] Speaker B: Yeah, he did. He got. [00:22:34] Speaker A: Sure did. Legendary Stanley Cup Finals ends up near suit, ties with Chris Simon, too. And Wawa. [00:22:38] Speaker C: Would you imagine it was just like, you know what? We're gonna actually take, you know, like a Jonathan someone. [00:22:44] Speaker A: Some. [00:22:45] Speaker C: Some random. Yeah, some random. Or like a bust. And it's just like, wow. [00:22:49] Speaker A: Different. Yeah. Now I'll say for my favorite point, because I'm corny with this. I know your point is gonna be. That's funny. I want to make sure I let you have it. I do have two points. The first one with Ovechkin that stands out to me is the on the back score in Arizona. Matthews at that game. That's fire. The other one, corny as heck, him lifting the Stanley Cup. Love that. That's the motion, right? [00:23:16] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:23:16] Speaker B: And everybody minds the. The Swear to God. Hole in one ov. Getting the hole in one, golfing out there. That's the. The beauty. [00:23:25] Speaker A: That's. That's awesome. Swear to God. [00:23:28] Speaker B: Swear to God. [00:23:29] Speaker A: Now, we only have about 30 seconds here, Brennan, so I'm just gonna go to you quick. We'll say we'll have to save the other topic because it's not hocking. Can any. I want to say to you, my friend, thank you for taking the time, but any final thoughts before we let you go? [00:23:42] Speaker C: Frozen frenzy tonight, boys. October 13th through recording Frozen Frenzy madness. [00:23:49] Speaker B: San Jose starts at like 11:20 tonight. [00:23:52] Speaker A: Frozen. [00:23:52] Speaker C: Yeah, I won't be staying up for that. [00:23:54] Speaker B: No, I'll catch it when the baby wakes up to eat around one. [00:23:57] Speaker A: There you go. There you go. I'll probably go to sleep. Brennan. Thank you very much, my friend. Justin, you're staying because we're talking some in the pocket cart till next week, my friend. [00:24:07] Speaker C: See you guys. [00:24:07] Speaker B: Enjoy your vacay. [00:24:09] Speaker A: Or till. Yeah, a couple weeks. He gets a vacation. He gets a vacation. He's allowed. [00:24:14] Speaker C: Thankfully. Thankfully, Dave allows that. [00:24:16] Speaker B: So that's great. You'll have to check workday. [00:24:18] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Check work day. Great. All right, that's Brandon McCarthy who's joining us for Top Ched. Now, obviously, you know, hike. It's hard to transition from hockey to football a lot. Obviously the show, the game is really known for. It's. Hockey is where it started off. But if you really look in the archives to the Scott Nayson, me, you and Butch and EJ days, there was always a variety. [00:24:45] Speaker B: I was waiting for your cheesy segue here. It's time to just chuck that puck in the net and then we're gonna grab our football and run out. [00:24:54] Speaker A: So now we have it in the pocket segment today, but it's Gonna be a little bit special. Ladies and gentlemen, I have a smile on my face because last week that was a recording that we didn't end up proceeding to do. Brennan, me, you and Trudes, we had some conversations, but we decided to push our content to this week. And we took the week off last week. And what ended up happening, okay. Is without anyone being able to see it, there was a handshake agreement between Justin and myself. Okay. It was an off air shake. I call an off air shake. We bet every year that the Steelers and Colts, when they play, who would win. I am a Steelers fan. Hike is a Colts fan. And he said the Colts are going to win. I said the Steelers are going to win. And what did we bet? The loser would have to eat? Hot wings. Hot wings, Very hot. And this is how I ordered them. I want the hottest wings. That is enough to burn your insides. Okay. That is what I ordered for my good friend and loyal friend Justin Heiko. [00:26:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Note that. Good and loyal friend. There we go. [00:26:13] Speaker A: And what I'm gonna do is Hike. I am gonna get your bowl ready and while you get, I get your bowl ready and your and your wings ready to go, I want you to do your matchups of the week, your fantasy players, and when you're done that, we're gonna finish the show with a spicy finish. [00:26:30] Speaker B: So what I'm thinking here, three, three fantasy players for the week. Kind of. Kind of. Man, those smell hot. Holy. So I'm thinking, you know, just tight end wise, the LA Rams, after watching that game last night. Tyler Higby, good option out there. He's available in about 50 of the leagues on Yahoo. In the last three weeks he's averaging about 10 points a game. Now that most teams you're starting to get into bye week hell and everything else you got going on. Tyler Higby, probably not a bad option out there as well. Damian Pierce for the Philadelphia Eagles. Eagles running back room and absolute shambles. I think we were losing two running backs a week right now at this point. And an offensive lineman actually, remind me, Phillies offensive lineman. I want to talk about that for a second at the end. [00:27:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:27:19] Speaker B: And then at the end, what did I put here on the list? Oh, yes. Marvin Harrison Jr. With his Houston Texans playing the Jags. Texans not a super exciting team when you're. Yeah, yeah. [00:27:33] Speaker