Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Speaker A: Booyah. And it's time for the Game sports podcast. It is your host David McCaig Jr. Bringing you yet another special edition upload powered by 91 Network 91 N, formerly known as T Gem. This edition is sponsored by Flawless roofing, sure Seal Incorporated. Now, wherever you're listen, listening, make sure you're subscribed following liking the video, the audio versions of our content on the 91 N YouTube channel or wherever you get your podcast, Spotify, Apple. Look, just give us a search and the game sports show podcast is there now. Firstly, I got to introduce the co host joining yours truly, David McCaig Jr. The host of the edition I'm going to get to. Who's joining yours truly for this upload, the one and only Alex Parr. Now, where do you know Alex? Very simply, he's been on the game sports show for quite some time. He's one of the co hosts on the top Shelf editions. He's the co host on these special editions. He's really wicked at eashl and this is pretty fitting for this episode, but let's bring him in here. Alex, how's it going, my friend?
[00:01:12] Speaker B: It's going really well.
[00:01:13] Speaker C: This is what I've been telling to chase down for a while. I've been labeled as the resident nerd on this show. So like you said, I feel like there's nobody better than myself to my own horn. Dave, I'm ready to get into this one.
[00:01:24] Speaker A: Just a note to everyone. We're going to talk about you. I'm not going to give a comment to that, but I got to introduce the guest. You already know who the guest is, probably by the thumbnail or by the title listening to the description, but I got to give my introduction. I've been doing these introductions for a long time, but I usually try not to make them too long where you can go get a popcorn and come back and I'm still talking. So let's get into it. Getting to our guest today and you still currently hear his voice throughout your household. It could be your car, video game council, a headset. Heck, you're hearing him today on this podcast. Now, he's born in Ottawa. This guest is a canadian broadcaster who's involved previously with the Abbotsford Canucks in the American Hockey League as play by play and notably the play by play voice for the ever popular EA Sports NHL game. The game's coming out soon, NHL 24. This guest has been a host on shows through Sportsnet, Sportsnet, Central, Sportsnet, Pacific, TSN, and he was this on scene correspondent for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. And he's also an award winning commentator for the Gemini for the best sports feature on a story that was done between Terry Fox and Jay Triano. Fantastic story. Yes, I did check that out. Now, hopefully, he doesn't ask me questions about it. Okay, I'll stop there because there's so much more to share and so much more to tell. But that's why we have our show for you to hear the story from the guests themselves. Without further ado, James Stabalski. James, thanks for coming on the show. It's an honor, man.
[00:02:51] Speaker D: Wow, Dave, thank you. Make me feel important there. It's like, who is this guy, man?
[00:02:56] Speaker B: Big ups. Thank you.
[00:02:58] Speaker A: Of course, man. We're very happy that you can come on. And today it's great that we got connected. And truthfully, par has been bugging me to get a list of guys to come on the show.
[00:03:06] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:03:07] Speaker A: And your name was on that list. The other next names are Kyle Dubis, and I believe Wayne Gretzky is on that list, too. Par. But there's a lot of reason why with Kyle Dubis comes. We're from sous Saint Marie. He was the Leafs GM. Obviously not anymore with an abrupt leave, but nonetheless, we're very happy that you can join us, James, because your voice truly does echo in our house. And the reason why I say okay is before we get into any topics, and I wanted to save this topic for an actual discussion. So we'll talk about you in that. But I want to talk about members of how the game sports show family, including myself and Alex, have land parties. Yes. At 31 years old, we have land parties for the NHL game. Okay. And we play it on routine. We play ESHL. There's a team called the game sports show. I'd say we're pretty good. But then when you look at all the teams that do play in their records, oh, there's people that are insane records on there.
They've heard your voice through tv's, many individuals, including ourselves. And I'm sure you can guess why. So we are avid NHL EasHl players, James, I'm sure you get that a lot when you're seen in public about, hey, I play that game and I hear your voice.
[00:04:18] Speaker D: It's funny.
[00:04:20] Speaker B: Thank you very much.
[00:04:21] Speaker D: I'm quite flattered by the comments. And I would say that as a kid, when I was younger, when I was 1819, and the game was really starting to kind of find its sea legs, particularly NHL 94, I was a Sega Genesis console guy at the time. Right. I have gone through my different generations, but I had my Sega Genesis during those NHL 94 years. And I loved the game, I loved the franchise. And obviously there's a pop culture romance with the game from the movie Swingers 30 years ago, but that period of time I played and I think for.
[00:05:01] Speaker B: Over the course of the lifetime of the last 30 plus years of the existence of the game, life happens.
[00:05:06] Speaker D: So you kind of come in and come out. So I went to the pc mode, which late 90s when Jim Houston was calling the game, and I think it was Joe Sackick on the COVID of NHL 98.
[00:05:19] Speaker B: And then I upgraded. I don't know if you upgrade, but I left the pc and went to.
[00:05:25] Speaker D: PlayStation, the first PlayStation one?
[00:05:28] Speaker B: Yeah, PlayStation one. It wasn't even PlayStation one, it was just PlayStation, right?
[00:05:34] Speaker D: And then slowly you kind of come in and out. And the early 2000s, it was pretty consistent on playing those NHLO three. And I'm thinking back, I think it was Jerome McGinler around that sort of period of time. And then NHL 2007, I think Obi makes his first appearance.
[00:05:54] Speaker B: You come, you go, depending on where.
[00:05:57] Speaker D: You'Re at in life. And about five years ago, the opportunity presented itself that they were looking for a new broadcast team for the video game. And I was living out here in Vancouver, and I had a good friend.
[00:06:10] Speaker B: Of mine by the name of Davis.
[00:06:11] Speaker D: Sanchez, who's an NFL and CFL analyst at TSN these days who previously played in both the NFL and CFL. Davis and I were working together and hosting a podcast through the Canadian Football.
[00:06:23] Speaker B: League, and he had a good friend.
[00:06:25] Speaker D: Who was involved with the game, and he would mention that they were looking for a new broadcast.
Um, and I thought, man, that sounds really freaking cool. And I would love to get a chance to do something like that. And lo and behold, I said, hey.
[00:06:39] Speaker B: Look, do you think you could ask.
[00:06:40] Speaker D: Your buddy if I could at least audition, at least take a swing at the plate? I'd just love to take my cut. If I crash and burn, I crash and burn. But at least I tried. And he said, yeah, let me ask him.
[00:06:52] Speaker B: And a few days later, I get.
[00:06:54] Speaker D: An email from a member of the legal team with Electronic Arts, and I think they were based out of Los Angeles at the time. And they just said, hey, look, your name's come up as somebody we'd like to schedule an interview with or an audition with, if you're know. I went in and I'd gone in for the audition and it was kind of a whirlwind where they kind of.
[00:07:18] Speaker B: Threw a bunch of real highlights on.
[00:07:20] Speaker D: A black and white monitor and they just call it as you see it.
And so I just did and tried to have some fun with it.
[00:07:29] Speaker B: I guess I walked out and was like, man, that's really cool.
