Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: It's time for the Game Sports Podcast as your host, David McCaig Jr. An original Studio 726 series, the game Sports Podcast inside our new studio here at Studio 726. And we're adding folks, we're adding. We got the shelf up, we got an extra plant.
We want you to be a part of it. We, we have clips out we on the previous episode here on the Game. We discussed how we want you involved with the makeup of this studio. So make sure you're commenting below and also interacting all platforms with that. You can follow the game on Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook, all at the Game Sports Podcast in particular.
Let's give that a round of applause to the Game Sports Podcast on YouTube. Now, last week we took the week off. Truth. Unexpectedly, it's Thanksgiving. We thought it made sense. So this is our second official episode inside our new digs. And it's getting a lot cozy in here. I'm feeling it's more at home. We love it. And let's introduce. I didn't get the chance to even officially introduce you yet. Trudes.
Let's go to you first, my friend. How you doing? Jordan Trudeau joining for some Strike Zone talk and chock a puck to start the show.
[00:01:13] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm taking over. I'm gonna have to take Connor's overtime for Strike Zone, I gotta say.
[00:01:17] Speaker B: I think so because he's.
[00:01:19] Speaker A: He hasn't been here, but he is in town this week. I know, but he, I mean, he's from out of town, so he's spending time with family this week.
[00:01:28] Speaker B: He's a busy guy.
[00:01:29] Speaker A: He's a busy one.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: Now, after the segment that I'm gonna have with Jordan Trudeau for Strike Zone and some Chukapuck, Justin Heiko is going to be coming in and BMAC is going to be joining from Southern Ontario to talk top Chad. And then Hike and I are going to finish up the show with the in the Pocket segment. So, Trudes, look, I want to start with Strike Zone, but take a different approach to it. All right, we're going to talk to where we're at today. The brewers are up 20 as we're talking now. The Guardians are up 1 0. They play tonight. So that's going to change.
This is a Final Four where we predicted two of them to be there. And at the beginning of the season, these are the same two I would have predicted to be there at the at this point as well. From the nl, the al. That's now, this is not what I predicted and let's just call it how it is. It isn't the most sexiest matchup that everybody was looking forward to having this year. I think everyone's dream match in this would have been maybe the Blue Jays in this, perhaps maybe Seattle again.
Another rematch. Okay. Tampa Bay who has a hard time getting fans to games Cleveland and it's close to home to Sault Ste. Marie in a way and I have friends that are guardians fans and former involvers of the show that that follow the Cleveland Guardians. But nonetheless, you know this has been a matchup in the AL that I feel hasn't been the most appealing playoffs. The only thing that's been appealing to me is the Yankees defensive errors and the Yankee fans booing Chaz and their team and Aaron Judge now calling out his team to say we better make moves and just the Yankees doing what the Yankees do. Dianki Lou okay I love that I had to say it. It was on my mind. Junior Caminero yelled at Vladimir last year. I love it. I. I had to.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: I love the music that plays like the the New York by Sinatra on all those videos when they. They make all those errors or they show them losing and the the music plays. I mean that's.
It's been tough for Yankee fans.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: It has 17 years without a World Series appearance which is hard. You know when you have 27 championships I guess that's not enough.
[00:03:36] Speaker A: But even to enjoy when you look at the past their production over the past couple years like it's just been the same recycled pattern over and over again.
It's. It's winning the wild card dominate the wild card and then losing the get dominated in the lds.
[00:03:52] Speaker B: So Blue Jays last year they just raised this year.
[00:03:54] Speaker A: I mean they.
If you haven't figured out the issues and I don't think they've tried to fix them that's just what's going to keep happening. And defense was their biggest issue. We saw it in that and health and health judge he just used to always be hurt. Yeah just to me anyway.
[00:04:11] Speaker B: I don't know older and I don't mean that to chirp. You know I'm at the ripe age of 35 is what I like to say but the right the ripe age of 35.
But the thing is the Yankees are known organization prestigious organization that demand perfection all the time and to win they have 27 championships to back it up. They have records upon records. The most prestigious organization to play foreign baseball. We know that. Okay. When you they're the coolest Jerseys. I'll say it. It's hard to admit. I love the pinstripes. It's iconic, okay? But I love when the Yankee loop well.
[00:04:47] Speaker A: But you know what? They've made the playoffs every year. I know that's kind of like, like a participation trophy, but they, they making the playoffs in the MLB is very difficult, so.
