Passing Out The Grades | The Game Sports Podcast

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to the first episode of 2025 for the Game Sports Podcast. This is the January 6th week of the Game Sports Podcast in 2025 and we have three segments here on the game tonight and the game is powered by, to remind you, 91N, that's 91 Network and also featured on Spaces. In the first segment I will be joined by Brendan McCarthy and Alex Parr getting into our Top Shelf segment with updates around the National Hockey League and reaction to the World Junior Hockey Championship. In the second segment I will be joined by Jordan Trudeau and our Chuck A Puck segment where we talking about the OHL deadline with a particular focus, of course, on the Sioux St. Marie Greyhounds. In the third and final segment, it will be our in the Pocket segment where I'll be joined by Justin Heik getting into reaction and update with the NCAA football college playoffs and the NFL playoffs coming up this week. Let's go. Oh yeah. And it's time for the Game Sports Podcast and it feels great to be back. It's been the holiday season. It's now 2025. January 2025, the beginning of January, January 8th to be exact, the date of this pre recording. I am joined by no one else other than these two absolute beauticians, okay. From different areas of ontario. Okay. Dave McCaig here, the host of the game located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, the heart of the Great Lakes. Okay, Brandon McCarthy joined. Join us as co host for the Top Shelf segment in the GTA area. Sorry, Brent, I forget your exact city. I know how lame that sounds to my introduction right now. [00:01:40] Speaker B: Ajax. [00:01:41] Speaker A: Ajax, Perfect. All the way in. Ajax. Now, Alex Parr, who is a trader from Sault Ste. Marie and moved to Ottawa. Okay. Nonetheless, co hosts here on the Game Sports Podcast, in particular with the Top Shelf segment. Alex Brennan. Fellas, Brennan, going to you first. How's it going? How's your holidays been and Happy New Year. [00:02:00] Speaker B: It's been. It's been solid, boys. A little tough. Transitioning back to work after a pretty busy holidays. I was in Sarasota over New Year's with the fam and that was a good time. But it's, it's a tough week. Transitioning back, just getting into the routine, you know, getting back and saying Happy New Year bazillion times to your co workers and which by the way, like, where is the line? Is it Jan.10th? Like once you hit double digits to stop saying it. Like, I haven't seen you guys since 2024, so I can say Happy New Year, but Where is, like, the line? [00:02:34] Speaker C: Is it. [00:02:35] Speaker B: Is it Jan 10? [00:02:37] Speaker A: I would say by the end of this week at the very latest. By the end of this week. Like, if you tell me, happy new year, Jan 13th. Fly a kite. [00:02:45] Speaker B: Yeah, it's like Jan 20th. Hey, happy new Year. It's like, all right, enough of that. [00:02:49] Speaker A: Yeah, we're already past that, Alex. We talk to people in our line of work all the time, every day. So is Brandon. We all talk in our. In our jobs, but I haven't seen either of you and your beautiful faces since 2024. And it's a great, great episode here for the first time that you've always, like the New year. Start on the episode for the game. After we take our holidays. We're refreshed. Target back into it a little bit, like Brandon said, but nonetheless. Alex, how are you doing? How was your holidays? I know we're going to talk about one thing that happened during your holiday season, but we'll get to that in a moment. How was your holiday season? [00:03:22] Speaker C: It was good. I figured I'd bring in the New Year in my Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Jersey. I figure if it's going to be the last year that he wears this jersey, it should be the last year that I also wear it. So I figured I'd bring in the New Year on a good note. [00:03:34] Speaker A: Look, I need. I can't wait to get a strike zone. Connor and I have been talking about Strike zone segment. I need to absolutely vent about the Toronto Blue Jays and that management and maybe we all do, but we don't have time today to do that. But I am over this. This gaslighting that the Blue Jays do about spending money and they do nothing. [00:03:55] Speaker B: Some. [00:03:56] Speaker A: They made a good move with the Guardians. This offseason was okay, but it's not going to put you over the top whatsoever. You're