[00:07:33] Speaker D: And I don't know what just happened, but I liked it. And then a month goes by and.
[00:07:37] Speaker B: I didn't hear anything.
[00:07:38] Speaker D: And all of a sudden, out of the blue and I'd almost forgotten about it, we had gone on a family vacation and summer is starting to hit. And I get an email all of a sudden saying, hey, look, we've made a shortlist to the audition process and you've made the shortlist. We should have a decision in the next week to ten days.
[00:07:56] Speaker B: And I'm, wow, okay, all right. Seen at the table, still alive. All right.
That goes by and then, like crickets.
[00:08:04] Speaker D: Again for another month. And so I think the thought goes through my mind, like, wow.
[00:08:10] Speaker B: Well, you know what? Honestly, it's just really cool to get the opportunity. And you're basically patting yourself on the back for getting a participation ribbon, right? And you're like, oh, I'm just happy I tried. And to even be considered on the shortlist, that's pretty cool.
[00:08:26] Speaker D: And then I get an email again and it's, hey, look, we'd like to schedule a chemistry test with you and another voice talent.
[00:08:33] Speaker A: And it's like, chemistry test?
[00:08:34] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:08:35] Speaker D: Like, okay, this is serious.
[00:08:38] Speaker B: So I go back to the studios.
[00:08:40] Speaker D: A second time and who do I run into in the parking lot? It's Ray Ferraro. And Ray and I had worked together at TSN and we had been familiar.
[00:08:47] Speaker B: With each other for a number of years.
[00:08:50] Speaker D: And so I was know immediately seeing Ray, it was mean.
[00:08:54] Speaker B: If Ray, if I'm doing this with.
[00:08:56] Speaker D: This, this has to be serious because Ray, I know they love, you know, they'd be silly not to have them involved in the game. And so I was like, man, obviously these guys love you. And he just said to me, look, he goes, whatever you're doing, keep doing it because it sounds like you made a heck of an impression the first time.
And my style is kind of Alex.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: I guess you could probably speak to this because it sounds like you're the.
[00:09:22] Speaker D: Rock star gamer in the house.
[00:09:24] Speaker B: But I like to bring a lot of energy.
[00:09:26] Speaker D: I like to try to treat the approach like a game seven, the biggest.
[00:09:31] Speaker B: Game going, because if you're playing that.
[00:09:33] Speaker D: Game, nothing else matters for you in that world, right?
[00:09:36] Speaker B: You're not paying attention to the kids, you're not cooking dinner, you're playing a freaking video game, right? You're playing some.
[00:09:42] Speaker D: So, you know, I go in, I.
[00:09:45] Speaker B: Do a quick audition with Ray. It seems to go well.
[00:09:47] Speaker D: They're like, awesome.
[00:09:49] Speaker B: We'll be in touch.
[00:09:50] Speaker D: And then crickets again for another month, and it's like, okay, all right. And then I get another email.
[00:09:58] Speaker B: We'd like, for one more audition if you could come in.
[00:10:01] Speaker D: And it's like, oh, my God.
[00:10:02] Speaker B: Okay, this has got to be like, now.
[00:10:04] Speaker D: It's like, okay, I want this now.
[00:10:06] Speaker B: I am mentally invested. I am emotionally invested. I am physically invested now. I'm like, I got knots in my.
[00:10:13] Speaker D: Stomach, and I go in, and one.
[00:10:16] Speaker B: Of the producers kind of had a.
[00:10:17] Speaker D: Conversation with me just saying, look, we've had a lot of hall of fame broadcasters that have been the voice of this game, whether it was Jim Houston, whether it was Doc Emrick, whether it was Gary Thorne, like, all three hall of Fame legendary broadcasters. And it's kind of know, respectfully, you're not a conventional.
[00:10:35] Speaker B: My.
[00:10:35] Speaker D: In my opinion, it's like, who in.
[00:10:37] Speaker B: The blue hell is?
I think I've.
[00:10:40] Speaker D: I think I've created some familiarity in know over the course of my time at Sportsnet and TSN and the score over the years.
[00:10:47] Speaker B: But south of the border, that really.
[00:10:50] Speaker D: Kind of means nothing or anywhere else around the world, right?
[00:10:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:56] Speaker D: Anyway, they're like, look, there could be some social media backlash, and there could be some.
This might be some people going, what the hell? Like, who is this guy? And I was like, I got big boy pants, and I'm a big kid. I can take it.
[00:11:13] Speaker B: So they said, all right, well, we'll.
[00:11:15] Speaker D: Let you know in a week.
[00:11:16] Speaker B: And honestly, it was probably the longest friggin week of my life.
Like, true to the word, like, almost to the minute.
[00:11:24] Speaker D: I had to wait for that. Every email, every text over the next seven days.
[00:11:33] Speaker B: And then finally, I got the call.
[00:11:35] Speaker D: From Sean Ram Jag Singh, one of the guys bosses.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: Rammer.
[00:11:39] Speaker D: Rammer, exactly. And Rammer called, and he said, hey, listen, we'd love for you to be kind of the soundtrack for the. You know, I've been very fortunate to do a lot of very unique and cool things in my professional career and traveling to places around the world that I never thought I would see. But to get that call, to be part of a game that I grew up playing that I just was so determined to want to treat with the utmost respect and have that fun.
And I think that sort of passion is a big part of why I am doing this today, because it has certainly been one of the coolest experiences of my life.
[00:12:19] Speaker A: Honestly, when you said Sega, I got chills a little bit because I remember having the Sega Genesis Council downstairs playing.
[00:12:25] Speaker B: It was like, saboski, you're fucking old.
[00:12:28] Speaker A: And I remember like archers, Urbay being a nephew, San Jose at that time. And you fast forward to PC. That was the evolution. Like, I remember the 2004 game, Marcus Nazlin, was that five or four? I'm drawing a blank now.
[00:12:39] Speaker D: Yeah, well, yeah, I want to say.
[00:12:42] Speaker B: Four because I was in Vancouver and Nazlin, he was doing some stuff with EA and he actually hooked me up.
[00:12:48] Speaker D: With a whole bunch of EA games.
[00:12:52] Speaker B: Like I got maddened and honestly, to save all that money, like, to save all that money, but I had Tiger.
[00:12:57] Speaker D: Woods, I got Madden, I had NHL.
There was one other one I think as well.
[00:13:04] Speaker B: But it was like, oh my God, how much money is this? And I just get all these games.
[00:13:09] Speaker D: So, yeah, Nazi was a poster boy, I think at one time as well.
[00:13:12] Speaker A: It was cool. But I remember getting my ps one, I forget what I ps one. I came out, I believe when I was ten, I'm a 91, to be honest, James. So I feel like I've had every game since that Sega Genesis, every game that I can get, I can have. And I love that game. And you bring up good nostalgia there from Houston. Like, I can remember hearing great save kippersoff for some reason.