[00:04:59] Speaker B: It is. It's not easy.
[00:05:00] Speaker A: They've made the playoffs every year. They just can't seem to get past the, the ALDS. Kind of like the Greyhounds the past 10 years couldn't get past the second round of the playoffs.
[00:05:10] Speaker B: And if Lee fans took them home.
You know what? Listen now the other side though the Brewers Dodger series has been electric, people. The brewers are something to watch. Listen back to the couple weeks ago we had the first episode inside here in the Clips.
Brewers raise. I called it right now. I'm telling you right now.
[00:05:28] Speaker A: You're on right now.
[00:05:29] Speaker B: Blue Jays.
Last year I, I made that curse. I tried to erase that curse and I made the curse happen. Okay? Something with baseball. The brewers are the team this year. That is the, the team of destiny this year. And when they beat the Dodgers, I am gonna be yelling, I'm gonna be cheering. I am gonna be yelling across my road. I'm gonna be so pumped. I might even send Shohei Ohtani a message. Okay. And to say dub Dodgers loot.
Okay. None. Nonetheless, it's been an exciting NL side of the playoffs is what I want to say. The AL hasn't.
[00:06:06] Speaker A: You know, just that Ramirez. Yeah, it is home run. When they, when he went up on the White Sox there, that was pretty
[00:06:13] Speaker B: in the golf shot. This is a golf shot in the, like he got his wedge out there.
[00:06:17] Speaker A: The whole, the whole stadium's chanting your name. And then you hit a two run shot to, you know, the right winning two run shot eventually. But like that was just.
[00:06:29] Speaker B: And. And they were down 2, 2, 0.
[00:06:31] Speaker A: Yeah. In the series.
[00:06:32] Speaker B: Guardians were down 20 in that series. To come back. Come back is impressive. Okay, so maybe I'll take it back. That's pretty, pretty well.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: But. But now they're playing the Rays and it's kind of.
Well, the Rays aren't flashy, right? They're not gonna wow you with their power like the Yankees, but they just play technical sound, fundamental baseball. And the Guardians, the Guardians were a team like that. When you're. You're thinking about it, the Blue Jays were in like courts with. In mid September. The Guardians were not even in a wild card spot.
[00:07:04] Speaker B: They just took them to school and then.
[00:07:05] Speaker A: Yeah. And then after that Blue Jays series, they kind of just came alive and then they got hot at the right time. Kind of like the Blue Jays of 2025, you know, getting hot at the right time.
[00:07:14] Speaker B: Run at the Canada Day game.
[00:07:16] Speaker A: That was getting hot at the right time. And then you.
And then now you find yourself in an ALCS and probably got a good
[00:07:24] Speaker B: chance against the raise at this point. Three wins, three wins away at the time of this recording. Now the thing is that I want to dive in with strike zone. Okay. We're talking a little baseball again. Dave McCaig with. With Jordan Trudeau and no Connor Henderson. Just going to make sure I say that each week until he comes on. Those of you who know the show, you know, if you want to do a wanted missing poster of Connor Henderson, feel free to post that and comment below.
But nonetheless changes to the MLB format in the playoffs and the season in 2029. We're going to see the season's amount of Games go from 162 to 154 you4're going to see best of seven in the DS and CS playoff seating. You're going to have the teams be able to pick who they play against from winners of wild card games. In summary, I'm just summarizing it people.
The less games I get, the playoff seven game series I get.
[00:08:21] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a good picking.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: Look unique, different.
[00:08:24] Speaker A: That's a positive one. I don't like that one.
[00:08:26] Speaker B: Where is just. Let's bring back the old fashioned. We've talked about this on this show to no extent. To wild extent people. Okay. Hockey we talked about on the M. The NBA still does it. You know we've talked about it in football making their playoffs a little bit better. We've talked about it in baseball one and eight. One to eight something. Who cares Interleague. I almost. I don't care like the. The picking your. You know it's going to be great when the Yankees pick the Blue Jays and then the Yankee. Lou. Okay.
[00:09:00] Speaker A: Yeah. What happens when you pick your opponent? Then you get swept rinsed by your opponent. Like I don't like it. I. I like.
If you have the better record why are you not seated higher or getting some sort of advantage? I don't understand. Like this year the Red Sox and the Yankees both finished with.