wasting prime talent, Pave. I can't. I'm not going to start. I'm already segment. [00:04:06] Speaker C: Come on. Yeah. Blind rank your favorite management groups. One being the Blue Jays, two being Team Canada. [00:04:11] Speaker A: So. Whoa, whoa. Is it sad that I think the Blue Jays management's better than the World Junior? [00:04:17] Speaker D: Wow. [00:04:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:04:18] Speaker C: That's bad. [00:04:19] Speaker A: That's. That's a perfect segue part. Perfect, perfect segue. World Juniors has come and gone another year. It's a part of the year that everyone looks forward to. It's a hockey fan, okay? It's young, old, doesn't matter. World Boxing Day comes on. You've had the holidays. What are you putting on the Canada game? If you're in Canada, right? You're putting on tsn. You're watching Canada and their debut in the tournament. And it's usually a pretty good game against a team that's pretty highly seated. Some. Most of the time anyways. That Boxing Day game and New Year's Eve. Right? Those are their two games that you really got your eyes on. And this year Canada decides to ice a team that. You know what? I wasn't too like against too much. There were players that were off the list. Seniki Misa. I wasn't too mad about Pere not being there. I'm not. I'm not a big fan of Pere. [00:05:06] Speaker C: Yeah, but you're from the Sioux, so of course you'd say that. [00:05:09] Speaker A: I'm not gonna chirp someone like a. Like a. Like a young 18 year old kid right now. He has a lot. He's had some behavioral questions, but nonetheless that shouldn't. That doesn't mean he's a bad person by any means. But he. Talent wise he could have been there. But this was a team that absolutely disappointed. And the. The bed. Watch myself. The bed in that tournament. Okay, Alex, I'm gonna go to you first. You were there for the New Year's Eve game, the big game. There's the puck. There's the puck from the game. You had a waitress, I believe at your game. [00:05:43] Speaker C: Yeah, that was so cool. [00:05:44] Speaker A: You gotta. I'll let you tell the story. But you were there New Year's Eve to watch USA basically take Canada to school a little bit. Okay. I thought the States could have actually won that game by a lot more. Okay. But overall, floor is yours. [00:05:57] Speaker E: Par. [00:05:58] Speaker A: You're there New Year's Eve. What's your reaction about that game? Tell us stories from that and also give us your reaction about this World Junior mess in Canada Hockey Canada mess. [00:06:06] Speaker C: Everybody's been asking me like, oh, must have been a rough game to go to, eh? Nah man, it was too cool. I've loved the World Juniors my whole life. I still think that's the best hockey there is. Any, any format, any league there is. I think it's the best. So to even be in the building and I mean Canada tied it in the third period to make it 1:1. Like that building was going nuts. But you know what's really hard to do to keep the fans engaged, to keep them engaged when you're on the penalty kill. Like I don't know, 80 of the tournament. Like it was so funny. Like Easton Cowan's getting just chewed out by all the fans. Dave Cameron's getting chewed out by all the fans. Like, there was a bunch of people in my section who are all banding together to try to say they were going to go out there for the. For the last period. They said, get these bombs off the ice. We're gonna go out there. God. I just. I'm going to say I'm going to. I'm going to do this in the same tone that Dave Cameron delivered everything in. I think Dave Cameron probably wasn't the best choice for this team, and I think you need somebody who's going to make the players actually go to practice, especially when that team can't make a tape to tape pass to save their. [00:07:19] Speaker A: Life and make a tape to tape pass at all. That tournament was undisciplined. Absolute joke of a performance. Brandon. What? Sorry, Alex. Keep going. [00:07:29] Speaker C: I don't really know if I have that much to add. It was just so frustrating to see, like, one thing that I've loved, being a Leafs fan and having Craig Berube is he's willing to just rip on a ref comes over, he doesn't agree with the call, he's gonna let him know. Dave Cameron looked like he was inconvenienced to be anywhere near this tournament at any media behind the beds. Just like it looked like if you just took somebody from anywhere in life and just dropped them