He had his own thing and then the docs was good. I truthfully. But I remember when you got it and I remember seeing that on social media. I'm not one really to tweet too much, but I was excited because I remember you from the score. I remember you from Sportsnet. The canadian people loved it because we knew that it's the United States individual that had to get a little bit warm first before coming in to understanding what the effect was. And I truly think, and I know we were going to get into this a little bit later, but we're doing it now right off the hop. Ray Ferraro, your tweet and your Instagram post to Ray Ferraro was absolutely hilarious. And I'm stealing Par's thunder. So before I won't steal his thunder, I'll go to my thing first. I'll just say that having that game and now that you're on it and you play it, that just must bring you those chills, right? That is so cool. It's like, holy fuck. I was playing this game. Now I am the voice everybody hears in this game for hours. And hours. Like if you want to know the true amount of hours the game sports show has played.
[00:14:35] Speaker B: No.
[00:14:37] Speaker A: It'S over 250 hours for me.
[00:14:40] Speaker B: Oh, way more than that for me.
[00:14:41] Speaker C: You're really underselling it.
[00:14:42] Speaker A: No, for me, I looked at it before I logged on because I wanted to brag about 250 because I thought that was a lot. Why are you more part, well, think.
[00:14:50] Speaker D: About it like that.
[00:14:51] Speaker B: Just this game.
[00:14:52] Speaker A: Sorry. Yeah, this year. Yeah, I'm talking 2020. Sorry, that's just 2023. So probably 1000 hours between since you've come on, heard your voice. I've heard you say my name on Mike because when you create a pro, right. My last name is McCag. Greg McCague was in the game.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: Not really. Yeah.
[00:15:08] Speaker A: He's got a lot cooler way of spelling the last name though than I do. He has a.
[00:15:14] Speaker B: That'S a frat.
[00:15:15] Speaker D: That's a frat boy spelling.
[00:15:17] Speaker B: Right.
[00:15:18] Speaker A: I don't know what my family was thinking. I still share my dad, but. Yeah, that's true.
Par, take it though with the, I don't know why I'm drawing a blank right now.
[00:15:26] Speaker D: The tweet, Ray Ferraro.
[00:15:27] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:15:28] Speaker B: He's not with you this year anymore.
[00:15:29] Speaker C: He announced his departure from the game.
[00:15:32] Speaker B: This year and on the way out.
[00:15:33] Speaker C: The door you had tweeted, we won't be hearing about your empty net goals anymore. I thought that was super funny. So talk about the new challenge now without Ray, I believe it's Cheryl Pounder now who's going to be joining you in the booth.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: I didn't know that. I didn't see that. That's so cool.
[00:15:48] Speaker C: Yeah, it's Cheryl Pounder. So what kind of new challenges is that going to bring to you?
[00:15:51] Speaker B: Well, first let me say this about.
[00:15:54] Speaker D: Is Ray is incredible, right? And Ray is one of the best analysts in the game and I think a lot of people would have Ray atop the power rankings. And so to work those dual sessions with Ray, those two person sessions, it was so much fun. It just way more engaging to kind of play off. And Ray is so quick witted.
[00:16:18] Speaker B: When you're voicing a play and when.
[00:16:19] Speaker D: You'Re analyzing a play, you're really breaking down something that physically doesn't exist.
[00:16:25] Speaker B: Right.
[00:16:26] Speaker D: You've got the context of what has happened, but you're basically in that analyst role trying to break down something.
[00:16:34] Speaker B: Know in your mind you've seen enough.
[00:16:36] Speaker D: Times happen in your life, but it.
[00:16:38] Speaker B: Really know Ray pulls that out of.
[00:16:43] Speaker D: A hat where I can kind of.
[00:16:44] Speaker B: Play it straight to. All right, here's the shot puts it.
[00:16:47] Speaker D: Wide of the net, and now Ray's.
[00:16:49] Speaker B: Got a. Oh, man, you got to hate those. You just missed just wide of the net. You got to make those ones count.
And Ray has that ability to. And every once in a while, not.
[00:17:01] Speaker D: That he was always cheeky, but every.
[00:17:03] Speaker B: Once in a while, it's like, put it on net.
And it was funny because we would hear from people on social and Ray, particularly, how some gamers, I think, really got frustrated with how Ray would kind of call them out and shoot them.
[00:17:18] Speaker C: Made me feel like shit so many times. I was like, ray, I'm losing.
[00:17:25] Speaker B: Can we just. Can we just wrap this up here? Yeah.
And I think for part of it, they allow us a lot of Runway.
[00:17:34] Speaker D: To play along, like, stay within the.
[00:17:36] Speaker B: Context, keep the integrity of the game. But I think that's part of Ray's charm. And so that sort of personality is.
[00:17:44] Speaker D: Imperative to show who Ray really is.
[00:17:47] Speaker B: And I think that really, Sean, where. Yeah. When you're getting your ass handed to you in a video game and you're down six one, it's like, okay, thanks, man. I don't need to be hearing this, but I think in almost every game.
I used to play NBA jam when I was a kid. You go on a cold streak, and it's like, you can't buy a bucket, right? He puts up a brick, and you're like, shut up. I hear with Ray, it was so.
[00:18:15] Speaker D: Much fun, his sense of humor and his wit. And I'll tell you what I think.
[00:18:21] Speaker B: For anybody, it would be a tough act to follow.
[00:18:24] Speaker D: And we went through the audition process last year with Cheryl Pounder, and I was privy to be some of those auditions. And I can tell you this. It was obvious right away that Cheryl was the.
[00:18:38] Speaker B: Think. And I think Cheryl has made a name for herself recently in the broadcast world, but she's been doing it for a long time. I just don't think she had the.
[00:18:49] Speaker D: Spotlight or the platform that was given to her at TSN until the last.
[00:18:53] Speaker B: Couple of years, where it's like, you.
[00:18:54] Speaker D: Cannot deny, like, everywhere she goes, she's really good.
[00:18:58] Speaker B: She does her homework. She's got two Olympic gold medals, and she dials in, and she's got a great sense of humor that she doesn't take herself too seriously.
She's such a fun teammate to work with. Very different personalities, both her and Ray, but they're both really engaging, not afraid.
[00:19:15] Speaker D: To kind of speak their mind, but.
[00:19:18] Speaker B: Also, too, that really, at the root.
[00:19:20] Speaker D: Of it, know their stuff and like to have fun and I think when you have put knowledge and fun together.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: You'Re going to have a good time. And Cheryl, very much like Ray, quick on her feet, great improvisational ability, really.
[00:19:34] Speaker D: Smart and dialed in.
[00:19:36] Speaker B: And you know what? She sounds awesome. Like, she's got a great voice that I think is really. I cannot wait to hear how it.
[00:19:43] Speaker D: Sounds once the game drops on October 6. And typically we've had opportunities to get a little snapshot of just how the.
[00:19:51] Speaker B: Game sounds and the prototype as they're building it along the way.
[00:19:53] Speaker D: Over the course of the year, we.
[00:19:55] Speaker B: Haven'T had a chance to hear it so far, but I can say this.
[00:20:00] Speaker D: I nitpicked the shit out of myself.