Were they the second and third best records in the Al yeah but look
[00:09:29] Speaker B: at the other division.
[00:09:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:30] Speaker B: Be under 500 and when that division was so the.
[00:09:33] Speaker A: So they had to play each other. One of them's out the. Then they had to play the winner of that. Had to play the Rays. Now two of the best records are out in the first and second round of the playoffs.
[00:09:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:45] Speaker A: Which, I mean, I guess that's the way it works, right? That's the way it goes. But I like, why are we not rewarding teams for having the best record? Like, it's just diminishing the regular season.
[00:09:59] Speaker B: You know what they always say? People are going to comment below on this. They're going to say, oh, well, you gotta win anyways. You got to beat these teams anyways.
[00:10:07] Speaker A: You do. Yeah, that's true.
[00:10:08] Speaker B: You do. But to get there, save your energy. There's rewards for coming first, you know.
[00:10:15] Speaker A: But they've made it to beat these teams. It's not like they've made it any better. They've made it worse.
[00:10:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:20] Speaker A: For TV and stuff.
[00:10:21] Speaker B: Yeah. And I. I think that it's going to be interesting in 29 when that comes. I don't mind the less games. They do play a lot of games. And one thing I gotta make sure I add, they're off one day a week for sure. There's no consecutive one day a week that they're off. And it's majority on Mondays.
[00:10:36] Speaker A: You might see injuries just really, really stop. Like, you might see. Not stop. You might see injuries get a lot better maintained and there's a good ones
[00:10:46] Speaker B: going to be more rested.
[00:10:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:48] Speaker B: More energized.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: Yeah. Like, you may just see the. You go to a baseball game, you. You buy the tickets in January and then you. You go on June 30th, and then your two favorite players are injured already. Right. So like, you're kind of like angry, pissed off about it. Like. Yeah, yeah. You go there and you're like, oh, so like you might see injuries get a lot better and a lot better maintained. Like you said, like that term, which I do.
[00:11:15] Speaker B: I can pull things out. It's wild sometimes. So nonetheless, I said that four times. That's what they might call this show. Is that word that I've said Baseball. Changing their format, Picking your opponent. Picking your opponent. The the Game sports podcast Pandas select the Sioux Cardinals to play in the first round.
[00:11:35] Speaker A: Did you.
[00:11:36] Speaker B: If you know that, if you know that pun. Sioux Saint Marie baseball. There's a team called the Pandas that the game sponsors.
Trudeau is on the Cardinals. He plays for another team outside of this podcast. People.
[00:11:51] Speaker A: Well, yeah. I got my heart broken this year.
[00:11:54] Speaker B: You did? By the burial? No, I didn't go.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: But it was a heart it was a great game.
[00:11:59] Speaker B: It was a great game. It was one. It was wild. If you are interested in playing fast pitch baseball, make sure you sign up for the open league. There's going to be some good changes coming this year.
[00:12:07] Speaker A: Hope so.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: Oh yeah, some things.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: Cardinals have a new manager actually.
[00:12:11] Speaker B: Yeah. There's new ownership. Trudeau.
[00:12:15] Speaker A: No ownership or what do you call it? Yeah, sorry.
[00:12:17] Speaker B: Direction. Direction. New ownership. New. New. New. New.
[00:12:21] Speaker A: I got a better contract this year.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: Yeah, I wasn't offering no more money. I already gave you enough here. Just kidding.
That aside, men's league baseball to make sure I promote as well. It's great to see some college baseball around here. A lot of leaks around here. Baseball growing. But don't be turned away to turn to sign up for baseball this year too.
[00:12:39] Speaker A: Kids leagues are growing, growing.
[00:12:40] Speaker B: And the Blue Jays are the reason why you do that. If they're successful, Canada baseball's better.
[00:12:46] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: Now, we took a little bit extra to talk about there with, with, with strike Zone, but we're still within our. Our window. So I want to take the. The rest of time of our segment before we have Justin come on in and BMAC to talk greyhounds. Of course. This is our segment. This is our bread and butter where we'd like talking hockey. It's definitely at home with this podcast, the Chuck A Puck segment. Okay. We still like to call our things our segment, people. We don't just transition the Chucka puck. We're not chucking pucks in here. Okay. There's a lot of like, lot of goodies around.
But this now we're just over three weeks into the season. Grounds off to a electric start.