there and they just teleported and they were just like, oh, okay, I guess I'm here now. But they were probably trying to make the best of it. Dave Cameron just. I don't know, dude, you didn't have to take this job if you didn't want to be there. Guess what? You don't have to be there. Didn't look engaged, didn't look like he cared. And I know it's easy to rag on him. He didn't put the team together either. I think it's just a catastrophic failure, top to bottom. And next year's team will be much, much better. It. When you have the board of governors, I don't know what level of management came out to say, like, this was wrong. We did a bad job. [00:08:34] Speaker A: It'll be better. [00:08:35] Speaker C: It will be. I get. I guarantee it. And as a. As a last note on this. Stay off of the kids Instagram page. Just chewing them out. You're a loser if you do that. [00:08:45] Speaker A: Hey, I agree to that. I'll be my. [00:08:46] Speaker E: So. [00:08:47] Speaker A: Yeah, that. That's. [00:08:49] Speaker B: I was gonna. I was gonna mention that two parts, like three big things stand out. Okay. It's unfortunate because, you know, the Stage was set. You're playing in Ottawa, right? You're trying to rebound after a tough, a tough exit against Czechia the year prior. They didn't have an IT guy. They did not have an ICK guy. The States had an IT guy. His name is Ryan Leonard, and he was the MVP of the tournament. Right. And of course, they had a cast of other studs as well. The second thing is no one was accountable. Like, it seemed to just be excuses after excuses. And all we hear about in any, in any league, right? In any league in hockey, the coaches and management, you got to be accountable. Like, preaching accountability to your players, okay? But when you have to own it, own it. Like, enough of this BS about, oh, they were exhausted and. Don't give me that. And no one wants to. No one wants to hear that. Like, it's just, it's just like, it just looks bad and it's cringy. And the third thing is you. You mentioned it, too. Par. I think they were just in their heads. Like, we're so inundated. Like, we're on Instagram, we're on Twitter, X, TikTok, whatever. These guys are 17, 18, 19. And they're on it. As soon as they're off the ice, they're scrolling, I guarantee you. And they see it and they hear the hate and they hear all the pressure and the, you know, the, the crap they're taking. Like, they get in their heads and they just, they couldn't, they couldn't get it done. I think they just couldn't handle the pressure. And it's, it's unfortunate because next year, guess where it is. In the States. So now, now the States are just, you know, brimming with confidence. And they, they are so good. I actually called them winning the tournament. [00:10:42] Speaker A: Par. [00:10:42] Speaker B: You weren't on their last episode. [00:10:45] Speaker C: Do you remember who Dave said would be in the finals? [00:10:49] Speaker B: I don't know, like, Denmark or something. [00:10:51] Speaker C: Canada and Sweden. [00:10:53] Speaker A: Canada. [00:10:54] Speaker B: So I, I, I actually, like, I screwed up because I said Canada and U.S. but obviously they're in different groups, so I don't think that would have actually. [00:11:02] Speaker C: No, no, they were in the same group. They were in the same group or. [00:11:05] Speaker B: Sorry, sorry. They were in the same group, so I don't think they would have actually been able to play in the final. [00:11:08] Speaker A: Correct. [00:11:09] Speaker C: Right, right, right. [00:11:10] Speaker B: But. So I did have Canada, US but I still had us coming out on top. So I, I had a feeling that this team was just. They're so loaded, man. And, like, there's such a confident group. Ryan Leonard's a stud. Like the capital's got a good one. And yeah, I think, you know, it's even more difficult next year because then, then you're in the States and they're going to go for the three peat. So, yeah, top to bottom hockey. Canada, man. Not ideal. [00:11:38] Speaker C: It's just too bad that they were so tired that they couldn't even practice. Imagine how tired they're going to be when they have to go to the States. How tired do we think Latvia was having to fly across the world to come and play? How tired do you think they were in comparison to Canada? Canada got to stay in a hotel directly next to the ctc. None of the other teams were allowed to stay there. So how tired must they have been to drive an extra 30 