[00:20:02] Speaker B: Whenever I've watched myself or listened to.
[00:20:04] Speaker D: Myself in television or radio or digital over the years, where whether I complain about, oh, my tie is crooked or it looks like I've got four chins today, just the way my body position.
[00:20:14] Speaker B: My body language, or I think we all have our own little quirks about ourselves. It's like anytime you look at a.
[00:20:21] Speaker D: Picture of yourself, you're just judging, right? Or at least I certainly nitpicked the crap out of myself. And the first time I sat there and I played the game with myself being in it, being someone who, I guess there's our own insecurities, but there's that element of self consciousness.
[00:20:42] Speaker B: I had a wave where I'm playing.
[00:20:44] Speaker D: The game and all of a sudden I got to this game, it's overtime, and I'm like, holy crap, this sounds freaking awesome.
[00:20:52] Speaker B: Obviously.
[00:20:56] Speaker D: We have an incredibly talented audio team and staff that kind of builds this game to add the audio and the context and the crowd and all.
[00:21:04] Speaker B: The bells and whistles. But man, it was one of those things where it was like, man, I am so proud to be involved with this because, look, there's probably a million.
[00:21:13] Speaker D: People that are going to disagree with.
[00:21:14] Speaker B: Me on this one, but I was like, man, this sounds so cool.
[00:21:17] Speaker D: And I am just Cheryl. And look, how many women voices have there been in a video game of this sort of magnitude? I think it's going to pop and.
[00:21:30] Speaker B: She is just the personality for it. I think people are really going to enjoy it. And this is year one.
[00:21:35] Speaker D: This is a lot of work on Cheryl to kind of catch up for a lot of content. When you're a new voice, there's just.
[00:21:41] Speaker B: So many basic elements that you need.
[00:21:43] Speaker D: But there's just a ton of work for her, at least for me.
[00:21:47] Speaker B: For the last few years, I've kind.
[00:21:48] Speaker D: Of built know the hours of content.
[00:21:51] Speaker B: Where this is Cheryl's first year, so.
[00:21:54] Speaker D: It'S a lot on her, but I am really excited for the gamer to hear what Cheryl can bring and what she has to say over the course of the season.
[00:22:04] Speaker C: And that was even one of my questions. I was playing the game at like seven years old and I was thinking, how much stuff do these guys have to say and record before they can even put out the first game? How many hours are you in the booth for the first game? Like you said, you can add on a little bit more, new names, new players, new stats, but that first game, you got to be in there forever.
[00:22:26] Speaker D: So, Alex, when you were seven, they actually put me inside your console and I just, every time you turned it on, like, there was me just, I'm.
[00:22:35] Speaker C: Sorry if I had a bad game.
[00:22:36] Speaker D: And I started hitting the thing, then.
[00:22:38] Speaker B: I was like, it's too early, it's too early. Get back to bed, Alex.
You know what?
[00:22:45] Speaker D: I'm contracted, I would say annually to do about 250 to 300 hours of voicing. And we definitely are well over 200 consistently every year. And I think when you look at over the course of time, this is five years now I've been part of the franchise.
There's probably at least, I would say at the bare minimum, there's probably at least 750 hours or so of content that I have recorded for the game.
[00:23:18] Speaker B: And we typically do a four and.
[00:23:20] Speaker D: A half hour voice session.
[00:23:22] Speaker B: Some days we call them phone book.
[00:23:24] Speaker D: And that's going through the list of names that they can all be kind.
[00:23:27] Speaker B: Of edited and stitched together. And how many times do you have.
[00:23:30] Speaker C: To say one name?
[00:23:32] Speaker D: That's a really good question.
[00:23:35] Speaker B: I want to say.
[00:23:36] Speaker D: So we do a two stitch, which.
[00:23:40] Speaker B: Know passes the puck to game.
[00:23:44] Speaker C: Alex isn't in the game, so don't.
[00:23:46] Speaker B: Get me started about do. We'll see what we can do on that.
So there's the two stitch we do.
[00:23:54] Speaker D: And then there's the by stitch, they call it.
[00:23:58] Speaker B: And that's great save by flurry, great save by Alex. So there's at least two that you would say.
[00:24:05] Speaker D: And then I believe now I keep it at a pretty high intensity level just on the baseline, but I think.
[00:24:12] Speaker B: We do have another gear for a little more intensity as well.
[00:24:17] Speaker D: And so I think there's another buy.
[00:24:19] Speaker B: And two stitch there.
[00:24:20] Speaker D: So I want to say. We probably say every name I want.
[00:24:26] Speaker B: To say at least.
[00:24:27] Speaker D: Well, and then there's probably your drive by sort of commentary. Things like just the first time you'd say, just start off their name like, crosby is having a tough game tonight kind of thing. Right.
I think every name probably mentioned. Don't quote me on this for sure, 100%, but I want to say probably at least five, six times. It's probably in different contexts.
[00:24:54] Speaker B: And, yeah, I think we're up to.
[00:24:55] Speaker D: About 5000 names now.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: Nobody understands the background of what that takes. Okay. Obviously I love talking. I don't. Shut up, James. Really. If you ask my friends, I've done a podcast myself where I talk for two and a half hours. I didn't know that was freaking possible, to be honest with you. But it is.
[00:25:10] Speaker B: I mean, it took five minutes to introduce me, so I believe it.
See, the thing is, I appreciate it. Don't get me wrong.
[00:25:19] Speaker A: You can probably just imagine how exhausted it would be hearing you say all the different names. Like when you go through team names, when you go through last names, plays, all the different contexts, you got to do the goal celebration stuff that you do. I'm not even going to try to announce any of the french ones because I'm not french. You got the pirate ones. You got all these different funny little things.
[00:25:38] Speaker B: Yeah, the pirate one.
[00:25:40] Speaker A: I don't know what you say. I just made that up.
[00:25:42] Speaker B: He's going to walk the play.
[00:25:43] Speaker A: Yeah, that's it, right? That takes time. Like, yeah, you're going through different talk or through different tones. It's like there's a lot to make a video game. Okay. It's not just that you just do AI and AI comes up with the game for you. There's thousands and thousands of people that are involved in so many different from the pixels to the sound and truly to say what, cheryl, quickly, I think she's a great ad. I like to call her a boss woman. That girl has like, it's like Jennifer Botterel on Sportsnet, too. Like there's girl presence in broadcasting now and I love it. Sorry, I won't get into that too much because then we're going to start diving into other things. But sticking to EA, I think the team of YouTube is going to have is great. But what I was saying about the work put in, it's not easy work where you're just sitting there talking. You're thinking you're coming up with probably things on the fly. I'm sure you've had to improvise on your own terms. And they probably kept it. Maybe they didn't keep it. Maybe they say, hey, James, that's stupid. Don't do that. That's the joy, though, of it.
[00:26:41] Speaker B: Well, I think we do have to.
[00:26:44] Speaker D: Watch out with legalities that something that might be copyrighted or written. And so whether it's referencing somebody's name or a song, you got to be careful with that. But for the most part, we kind of have some fun. Like, there was one, some of the producers and some of the guys behind the scenes, I think there was a save.