Guelph looking, looking strong. Sudbury had a hot start as well. We talked about that the other week. A Branford surprise. You know, some. Some youngsters really stepping up to the plate. You know, there's. There's a lot to talk about with the OHL for updates and in particular with the Hounds. Trude, so gonna give you the floor to.
[00:13:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:41] Speaker B: To lead that.
[00:13:42] Speaker A: Yeah. So the Kingston Frontenax, they had an undef defeated weekend.
They went 30 this past weekend. So they were amongst the top headlines in the league.
Which is, you know, really good because I feel like that organization kind of falls through the cracks sometimes. You know, they, they had a really good year last year. But organizationally, foundationally, you know, they.
That's an organization you don't hear a lot out of Kingston. So. But they, they still, you know, they're still there year, year after year. They compete the Brantford Bulldogs. Yep. Once again, they're at the top of the Eastern Conference. Sudbury Wolves. They lost. They did not lose in regulation. They lost to the North Bay Battalion this past weekend. Still undefeated in regulation. So the next time they play the Greyhounds, instead of your Wednesday night being the old boring Sioux versus Sudbury, it's going to be sue versus Sudbury. Like. No, that's right. Because you don't know how many times I hear that. Oh, it's just Sudbury Wednesday night.
Just skip it now. It's like, this could be a good matchup. Like, you're looking at the teams from the north being really strong this year.
[00:14:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:49] Speaker A: So.
[00:14:50] Speaker B: With promising futures.
[00:14:51] Speaker A: With promising futures as well.
So that was the. That was kind of the biggest headline. The Gulf Storm, you know, climb into a 6,06 straight victories in their past couple weeks.
They're Moroccan contender, moral cup contender.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: They're going to win it.
[00:15:08] Speaker A: Championship contender, all of it. This year, I think. Yeah, you know, they're.
They're the top. They're the top favorite. And they're not done adding. You know, they're gonna add more. So, you know, lots of fantastic players on that team. Lots of NHL draft picks, pro, pro players, pro shots, two really, really solid goaltenders, and they're going to be tough to beat.
Even if the Greyhounds get some reinforcements coming down the gate, we're going to
[00:15:41] Speaker B: topple reinforcements in a minute.
[00:15:42] Speaker A: They're going to be.
They're going to be tough to be the toughest team in the west and the east, probably in the chl, but
[00:15:51] Speaker B: they're winning at people.
[00:15:52] Speaker A: You know, the Kitchener Rangers, they looked really good this past weekend. That was a really good hockey game on Friday night when the Greyhounds played Kitchener. Like, I was very impressed by both teams. It was. There was no funny business. It was all skill, fast, like, hard shots, puck movement. Both teams well coached.
And it was just an unfortunate bounce for the Rangers got, you know, gave the Hounds their luck. But, you know, it could have went either way. Like, that was. It was a fantastic game. There were some Kitchener fans sitting down in front of me, and I had to go shake the goalie's dad's hand because, like Shawble, their goalie, he. He stoned the Greyhounds. Like, didn't even was letting off zero rebounds all night. And then the Greyhounds tie the game on a. On a bad bounce off his stick when he went to play the puck and it goes out in front of the net. And like, what do you do? What do you think you're playing a
[00:16:50] Speaker B: Great game so much.
[00:16:51] Speaker A: You're playing a great game and it's just a bad bounce. Super unfortunate that a bad bounce kind of, you know, took control of the game like that, but, you know, they got a point and it's, you know,
[00:17:04] Speaker B: like, it's been a great weekend hockey. It's. We, the Greyhounds and the fans have. The Greyhounds have treated the fans, what I mean to say, some entertainment throughout the beginning of this, you know, Trevor Daly Jr. The first week. Right. There's been some good storylines.
[00:17:16] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:17] Speaker B: And I really think the Greyhounds right now are above expectations, though, is that. I think that's fair to say for how well.
[00:17:25] Speaker A: Yeah, I think so.
[00:17:26] Speaker B: Like, but not like, whoa. Like, it's not like people thought they would be here. That's not. No, no, I had them here, you know, the upper mid. Around the mid. It's a developmental year I like to call, but not a rebuild year. I call them rebuild, developmental and then championship year.
[00:17:42] Speaker A: They didn't play their best this past weekend, like, especially against Peterborough.
I think you can. If you ask them, there's probably. Well, they think they can win that game.