minutes? They must have been so tired. Maybe Canada shouldn't even put in a team next year and just put them down for their nap and let them sleep right through the Christmas break like that. [00:12:17] Speaker B: That was brutal. Just brutal. [00:12:19] Speaker A: It was the whole tournament, it was undisciplined. There was no accountability from the coach to the players or at all with the coach. There was such a dysfunctional team all in all. And like you said, Brandon, no IT guy. I had my own Gavin McKenna. I think the kid's sick. I think he's gonna be who he's gonna be. [00:12:39] Speaker C: I think he was there one year too early. [00:12:42] Speaker A: Yes, correct. [00:12:43] Speaker D: He. [00:12:43] Speaker A: But he got this experience and I hope he comes back a little bit of fire under his ass, given what happened this year. Easton Cowan, leaf pick. As I sit here with my just one till I die shirt, please, for the love of goodness. But Easton Cowan. Look, I was sitting there watching and saying that I've always wanted Toronto to have a little bit of a pest. Someone who's not. He was more than a pest. The guy was literally taking undisciplined penalties. And so everyone was. It wasn't. The accountability on the players was not there. And you need to have a coach that's going to go around these young guys and not push them too far, but gonna try to get the best out of them, but hold them accountable. Like Easton Cowan should not have went back on the ice after that penalty that he took in that States game. I believe it was in the States they took that penalty. Can't remember right now, but I think yeah, it was. [00:13:32] Speaker C: I saw it. [00:13:33] Speaker A: Why he went on the ice blows my mind. You sit your ass on the bench and you'll be lucky to play the first period next game. I'll give it because you weren't the guy as advertised on the ice. They were trying to center it to him, hey, that he's this goal scorer, that he was going to be the guy to step up. Right. But that was not there. The accountability was not there in general. And Hockey Canada is in. I know we're believe next year guys, but this is what I've been saying for a few years on this show. Hockey Canada is getting is this way. Other countries are going this way. Okay, it's the States, Sweden. I know they haven't won in 40 plus years, but they're still sending Czechia. [00:14:14] Speaker C: Yeah, they're good. [00:14:16] Speaker A: Czechia is going up like this. Canada has a problem at Hockey Canada right now. There's some sort of issue where the development is not there and the involvement even from before. We're now entering generation beta in 2025 and now and there's generation Alpha Alpha and Beta. Alpha's the ones coming up right now and the enrollment is down. Before there was what it's been because of this. And people can look that up if they want, but it's not the same. Other countries are going up and we're staying this way. We're staying this way. They're going to continue to pass us. And you think next year things are going to change. Maybe the team will be better. But I'm not confident this team is going to win the world Juniors next year. Given who's can return for Czechia, the States, Finland, Sweden. Like Finland. Geez. Yeah, geez. Like it used to be. [00:15:04] Speaker B: It used to just be Canada and maybe it was easier back then. Like just Canada, US and like maybe Finland or Sweden will like give them a run. Now it's like what was it? Kazakhstan and Lavia were the only ones who didn't make it. Right. And they're. And the rest. Yeah. [00:15:20] Speaker C: No, Latvia played in the quarterfinals. It was Germany and Kazakhstan. [00:15:24] Speaker B: Yeah, pardon me, sorry. Kazakhstan and Germany. But again, Germany can surprise you some years too. So really it's just like obviously the talent and competition is growing and it's great to see but it's also like if you're Canada, it's like it's not just like a walk to the final anymore. You got to go through, you know, a really talented competitive group and a field that's like just continues to get better. Like Czechia is so good. Sweden's good. Finland's good. Germany, you know, they'll surprise you, I guess. Really. Like, I mean Lafayet even beat Canada this year. So what does that Tell you like it's another shootout. [00:16:06] Speaker A: Dude, I was so mad at that. That is brutal. Why did I waste my time? Watch. Get to goaltender credit. [00:16:14] Speaker C: It was a