[00:27:07] Speaker B: Stick save.
[00:27:08] Speaker D: And I was, oh, that's a paddling.
[00:27:10] Speaker B: Right.
[00:27:10] Speaker D: And so for Simpsons fans, there's little.
[00:27:14] Speaker B: Easter eggs that are kind of hidden in there for those that appreciate it.
[00:27:17] Speaker D: I'm an old school wrestling nerd, so there's tons of wrestling references that are dropped in there.
[00:27:23] Speaker A: Big wrestling. I was back in the attitude eras where I like.
[00:27:26] Speaker B: Sure. So if you're an attitude era guy, that you'll definitely find a couple in.
[00:27:33] Speaker D: There if you play enough.
[00:27:34] Speaker B: And the fact that you said you got 250 hours log, I'm guessing you've probably heard one or two. And the pirate ones, it's funny, there's a few of them you kind of.
[00:27:42] Speaker D: Forget over the years that you've kind of dropped in. But, yeah, sometimes you're doing so many. And to me, I'm a big believer of, like, I want my commentary exciting, I want it energetic.
I hate when I can turn on a game and I can know the score or I know the game means nothing if that play by play announcer sounds like they're checked out. Right. I think as an announcer, some might be insulted by this sort of thought process, but I would say that part.
[00:28:22] Speaker B: Of you is a salesperson. Right? Like you're selling a.
Yeah, you want people to listen. You want people to mean, I love.
[00:28:33] Speaker D: Bob Cole as a kid and just.
[00:28:35] Speaker B: His know, a big fan of Marv Albert as well.
[00:28:40] Speaker D: And those exciting moments, gorilla Monsoon as.
[00:28:44] Speaker B: A kid as well and really dating myself, but those sorts of play by play announces.
[00:28:50] Speaker D: But in recent years, I really enjoy the Gus Johnson's and these certain broadcasters that bring just an energy that's high octane and it's okay to have a little stick.
[00:29:04] Speaker B: It's okay. Like, not every single play needs to.
[00:29:06] Speaker D: Be gimmicky, but I want some energy.
[00:29:09] Speaker B: I want some fun.
[00:29:10] Speaker D: And I'm watching this game for a reason. I want to be entertained. And to me, that's the approach I try to take, and I hope people enjoy it along the way.
[00:29:21] Speaker C: Is there anything that people would when they see you and they realize that you're the play by play guy? Is there any quotes that they yell at you? Is something that sticks with them.
[00:29:29] Speaker A: Army makes you walk the plank, that's us for sure.
[00:29:33] Speaker B: That's the one that sticks out to us. You know what, man? Shout out. I think we're, what, like a month.
[00:29:38] Speaker D: Away from international talk? Like a pirate day?
[00:29:41] Speaker B: So we can run it back in.
[00:29:43] Speaker D: A month for sure.
[00:29:44] Speaker B: You know what?
[00:29:46] Speaker D: It's funny, I think a lot of times now I'm at a point where it's like a lot of my friends kids now play the game, right? And sort of that sort of new generation of kids, and I think when they meet me, especially when they're younger.
[00:30:02] Speaker B: There'S a little bit of a, whoa.
[00:30:05] Speaker D: Right?
[00:30:07] Speaker B: It's almost like the first time you.
[00:30:08] Speaker D: See a teacher outside of the school.
[00:30:10] Speaker B: Or outside of the classroom, right? And you're like, wait a minute, you don't live in the classroom.
What are you doing here in the grocery store? Why are you here?
So I think sometimes there's a little.
[00:30:24] Speaker D: Bit of a dumbfoundedness, but I know.
[00:30:27] Speaker B: There was one that stood out for.
[00:30:29] Speaker D: A group of university students. They loved waffle boarded.
[00:30:33] Speaker B: Oh, of course. Well, that's just not a term you.
[00:30:36] Speaker C: Hear all the time anymore.
[00:30:37] Speaker B: That's very common in a video game.
[00:30:38] Speaker C: Just not on like a broadcast.
[00:30:40] Speaker B: Yeah, they like the waffle boarded.
[00:30:44] Speaker D: I think the wrestling fans love the. That's got to be Kane reference.
So you go back to your attitude era. That's got to be Kane's pretty. That pops pretty good.
Yeah, that's a. Padlin has come up for the, you know, raise empty net goals after year.
[00:31:06] Speaker B: It's funny, we thought nothing of it.
[00:31:08] Speaker D: But I guess we didn't do a lot of empty net goals.
[00:31:13] Speaker B: We didn't do a lot of empty net goals that first year.
[00:31:15] Speaker D: So it was a very small bucket and that was quickly.
[00:31:19] Speaker B: We were here on social media. Like, if I have to hear one more flipping time how many goals Ray Ferraro has or empty netters Ray has, I'm going to just lose.
Definitely. We kind of chuckled about it, but.
[00:31:35] Speaker D: I think at the time, I think a few gamers were like, okay, enough already. Enough already. Yeah, that was fun.
[00:31:41] Speaker C: And you talked so highly about everybody you've worked with on this game in the booth, so I shouldn't be asking you to start bench cut. Ray, Cheryl and Snoop Dogg. Should I.
[00:31:53] Speaker B: Say this?
[00:31:55] Speaker C: You can up and pass.
[00:31:57] Speaker B: It's cool. Yeah.
I'll say this. I would have to put snoop number three on the power rankings of that. That's what I'll say that.
But I would say that probably the two most entertaining days of my professional life when did you go into LA?
How did that happen? So I want to say it was the first year.
It was summer of 2019. We went down, but I want to say the process probably started about five months before where they said, hey, look.
[00:32:33] Speaker D: We were thinking, who would be some neat names that we could get involved in the game? It was like kind of chatting over lunch this one day, and we were just kind of throwing names out.
You know, I think, like the pie in the sky. I think we were talking Justin Bieber.
[00:32:48] Speaker B: Obviously, with his love of hockey.
[00:32:50] Speaker D: And I think just Beeves is just in another stratosphere financial to make that happen.
[00:32:56] Speaker B: Right? Yeah. You know what I mean? There's realistic and then there's not.
[00:33:03] Speaker A: We could have got that. Sorry.
[00:33:05] Speaker B: Maybe. Yeah, no, but I think Drake's name.
[00:33:09] Speaker D: Had come up and then just other sort of hockey celebs, like, then. And then Snoop's name popped up because he had done some commentary in the King's booth, and it was like, oh, man, he's made some appearances over the years. And we were like, you know what? Snoop would be kind know? And then it was kind of like, actually, he's done some stuff with Madden, as you know.
[00:33:34] Speaker B: I think there were some people within.
[00:33:36] Speaker D: Electronic arts that had a relationship, at least with Snoop's representation and with Snoop prior. And so, I guess, calls, and the process started, and then all of a sudden, it was like, look, I think this is happening. And lo and behold, in the month of June of 2019, smack dab in the middle of the Raptors and the Warriors NBA Finals, there was a small group of us that flew down, myself along with three producers, and we went to Snoop's recording studio in Los Angeles.