He lost two, One in overtime and anybody will tell you that, yeah, we should have won that easily. So compared to what we saw the first couple weeks, like, I don't know if it's like a. An adrenaline thing. Like maybe novelty's worn off and adrenaline is gone. There's probably some fatigue setting in.
And it's kind of been a case where it looks like they've slowed down a little bit. They're kind of disconnected right now. But the strength of the system and the structure is carrying them through those times, like when they're not playing their best hockey. You can see them fall back and rely on that structure, and that's keeping them in games and that's keeping them winning games. And so that defines them as a good team. Right now, a good team out of the gate is when you don't play your best, you still find your way to get two points or one point, which they did this past weekend against Peterborough.
And coming up, they're gonna need that. They got their. One of their longest road trips, their second longest road trip of the. Of the year, Niagara, Erie, and finishing off on Sunday with Brantford. So they'll travel all the way to Southern Ontario, to Erie, Pennsylvania, back to Brantford for. For the Sunday matinee, 2pm And a total back to Sault Ste. Marie for a total of over 2,000 kilometers of a bus ride.
[00:19:15] Speaker B: Those are stats from Mr. Trudeau stats. You know. You know, stats from Mr. Trudeau.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: Stats for Mr. Trudeau. That's right.
[00:19:21] Speaker B: I. That's a. And that's the one thing you could say in junior hockey, you know, you're not. You're not flying a plane.
[00:19:27] Speaker A: No.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: You're not charting first class.
You know, with a vitamin water and no sponsorship to say, like just giving you an example.
[00:19:35] Speaker A: AirPods.
[00:19:36] Speaker B: AirPods and A. In an actual meal charted on a plane.
You're getting your own sandwiches that your amazing billets and your family made together. You're bringing them on the bus. You're picking up Subway, you're picking up the pizza on the way. You got the water bottles on the bus. You know, you're playing euchre. You might be playing some cards. There's a. The board game that I can't remember
[00:19:59] Speaker A: the top probably like
[00:20:02] Speaker B: phones now, but like you, man, I just outdated myself.
Cards and board games.
[00:20:09] Speaker A: Are playing some cards. Board games.
[00:20:11] Speaker B: Pokemon was the most that we.
[00:20:12] Speaker A: Pokemon.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: Pokemon cards. No, the actual Game Boy color.
[00:20:16] Speaker A: Okay, cool.
[00:20:17] Speaker B: Even as I aged in junior hockey, we still played those. People might not want to admit that, but I do. I call all 150 in Pokemon Red just so you know, just legendary.
[00:20:25] Speaker A: What else are you supposed to do on the bus?
[00:20:26] Speaker B: But on point.
It's a team bonding is what I'm talking about. The team bonding is what's important on road trip and this is where the team can build its chemistry more, build morale and have an effect going forward in the season. Having an early road trip and is a positive for a hockey team. I'm telling you right now, as a player and a coach, you know, but as a player and a coach, the experience that you get with your. With your teammates, the most memories that you make with your friends and your fellow teammates is when you're on the road and on top of that after is when you win championships. But I remember all the positive road trips. I remember the bad ones. And you. Those are all part of growth within your team. That's where you can really set yourself, set the tone, if you will, for the remainder of the year and have the road trip early is so beneficial for the team.
[00:21:11] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. And. And that's the fortunate thing with the Greyhounds. Fortunate in some eyes, maybe unfortunate in some other eyes, but they got those long bus rides. So a lot of team bonding and lot of fun. A lot of movies. A lot of fun to have there.
[00:21:25] Speaker B: Listen, any with the Greyhound players. I know you listen. I just know that you listen. If you want to Maybe get your billet family. Or if you want to comment below, we want to know some movies at the store. Sue Greyhounds dive into and they watch. If they can share what movies that they.
[00:21:39] Speaker A: What do you do? I feel like Avengers.
[00:21:42] Speaker B: There's an Avengers that's on there. I feel like perhaps like a true.
Like a true detective maybe on there. Like, I don't know. That's just way too wrong. I'm way out of left field. But like a TV show.
A TV show that I can't think of in a movie.
[00:21:59] Speaker A: There's got to be one of those movies. Like, like Reacher or some. Something.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah.
[00:22:05] Speaker A: Like. Or that's. That's a show.
[00:22:07] Speaker B: Is that a show? It is. It is a show. That's right. There could be. We're just like footballing people.