A: So hot right now. [00:27:34] Speaker B: But moving over to his new team, playing with his old college quarterback, maybe a spark for C.J. stroud, a little spark for Marvin Harrison Jr. And we'll see. I think those are Those are some good options on the fantasy front this week. Segueing I I could. It's tingling my eyes. Games of the week. I'm thinking Jags in Houston in London 9am on Sunday. That's pretty good one. Like I said Houston with the new new offensive weapons and the Jags. [00:28:03] Speaker A: It's not college football though. Yeah, I gotta say it was Stroud [00:28:06] Speaker B: and Harrison but Jake's pretty comfortable in London there last week with that walk off field goal. [00:28:10] Speaker A: Sure were. [00:28:11] Speaker B: Sure were Thursday nighter Cowboys and packers or no sorry Sunday nighter. That one's a Sunday night Cowboys and Packers always a good matchup. Packers look to be on the up and up much like the Leafs packers fans week to week up and down [00:28:26] Speaker A: the stock market or your heart rate [00:28:27] Speaker B: and everybody likes to see the Cowboys lose. So sorry here we are for the other games we got on the list. Sorry everybody. I gotta move the paper. Browns and Ravens probably for the division lead. [00:28:40] Speaker A: Who would have thought Browns being on a game of the week for hike just. [00:28:43] Speaker B: Well you know what, shout out to E.J. browns are having a great year. He that might have been the. The catalyst of the Browns coming together. Is EJ just taking the time to relax. [00:28:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:28:52] Speaker B: And that's, that's what we got. So I think the Ravens are gonna win. But Browns vs Ravens well worth watching. [00:28:59] Speaker A: And just to clarify, E.J. russell was a former co host of the show that was with us for about nine years. He's now stepped away to do to focus on other chapters in life. So we would definitely wish EJ the best we talked about on the first show. But when we message when we mention EJ that's what we mean. [00:29:13] Speaker B: Panthers and Eagles this week also looking like a good game. Panthers coming off a buy early bye week. But offense that Panthers offense. You know we're averaging almost 40 points a game. How do you. How do you not want to watch that? And the Eagles after you know the big loss in London. Coach saying he lost the game for him. Should be trying to rebound in that game. Yep. And then Bills and Raiders. [00:29:37] Speaker A: Okay. [00:29:39] Speaker B: Coming off the Monday nighter last night, big win. [00:29:41] Speaker A: The Bills at the field. Oh that. That was one exhilarating game. 30, 34. Gotta love that for Monday football. [00:29:48] Speaker B: Rams kicker unemployed today. [00:29:50] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:29:50] Speaker B: Hitting the unemployment line. So there's that. So we'll see. [00:29:53] Speaker A: No, no love for kickers in the NFL. Maybe that's a good topic for next week. [00:29:57] Speaker B: But just a quick circle back to the Philadelphia Eagles. Offensive lineman Lane Johnson retired last week after taking a few Weeks off. Eagles, Phillies, Philly fans notoriously pretty rough on anything that they don't like. Guy you know, admittedly was having a rough meant. This is a mental health related topic. He took the time off, was not all there up here, and roasted on his way out of town when he decides to retire. So not a big fan. I don't like to see that. Especially a guy like Lane Johnson who poured his heart out for the city of Philadelphia, won a Super bowl at the city of Philadelphia, should be able to retire gracefully. I know not ideal in the middle of a season or the start of a season or a season that's going rough. [00:30:42] Speaker A: Sometimes people retire unexpectedly, but things are [00:30:45] Speaker B: going rough for a reason. And to shit on a guy when he's down like that, I think is. Is pretty lame. [00:30:52] Speaker A: Pathetic is a good way to put it with that term. [00:30:55] Speaker B: Yeah, I didn't. What I was going to say wasn't. We'd have to edit it out. [00:30:58] Speaker A: So you got to be mindful of others, people be mindful of others. Now this is the moment I've been waiting for. [00:31:07] Speaker B: Speaking of mindful for others. [00:31:08] Speaker A: Mindful for others. I am gonna have one of those, but off air, I'm gonna do that because the whole point of this is so people can see, because I am tempted to try one. That's why we got 10 of them. They're pretty. [00:31:18] Speaker B: Supposed to look pretty good. [00:31:19] Speaker A: They look really good. Usually we do five, but we got 10, which means I'm gonna have one. I think Brad and Mike are gonna have to have one too, at the end. See if they want some hot stuff at the end. [00:31:28] Speaker B: We're probably gassing them out with the wings smell. [00:31:31] Speaker A: Yeah, 100%. Now, paper towels are right there. That bowl is not for him to maybe get sick in. It's for him to put his bones in after. Okay, But I'm not giving him a paper towel because I want the sauce hands, ladies and gentlemen. I want the soft sauce hands to be there for when he is eating those wings and he is like, like. Okay, we're gonna have a nice little wing dinner here that we're gonna see Justin eat. So while you're eating, we're gonna talk about the Mike Tomlin