[00:34:07] Speaker C: That's cool.
[00:34:08] Speaker D: And spent two days.
[00:34:12] Speaker B: In his facility.
[00:34:13] Speaker D: And it was, honestly, Snoop was.
He's a smart guy. He is really talented, really smart, and really impressive in terms of the empire that guy's built. Like, his production facility was big gated fence in front. You pull into this big parking lot, and there were multiple television production studios and then recording studios for radio and for recording an album and all of it, the green Rooms lounges. It was a really impressive facility.
But I'll tell you, he was so much fun. From my own experience.
[00:34:58] Speaker B: He took a lot of breaks. He took a lot of breaks, but he was a lot of fun.
[00:35:04] Speaker A: That's one of the top ten people. Top ten people that I want to meet. Like the guy, and he wore a leaf jersey, so he had my heart one time at a car. Yeah, he's not a leaf fan, though. I don't think.
[00:35:13] Speaker B: I think he's an out. No, I think that he was strategic and it's funny. No, you know what? He was strategic about that because we.
[00:35:19] Speaker D: Talked about it might actually be in the game, but he leaf.
[00:35:23] Speaker B: There's a leaf on the jersey.
[00:35:25] Speaker C: Oh, he did say something about that in the game.
[00:35:27] Speaker B: Yeah, he did. He did.
[00:35:28] Speaker A: That's right. And he called it the six. Likes calling it the six.
[00:35:32] Speaker B: Yeah. No, honestly, he was so much. I would say that Snoop was everything.
[00:35:39] Speaker D: You would want him to be. He was exactly that. Everything that you thought he might be in a positive way. He was.
[00:35:47] Speaker C: And he was the perfect amount one period in the game. Just a little taste of some snoop.
[00:35:52] Speaker D: That was perfect.
[00:35:52] Speaker C: It was so well executed.
[00:35:54] Speaker B: Yeah. No, it was so much fun.
[00:35:58] Speaker D: And I think there was probably a wish you should have, could have, would have. There was more time to get more content from him. But I think we were able to record at least a goal call for every NHL team. We did a goal call specifically targeted for the Peterborough Pete's because he had a Peterborough Pete's jersey.
[00:36:19] Speaker B: He had show in Peterborough. Yeah.
[00:36:21] Speaker D: So somewhere in that NHL 20 game, there is a Peterborough Pete's goal called. And yeah, he was so much fun.
[00:36:32] Speaker B: Quick on his feet. Right?
[00:36:34] Speaker D: Like sharp as attack.
[00:36:36] Speaker B: It was great.
[00:36:37] Speaker D: It was really that.
[00:36:39] Speaker A: That's, you know what, and I'm looking down because I know we like to follow time here and I know we're going a little extra. Time flies and having fun. James, I think you know that better than probably anybody.
[00:36:49] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:36:50] Speaker A: And truly on the show, we did intend to talk about your show, your reward and everything that you did, but we did tackle a lot of ESHL. You can tell that we're nerds. There was one point where you were ranked top 300 in the world, but that fell pretty quickly.
There's people that win like 100 games there. At 100 win games and one loss. We play teams that are. I can't. I don't know what they do as a life. Like, I work full time and that is their life. And it's amazing. But the game I've had every year, like you said, we have it every year. And I wish I would have kept all those old games and kept the package out of all of them. But the big thing that I like the most in the game is franchise mode. I've always been a franchise guy for all the things because I'm a Leaf fan and never got to see the Leafs win the cup. So when I make moves to actually get to see them lift the cup, it's like when the Cubs won the World Series.
That's a dream. And it's probably a pipe dream, because if it doesn't happen this year, it might not happen ever for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
[00:37:52] Speaker D: In my honest, Alex looks a bit like.
[00:37:57] Speaker B: It says, maybe it's just the.
[00:37:59] Speaker D: Lighting, but.
[00:38:03] Speaker A: We got a mixed bag on our family.
[00:38:05] Speaker B: Same bad hairline.
We got a ball cap. The magic of the ball cap. It hides all my gray. Perfect. I wish I had gray to hide.
[00:38:15] Speaker A: Honestly, we have a mixed bag on our family. Like I said, the Leafs, the wings, Sabres halves and oilers, those are kind of the five teams, I think, top of my head, that everyone likes, but we're dominated by Leaf fans for sure, because of where we're at. But I appreciate you saying that they've won the Stanley Cup. James.
If they actually win the Cup, I might give you a buz and be like, can I live re record you over whoever was on the.
[00:38:41] Speaker B: You can pour me one of those.
[00:38:42] Speaker D: Spice rums there that you nice.
We'll have ourselves a night. I'll say this. I spent twelve years in Toronto and I loved it. I loved living in the city.
Both my daughters were born there.
[00:39:00] Speaker A: Cool.
[00:39:00] Speaker D: And it's funny, I grew up in.
[00:39:04] Speaker B: Ottawa, and I think if you had.
[00:39:05] Speaker D: To pin me down to a team, I'd love to see win the Stanley cup. I'd love to see the Senators to win. And obviously, I've got some love for Vancouver, living here in Vancouver. But over time, it's funny, the Leafs, for a long time, kind of ran on organizationally ran on arrogance that people that covered the team on the day to day, it was like, can't wait for these guys to lose. You kind of rooted against them because they were just tough to deal with.
Hey, look, a lot's changed. But I would also say that I think if the Leafs can win, if they ever win a Stanley cup, it will be something as big as what we've seen with Canada winning an Olympic gold medal.
I think if the Leafs win, and.
[00:39:54] Speaker B: I think there's six other canadian hockey.
[00:39:57] Speaker D: Franchises that will probably barf to hear me say that. But I think the closest comparable in terms of a celebration will know a canadian team or like a canadian national team winning gold in the Olympics or a Canada cup victory from years back, because there are Leaf fans everywhere.
There might be a smattering of fans for the jets and the Senators and the Oilers and the Flames here and there, but nothing to the volume. There's certainly a prominent group of Habs fans as well. But the spread out mean and generationally too, right? Like, for a long time, there were just two canadian teams, Montreal and Toronto. And I think typically the english fans were drawn to Toronto and the French obviously loving Montreal.
[00:40:51] Speaker B: It's not to say that all english.
[00:40:52] Speaker D: Fans are Toronto fans, but I think if the Leafs ever win.
[00:40:58] Speaker B: It'Ll be.
[00:40:58] Speaker D: Absolutely massive across this country, not just regionally in the GTA, it'll be massive coast to coast.
[00:41:06] Speaker C: I would hate to be an employer.
[00:41:08] Speaker A: The day after the biggest Stanley cup parade of all time, by far. And it's like. I like to compare it to the Raptors win where Toronto was closed, but I think it'd be even bigger than the Raptors.
[00:41:18] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure.
Look, the Raps winning was huge.