[00:22:11] Speaker A: Like an action. Like an action movie. Like the Rock San Andreas. Like, you know, where he's taken down a building and a dinosaur and taking out a building, a dinosaur and the whole city at the same time with his bare hands.
[00:22:26] Speaker B: I still think it's Marvel. I think they're watching all the Marvel stuff up there.
[00:22:30] Speaker A: It's good stuff.
[00:22:31] Speaker B: Comment below if you know what the greyhounds watch or greyhounds just comment. Let us know what you watch. We'd love to. You'd love to comment and react on that? Fun little. Yeah, fun little. Leave your predictions, too. We'd love to dive into that as well. Now, Trude's what I would like to further dive into. I know we've talked about the level of excellence really on this show, but I'm not going to dive into that yet. We're going to save that for another piece.
Attendance is the last topic I want to dive into a little bit. And I. I want to segue this into next week. I want to leave a cliffhanger with it. Okay.
We talked about the Memorial Gardens. We've talked about Budweiser. We've talked about the other ranks that are where they're at. And next week, if you want, comment below and let us know who you think the top five attendances in the OHL are. Okay, I'll give you a spoiler. The hounds aren't in that top five based on.
[00:23:22] Speaker A: You kidding.
[00:23:25] Speaker B: Now, since this is what I think I want to ask you.
[00:23:30] Speaker A: Wait, are you.
[00:23:31] Speaker B: And if you want to deflect to next week, I'm going to let you do that.
[00:23:34] Speaker A: Are you going to ask me that same question?
[00:23:36] Speaker B: No, I'm going to ask you a different question. Related.
What do you think could be done better to have more seats, butts and seats at the Memorial Gardens. We talked ticket prices. That was on the first episode. So I think that's a given.
But there's still affordable tickets for the Ontario Hockey League. That's, that's my opinion.
But what can be done, and I'm not saying this is greyhounds related to do anything.
Okay. This is just a blanket question.
What do you think could be done to get more butts and seats at Greyhound games? It hasn't been that bad. I'm just, I'm not saying that we're bad, but what do you think could be better? What do you think could be done to make it better?
[00:24:19] Speaker A: We're talking about greyhounds.
[00:24:20] Speaker B: Like I'm going to the greyhounds. I'll stick.
[00:24:23] Speaker A: Like Sault St. Marie.
[00:24:24] Speaker B: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, yes. Then we'll talk Ohl next week. That'll be the next week piece.
[00:24:29] Speaker A: Okay. I think that more promotions would be a great start.
[00:24:36] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:24:37] Speaker A: I just saw that they've partnered up with St. Louis Bar and Grill.
That just opened right across the street at the station mall.
And St. Louis Bar and Grill is like, it's kind of like a Chuck's Roadhouse, I want to say, where it's like, it's like bar, food, bar, enter like atmosphere, sports bar, sports bar, wings, pizza, fries.
And I did attend one down south. I was in a. I was in marathon or marathon. I was in Markham for a conference. Geography, it's different. Marathons up there.
Didn't want. I never went there.
Markham at a conference and I did go to one. It was very, very good. I remember like, I remember that. And so if, if the Sioux. If here in Sault Ste. Marie, if it's any, any of the same, it'll be very good. So like things like that. Like can we enter tickets into a draw to get a hundred dollar gift card or something? Can you do it for season ticket holders? You could do it for regular ticket holders.
They do certain promotions like during the period, like there's a car race now. I think you win a free oil change or gas card or something.
[00:25:49] Speaker B: Chuck a puck.
[00:25:51] Speaker A: Chuck a puck. Yeah, that one's a classic one. But you know, really using, using the screen, using their new Jumbotron with animations.
Promote, promote, promote and advertise and I think and come out with deals now because, you know you're.
I'm assuming the ticket price feedback has probably been mostly negative for the organization. I'm just, that's gonna be my assumption just based on everything I've Heard and everything I've read and everything that I've. I've seen.
So now it comes with.
Rather than going in and saying, you know, we gotta slash our prices. If you want to avoid that, then we gotta offer something from. On the promotional side. Premium seat. Is there anything you can do to differ a premium seat than about like from a value seat other than a different view in a different position in the stadium?
[00:26:52] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:26:53] Speaker A: Is there anything you can do?
[00:26:55] Speaker B: Is there anything.