great game. It was a really good game. [00:16:17] Speaker A: The goaltending was great on Lafayette side, right? [00:16:19] Speaker B: Oh, man. [00:16:20] Speaker A: European goaltending too is always been stellar. Always been great European goaltending. And if the players can get as good as a European goaltending has been as the last few years, Canada is in trouble. The development is like this. Like I said in Canada, other countries are going up and Czechia states, all these countries are going up and we're stuck. So hockey Canada's got to get its together because it's not where it needs to be. End of story. Exactly. So fellas, because of time, there's probably more that we can dissect there. We're going to get to the. We're not going to talk about overall NHL update. We're going to dive right into our report cards for the halfway point of the year. So in the NHL this year, we're just hitting the over 40 point, 40 games point where there's 42, 41, 43, 40 games have been played. Almost 40 if you're Ottawa across the league at this point of recording. And we're going to go around quickly to give the grades on some on the Canadian teams that you feel and then if you have some bonus teams you want to throw in there, feel free and we'll see if we could do it within our times frame. Time frame here. Someone I'll go to first who I think is quicker than me, than me and Brennan Par. [00:17:26] Speaker C: Should we not do it? Like, should we all. Should we just say A team and then all give our grades for that team? [00:17:31] Speaker E: Sure. [00:17:31] Speaker A: I love that. [00:17:31] Speaker B: Yeah, that's better. [00:17:32] Speaker A: I love that. Okay, let's start from here. [00:17:35] Speaker C: I got it. Let's start bottom up. We're gonna start with the Montreal Canadiens. [00:17:40] Speaker A: Love that. Okay. [00:17:40] Speaker B: Okay. [00:17:41] Speaker A: Bread in first. [00:17:44] Speaker B: Man, they've been rolling of late. I'm going to give them a B plus. Like they're not in the A range yet, but like B plus like a recency bias. I'd love to see them make the playoffs. Man, I'm going to give them a B plus right now. I can't stand half those metro teams. I'm not watching. [00:17:59] Speaker A: Boring. [00:18:00] Speaker B: Jersey versus Carolina, Saturday in April at 4pm The Bell center deserves playoff hockey giving them a B plus. I hope it goes into the A range, but man, they're on the up and up right now. [00:18:13] Speaker A: I'll Say B to keep it. [00:18:15] Speaker B: So I'll say B and I'm going. [00:18:16] Speaker C: To go the lowest. I'm going to say a C. You can't just be good for a couple weeks and tell me that you're a playoff team. [00:18:22] Speaker A: Fair enough. [00:18:23] Speaker C: Next up, very close to them, tied in the standings with the Ottawa Senators. [00:18:30] Speaker A: B, B. I'm actually gonna say. I'm gonna say B plus. I think they've, I think they've, I think they've always been to maybe be a wild card team this year. They're meeting expectations. B, B plus. To me, I'm hovering. I'll say B plus still. I think they're, still, they're, they're gonna make it interesting for a wild card. I'm saying that B plus. [00:18:50] Speaker C: For me, I was happy on my report card to get a B. To me, that felt like a good grade. To me, a B should be a playoff team. And I still don't think the Senators are there. I think they're close and I'm gonna give them a C plus, but I don't think they deserve that B quarter quite yet. [00:19:04] Speaker A: Tough grader. [00:19:05] Speaker C: Who do we got next? We got the Calgary Flames next. Yeah, right. [00:19:11] Speaker B: It's like a C minus. Just N next. [00:19:17] Speaker A: I'm gonna go with a C. A C. A C. I'll say C. I'm. [00:19:21] Speaker C: Also gonna go with a C because that's their logo and they're, they're just mid. [00:19:25] Speaker B: Right, so you didn't want to throw a dash next to it too? [00:19:29] Speaker C: Oh, no, no. I'll, I'll go easy on them, but I won't go easy on the Vancouver Canucks. [00:19:37] Speaker B: F. Oh, okay. [00:19:40] Speaker C: You cannot have J.T. miller and Elias Pederson in some TMZ drama filled BS every goddamn day. You need to figure it out or you will go nowhere. And until you figure that out, you're getting a big fat F. Wait, so. [00:19:59] Speaker B: F to figure it out or. [00:20:00] Speaker A: Yeah, both. Both. [00:20:03] Speaker E: Okay. [00:20:03] Speaker B: All right, well, I'm gonna give them a D just