[00:41:23] Speaker D: I mean, the Jays winning in 92 and 93 was absolutely massive, too, I think, for the city. But you're just talking about a whole different stratosphere of the Jays are almost 50 years old. The Raptors are almost 30 years old. We're talking about the Leafs that are 100 years old. Right? Like, they have been around.
It's not just your team. It's not just your parents team, it's not just your grandparents team, but it's also like your great grandparents team.
There's no other team that I guess you could maybe make a claim for the Toronto Argonauts. But respectfully, we're not really having this conversation. So the point is, I think if the Leafs win, if and when they do, it will be astronomical of a celebration, and it will resonate not just in the GTA, but coast to coast. And people were excited here when the Raptors won. But I think it'll be a whole other story if the Leafs win.
[00:42:21] Speaker B: Getting chills.
[00:42:22] Speaker C: Getting chills.
[00:42:23] Speaker A: Now, James, like I said, I know we're going a little extra time, but I do. Before I get to the conclusion, I got one final question for you and put you on the spot, because you did do sports. Outside of being a commentator and being known for that, who is your hot take this year? We're in August. I'm going to tell everybody. Listener. I don't like telling the month that we record, but we're in August. If you had to pick a Stanley cup winner right now for next year, given a lot of things that still haven't happened going into the season, trades and maybe some signings, who are you picking to win the Stanley cup in 2024?
If you can tell me.
[00:42:59] Speaker D: Yeah, you know what? I will run it back with the Dallas Stars.
And for a canadian team, I think the Oilers have your best shot.
[00:43:10] Speaker A: So Dane, our friend Dane would love you.
[00:43:12] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:43:13] Speaker A: He was actually upset he couldn't make it for this episode, but if he was here, James, he'd be saying too many and ums, and that's why he's not on this.
He's going to get me for that.
[00:43:23] Speaker B: Getting nice.
[00:43:24] Speaker A: Getting to the conclusion. James.
[00:43:26] Speaker B: Dane, if it makes you feel any.
[00:43:27] Speaker D: Better, I certainly did my share of ums and Uz over the.
It happens to the best of us.
[00:43:34] Speaker A: It does. It takes time and practice.
[00:43:36] Speaker B: Right. And sometimes ums and us pay.
[00:43:39] Speaker A: They do. Now I'm here. I want to give you the floor before we let you go and promote you on things that you want to promote. I love giving guests. I don't promote anything. For advertisement wise, that's your company if you want to promote your podcast. You know what? I started listening to a lot more when I got to see it more. I think my commodore is an absolute beauty.
You can tell him I'd love to have him on this show because I would love to hear his Babcock in person. Babcock, absolute lashing. I would love it. But your podcast is great. I want to give you the floor about what you're doing now. Anything you want to promote.
[00:44:18] Speaker B: Okay. I got to make it real quick, though, because I got to pick up a 15 year old daughter in about.
[00:44:22] Speaker D: 20 minutes here from campy late.
[00:44:25] Speaker B: So I'll just say clearing the crease. Podcast powered by Bodog. It's Andrew Raycroft. It's Mike Commodore. You got the caller trophy winner.
[00:44:32] Speaker D: You got the Stanley cup winner, and yours truly.
[00:44:34] Speaker B: That drops twice monthly, courtesy of Bodog.
[00:44:37] Speaker D: You can find that on Spotify and on YouTube, and you can find it on all the social channels at Bodogca.
[00:44:43] Speaker B: Also Nhl 24, just weeks away. The putt drops October 6, so we hope to find you there.
[00:44:49] Speaker D: And in the meantime, you can find me at James Saboski on X or Twitter or whatever it is, and you can find me on Instagram at James Saboski. And I think I'm on threads, but I haven't really. Not really.
[00:45:02] Speaker C: Everybody's on threads, but no one's on threads.
[00:45:05] Speaker B: Everyone's on threads, but no one's on threads. And it's like you put these big profiles and it's like two likes, and.
[00:45:10] Speaker D: You'Re like, oh, okay, so maybe it's not just me.
[00:45:12] Speaker B: All right, thanks for having me, guys. I really appreciate that. That was a lot of fun. Good luck. Cheers, boys. Cheers. We'll see a channel at some point. We'll drop the.
I think it's cross platform now. So it is.
[00:45:22] Speaker D: You can find me seaball 604 on the PlayStation network. So track me down. We'll get a game. You guys can kick my ass.
[00:45:30] Speaker A: Oh, we're playing. We're playing. We'll have to get you on again soon. James, thanks for coming on.
[00:45:33] Speaker B: All right, cheers, guys. Thanks again. Peace.
[00:45:37] Speaker A: Now, that was James Sabolski. Alex. What a. Okay, we. I'm going to tell listeners, because we don't get this opportunity at the end of the show, usually, to talk about the guests. Usually we do the guests and we're done right now.
[00:45:48] Speaker D: We can just badmouth them now.
[00:45:52] Speaker A: I knew that we were going to be a little bit tight. We're in the summer recording this. Time constraints are all over the place for yours truly, for you, for him, especially. And it was great that he was able to devote not even 30 minutes as planned. We're at 46 minutes of this recording.
[00:46:08] Speaker C: Oh, my God.
[00:46:09] Speaker A: And he's done an amazing job giving us a story. We did have intentions, talk about his awards, his broadcasting, his memorable moments. But you know what? A lot of people click this, I'm sure, because of SHL.
[00:46:23] Speaker B: Okay?
[00:46:23] Speaker A: So I hope you enjoyed that, but I promise you we will plan to have James on within the next calendar year to talk a little bit more.
But I'm sure everyone enjoyed this.
[00:46:34] Speaker B: Alex.
[00:46:34] Speaker A: It was a great episode. James.
[00:46:37] Speaker C: That guy has just as much energy in the game as he does, just personality wise. He was animated and loud and swearing.
[00:46:45] Speaker B: Hell, yeah. James.
[00:46:46] Speaker C: What an interview.
[00:46:47] Speaker A: And we're adding him and we're playing against him. Or he can maybe come on guest appearance or join the squads.
[00:46:55] Speaker B: Come play a game.
[00:46:56] Speaker A: Come play a game. And we'll stream it, because Alex is going to stream games this year.
[00:47:00] Speaker C: Yeah, we'll see.
[00:47:01] Speaker A: I didn't tell him that yet, but now we'll see. It's a request. A volunteer request.
[00:47:07] Speaker C: More like a voluntold. By the way you're phrasing it, but we'll see.
[00:47:11] Speaker A: I'm not the boss.
[00:47:15] Speaker B: That was awesome. Honestly, some of those questions I've been beating.
[00:47:18] Speaker A: Raycroft was on his podcast, and I wanted to say the best trade in Lee's fucking history for Andrew Raycroft.
[00:47:23] Speaker C: Nah. Scott Niedemeier, Roberta Luongo.
[00:47:25] Speaker B: Which one of.
[00:47:26] Speaker A: Oh, the times. But that was fun. I hope everyone got to enjoy the segment here with was. It's fantastic. Like I said, we couldn't get into everything we wanted to, but we kept the content flowing and it was entertaining as fuck. So if you don't agree with this being entertaining, you don't got no entertainment concept.