[00:26:55] Speaker A: Can you provide a voucher for a pop or a popcorn? Can you do something for a child? Can you. Can you do something for a senior? Not going back to that child. Senior pricing like not going back on your model. But maybe a little incentive for a senior or a child or a premium seat or a fan favorite seat. Fan favorite seat. You. You get a Congratulations, you're within 20 people to get a 10 discount at the helm pound tonight.
[00:27:26] Speaker B: Premium seat and a free choc. A puck and a free. Sure.
[00:27:29] Speaker A: A free chock. A puck or. Or something.
[00:27:31] Speaker B: A free something that T shirt. Free and free.
[00:27:34] Speaker A: 99 free and yeah, those are premium seat. Did you.
You got a free fountain drink tonight?
[00:27:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:41] Speaker A: Congratulations. You were part of a draw. 30. 30 premium discount tickets or 30 premium tickets. Get. Get a free fountain drink tonight and then put it up on the board.
[00:27:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:52] Speaker A: Enter your free or buy a premium ticket for a chance to win this and that and this. I don't know. I think promotionally it's.
[00:27:59] Speaker B: So you're saying let's find upgrade. Promotional.
[00:28:03] Speaker A: Promotional upgrade. But. But something that's like something that doesn't cost them a lot because they're already gonna be hurting like. Yeah, like every other organization from COVID and now that's with our current economic like landscape. So like it's. And it's tricky. It's got to be something that doesn't cost a whole lot for the organization and the city, but it's got to be something to get more fans in the building. Like if that's gonna help you. Yeah, get. Because even just two or one, two or 300 more fans would.
Would make a big difference, I assume.
[00:28:42] Speaker B: And the big thing for me is that people get your butts in those seats. We have a team in the Ontario Hockey League here. Enjoy it. They've been around for a long time.
[00:28:51] Speaker A: It's gonna be difficult though. It's gotta be difficult, but you gotta
[00:28:54] Speaker B: get out to and support.
[00:28:55] Speaker A: You gotta try.
[00:28:56] Speaker B: You have to support this team and be a part. Make it a social outing. Make it a date night. Make it a boys Girls either way, night out to support this team that is exciting does put good talent on the ice year after year as best as they can. And they love being a part of the community. And we love the hounds be part of this community. Just like if you were in London, Sudbury, North Bay, doesn't matter. You're happy that they're a part of your community. Go out and support them because they are there and as long as you support them, they remain there. But I'm not saying if you stop supporting them, they're not going to be there. It's not what I'm saying. But we need to make sure our attendance is higher. And I think there's, as chuds mentioned, promotional items is an option.
[00:29:34] Speaker A: I wonder if they do group.
Do group rates.
[00:29:38] Speaker B: They have specific deals. Yeah, but if you're from Suse Marie, comment below.
[00:29:42] Speaker A: I was like, I'm a season so I don't really look at any of that stuff. So yeah, like it would be cool, right, if you had like a group of 10 to 15 people or even like five people if. Yeah, there was some block. I think they do. They do a group for families, right. Like a group of four tickets for popcorn for pop or something for. So. But. But more of that. More of that would be great, I think. And then advertise it.
[00:30:05] Speaker B: And my 16 month old son's going to his first game in a couple
[00:30:07] Speaker A: weeks and does he. Have you got a dough?
[00:30:11] Speaker B: Yeah. This is exciting.
[00:30:12] Speaker A: Congrats, Dave.
[00:30:13] Speaker B: Yeah, it's exciting. It's so, so exciting. The Sunday game. You can only go to a Sunday game. That's the. That's in between.
[00:30:18] Speaker A: That's like his dad.
[00:30:20] Speaker B: Nap time. Nap time. Just like his dad Now, Trudeau. So I want to say thank you, my friend. It's been fun talking baseball and chuck a puck. Always a blast, dude.
[00:30:27] Speaker A: Always.
[00:30:28] Speaker B: You know, as baseball dwindles down, it's going to be definitely pure Chuck a puck heavy as we go forward more in the year. But October is a busy time for sports.
October, always a lot going on. So obviously the content here on the game is fully loaded and also, as I always say, electrifying. So I've had Brendan waiting for a little bit. I'm sure Justin's waiting out there for me to get in, so. And I'll stop talking with Trude's here. I'm gonna take a quick break. When we come back, we'll have top Chad and a little bit of in the pocket to wrap up the show.