World of Minecraft. [00:32:01] Speaker B: All right, I'm gonna push the mic away a little bit here so you [00:32:04] Speaker A: can push the mic away 100% and you can lean in. Okay. And I'm gonna talk while Hike gets those hot wings. Let's do that first. Get in there, give you a little play by play. He's diving in. They're extra saucy at home or driving your vehicle. Can you smell that spice in your car? Okay. It smells in the studio right now of hotness. [00:32:25] Speaker C: Okay. [00:32:25] Speaker A: And it's not just because the attire we're wearing. There we go. Hike. Is diving in. And he's going right into it. Okay, Right into it. [00:32:34] Speaker B: Look at that. [00:32:34] Speaker A: They're gonna show the camera right there, too. Gotta get right in there. There we go. There we go. He's eating. There it is. He's having it. Mike. Tom and likes playing Minecraft. Hike. [00:32:45] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:32:47] Speaker A: How you feeling? And I have nothing against with what he does in his free time. Mike Tomlin is someone who took the Steelers to the playoffs every year, one Super Bowls. Okay? This is somebody. If he wants to play Minecraft in his time off from the field, I do not care. Because he had results on the field. Despite that, some fans that are Steeler fans think that the results weren't that what they needed to be. How are you feeling? [00:33:17] Speaker B: Here's my take on what you're saying there. Steelers fans. You're saying Steelers fans are happy going 9 and 8 every year. You're an HR guy. You hiring people out of university with the 60%. Are you hiring people out of university with the 95? [00:33:38] Speaker A: So that's. That's a good point. But what about championships? Legacy? [00:33:42] Speaker B: Back to my suffering. [00:33:43] Speaker A: Legacy. Legacy with Tomlin is still something that's unmatched for one of the best football franchises in the NFL. For championships, obviously, they've been a credit a very prestigious organization for that. And whatever he wanted to do, it's not just because of his coaching that the team was the way that they were. That's what I want to hand out, is that it wasn't just because of his coaching. Was it a factor? Heck, yeah. But it's also players on the field, other management being involved. You got to get in on that. [00:34:13] Speaker C: Look at that. Look at that. [00:34:14] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, we got. Oh, he's breathing. He's breathing heavy. [00:34:17] Speaker B: I don't need the Mapini yet. We're still good. [00:34:19] Speaker A: Still. Still got a few wings to go for Justin as he sits to eat his hot wings. Don't bet against me, folks. You're going loose. You're going loose. Okay. I am down to do any bets when it comes to any sport, especially hockey and a shootout if you're a goalie. Nonetheless, Tomlin, play Minecraft. Play your heart out, buddy. Play your heart out. How you doing over there? Okay. They're hot. [00:34:46] Speaker B: Okay. [00:34:46] Speaker A: Are you. Are you feeling like the hot ones. I'll give them credit for that. Are you feeling like the hot ones [00:34:51] Speaker B: where you're like, I'm currently glazing. I'm glazing. [00:34:55] Speaker A: You're glazing. He's glazing. God, this is fun. This is great. We've never really had a live recording. [00:35:01] Speaker B: Look how juicy that one is. Yeah. [00:35:03] Speaker A: Should you show the juice on that? Yeah, a little bit of juice. Oh, there you go. The juice. Yeah, the juice. Thanks, everybody. [00:35:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:35:10] Speaker A: Love that. We're giving a little clap. Little clap. Get there, Justin. [00:35:13] Speaker C: Get there. [00:35:13] Speaker A: Just a few more wings to go, my friend. Now, Mike Tomlin, play Minecraft. Play your heart out. All right, thank you for your picks, Justin. Thank you for everything. You're going to sit here and eat some of those wings as we get to our conclusion here. I'll say thank you to you, my friend. You're a trooper. And this is because I love you. That's why I do it. I'm watching it with enjoyment. It's out of love. [00:35:31] Speaker B: What do you. What do you do at home? [00:35:33] Speaker A: Oh, God. Yikes. Justin Heiko, ladies and gentlemen. One that definitely will make you excited and makes me want to eat. Those wings look pretty good. Really good, actually. I want to thank you to Jordan Trudeau and to also Brandon McCarthy and to you, the viewers and listeners of the Game Sports podcast. To Brad, to Mike, the crew. Studio 726 is the game sports podcast, a Studio 726 original series. This is all through any platform you want to listen to. Instagram, Tick Tock and Facebook's where you can follow along for those clips and interactions. Make sure that you are like following subscribing on all the platforms. Mike. Take Mike. Justin, take that big drink. You deserve it. Still some hot wings. Make a bet with your friends. It definitely makes it fun and it makes even more fun to catch it on video now. And we will be back next week for more more of the Game sports podcast. And until then, I'm again going to remind you to hit like f. Subscribe and all the platforms interact and we will interact with you. That is a promise. And until next time, keep your stick on the ice, swing your bats, catch your touchdowns, drain your threes and shoot your shots. Booyah.