[00:47:45] Speaker B: Dave.
[00:47:46] Speaker C: Honestly, if they didn't think it was entertaining, they're not going to make it 50 minutes deep.
[00:47:49] Speaker A: That's so true. Improve those analytics higher because there's well over 50% who like our videos but don't hit, subscribe or comment.
[00:47:59] Speaker B: What are you doing?
[00:47:59] Speaker A: What are you doing? Hit subscribe. Give us the support there.
[00:48:01] Speaker D: Okay, where is the subscribe button?
[00:48:03] Speaker C: I think it's going to be down.
[00:48:04] Speaker B: It's down in this general area.
[00:48:06] Speaker A: I'm hoping flood includes that as I point it down in this general. If I'm talking right here.
[00:48:12] Speaker C: Oh, you're right. It might be over there.
[00:48:13] Speaker A: It's going to be right here underneath my left nipple.
[00:48:16] Speaker C: It's going to be nice. Oh, I can get that.
[00:48:19] Speaker A: And then there's the right side underneath. In the middle of your two best looking guys on the screen right now is where you got the like and the distance.
[00:48:25] Speaker C: We're also the two ugliest guys, so let's not get carried away.
[00:48:27] Speaker A: Apparently look like Austin Matthews. You do?
[00:48:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:48:30] Speaker C: Well, I haven't heard very good reviews about what that guy looks, so he.
[00:48:34] Speaker A: Should take after your.
[00:48:36] Speaker B: Oh, have you seen that photo of.
[00:48:38] Speaker C: Him at the NHL awards? When the light's like right on his.
[00:48:40] Speaker A: Head, guy is going to be bald.
[00:48:43] Speaker C: It looks like he's got three strands of hair. Austin, I love you, man. Don't leave Toronto. But I'm just saying, take a page from my book. Let's get it before Mother Nature, baby.
[00:48:51] Speaker B: Come on.
[00:48:52] Speaker A: If I was him, I'd be bald. I would be bald. I would be 100% bald.
[00:48:55] Speaker C: And just the duster, just the stash.
Somebody locked that guy up.
[00:49:01] Speaker B: If he's rocking that look, the funnier.
[00:49:04] Speaker A: Stories are about him on social media, on that celebrity Tinderist type account thing. I'm not going to get into that. We're not going to talk.
[00:49:09] Speaker C: I have heard about this thing that you have to be invited by somebody.
[00:49:12] Speaker A: Yeah, but we won't go there. That's for come on Top Shelf podcast.
[00:49:16] Speaker C: Who told you these stories?
[00:49:18] Speaker A: TikTok?
But doesn't matter. That's why we'll save it. But you know what? Come on, give it a little buz, but James Sabolski, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls and everything of all ages, we appreciate you taking the time to join us. And James, it was a pleasure. I know you're going to listen to this back, but we're going to have him on again. I've already planned that, but I said, want this show? I'm going to do a part two down the road with James. And like I said, par will have streams where you're going to hear James Sabolski's voice a little bit more this year and he might be on the show.
[00:49:52] Speaker C: This isn't the microphone that's set up right now. This is all for show, but yeah, maybe we will.
[00:49:58] Speaker A: Oh, that's fun. Alex, man, it was a treat, as always, having you.
[00:50:03] Speaker C: I'm glad you finally listened to me.
[00:50:05] Speaker A: And I'm glad you talked. I think you talked more than I did this show, which I love.
[00:50:09] Speaker C: Yeah, I had a bunch of questions I've wanted to ask NHL play by play guy these questions my whole life. I wanted to know how much time they actually have to spend in the studio because think about it.
[00:50:20] Speaker B: Think about how long you'll play a.
[00:50:21] Speaker C: Game before you hear something for the very first time. How many hours are going into that?
[00:50:26] Speaker A: Hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of time is going into that. And at the end of the day, we're here enjoying it, playing the game and getting mad. And you know how many times James said the game?
I feel like I want to clip that and use that as sound bait because it sounds good when he says.
[00:50:45] Speaker B: He'S going to stitch together.
[00:50:46] Speaker C: Hi, my name's James Sabolski and I love the game.
[00:50:50] Speaker B: That's it.
[00:50:51] Speaker A: That's all they're making like AI generated sound.
[00:50:53] Speaker B: Oh, I'm sure he said the word.
[00:50:55] Speaker C: Podcast, too, because he said a show.
[00:50:57] Speaker A: He said, so the game podcast.
[00:50:58] Speaker C: Perfect.
[00:50:59] Speaker A: And he said sports. Somewhere in there, you could just. Alex flood. Alex flood. Let's go.
[00:51:05] Speaker B: Yeah, let's put words in our guest's mouth, baby.
[00:51:09] Speaker A: What am I paying my volunteer producer for?
I love your service, flood. Thank you very much, Hannah. Thanks to you, too, for doing the thumbnail on this show. Your thumbnails are fire par. You as a co host, always fire. Also my fishing at my wedding.
[00:51:25] Speaker B: That's even better.
[00:51:26] Speaker A: Sir, it has been a good time. Alex, I want to thank you for taking the time. Obviously, I got to do my signature sign off. I don't do my sign off. The show just isn't complete. But if you're listening to this show, there's so many other shows on the game sports podcast. Start transitioning that name. The game sports show. You can still say for now, but start getting used to podcast. You can listen to all the shows. We've got over seven shows, top shelves. Coming back in the pockets. Coming back. We got the podcast with me.
[00:51:56] Speaker B: It's there.
[00:51:56] Speaker A: You got our special edition that you're listening to full time. We also got shows you couldn't believe.
[00:52:03] Speaker B: Okay, strike zone.
[00:52:05] Speaker A: That's one I forgot. Thank you very much, Alex. Strike zone. If you tune into 91 n, formerly TJM, the YouTube channel, you can listen to shows on there. We got the Paxac project. That's a local show. Very interesting. We got mental health show with strong minds. But we're also very headlined by sports by the game sports show by average jocks podcast. Oh, the boys in average jocks with Joel and Adam, they get guests just as high profile as we do. They got some good content there. And yes, I said the gameport show gets and sports podcast. Yeah, I'm also saying it get as well. And also just overall, the special edition uploads are on there, too. So hit subscribe, which is underneath my nipple. Or just tune into Spotify or to Apple or where you get your podcast subscribe. That like, goes a long way for us to keep being able to put out this excellent content. Have this excellent program here for you. And thanks to flawless roofing, sure. Steel incorporated. 30 years in the biz. I'm sure flood already edited in my little cutscene at the beginning and maybe throughout the show, but I'll say it visually, 30 years experience. Protect your investment. Start from the top, just like I protect my staff. And I start and have from the top, like Alex. Alex, thank you very much again, again, my friend, we got a lot to get to. I got to let you go getting to the conclusion portion of the show. Until next time, I'm here to remind you, keep your sick on the ice, swing your bats, catch your touchdowns, drain your threes, and shoot your shots. Booyah.