because, like, I still think they can sneak in and obviously it's like, it's, it's a big story right now. It's also like the bleak of winter, so I feel like it's like blown up as well. So I feel like they could still get in and make some noise. I'll give them a D right now. But let's. [00:20:25] Speaker A: Let'S, let's, let's see. [00:20:26] Speaker B: Because I, I still like Vancouver playoff hockey. That drama team. That's basically what it is. Parts tmc, but I Still like that team in the playoffs. They were fun to watch last year. They almost beat the freaking Oilers. They were right there. [00:20:41] Speaker A: So. [00:20:41] Speaker C: With their third string goalie. [00:20:43] Speaker B: With their third stringer. So yeah, give them a D right now though. Let's, let's, let's let them get going here. [00:20:51] Speaker A: Tough grade for me too. D minus, not meeting expectations. So I'm a tough grader with that. But you're not meeting expectations. [00:20:57] Speaker C: So D minus sticking in the west with the Edmonton Oilers. [00:21:02] Speaker A: All the same. I'm giving them a B plus. I still think this is, I'll give. [00:21:07] Speaker B: Them a B plus two. They're kind of just there. You think they'd be kind of. Maybe they're holding, holding out for, for the playoffs, but they're kind of just. [00:21:15] Speaker C: Like floating around, I don't know, like Oilers B minus. You can show me back to back brutal starts to seasons and convince me that you guys can still do some damage. Sure, you went to game seven, the Stanley cup finals last year, but I think a team that repeats two, just awful begin beginning of the seasons. There's something to be said there. I'm giving them a B minus. [00:21:39] Speaker E: Okay. [00:21:40] Speaker A: Okay. [00:21:40] Speaker C: The Toronto Maple Leafs. [00:21:46] Speaker B: I, I give him an A minus, man. And I think that's pretty fair grade. Like all things considered. I think up until this point they're undefeated in 20, 25. But I, I, you look at all these players, the difference of Keith Manning the bench versus Brube. Like Connor Dewar had a successful scrap last night. [00:22:05] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:22:06] Speaker B: Against Joel Fairbeat. Like that guy can chuck him. He's Manitoba boy. And you just think a lot of these guys, I'm like, okay, that's the Beru effect. That's a Beru effect. Doesn't matter who it is, Matthews or a fourth liner. And I think all things are clicking right now. Stallars is, is still on the shelf, but when he comes back, like, look out, man. I think an A minus, you know, I think even like a objective hockey fan would say the same though. [00:22:30] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:22:31] Speaker A: I say, I'm going to say A because again, meeting expectations, being the top in the east at the time of where while we're recording consistency and net consistency on the back end and there's been somewhat consistency up front. I say somewhat because a lot of the output has been from the core four. Right. They've actually really stepped up. I think they could use that secondary scoring now, which we haven't said too much a lot about the lease, but that third line depth scoring, I think something they should really continue to look at as the season goes along and the deadline comes. But again, A, because the goaltending, we haven't seen it like this since. I don't know, I don't even know if you want to count Cujo and Balfour in these, in these times. Right. Goaltending has been great. Defense, I haven't seen a great. Well put together. I'm not saying they're all star studs, but a nice put together team that plays a system. Ruby effect. [00:23:22] Speaker C: A And when you said we were doing grades, I had to think about the Leafs for a second and I'm gonna say an A minus as well. You're leading your division. I mean, I don't know you're leading your division with the previous Stanley cup winners in it, but yeah, feel free to, you know, whoever's watching this clip this and when the Leafs get bounced by Boston in game seven again in the playoffs, you just throw this in our face. I, I know what we're saying. [00:23:44] Speaker B: Yeah, fine, just do it. Whatever. [00:23:46] Speaker C: Yeah, but we'll wrap it up with also another 56. Oh no. A 58 point team, second in the league. The Winnipeg Jets. [00:23:54] Speaker A: A plus. I won't have much to say this. A plus. I think they're great. I, I think Winnipeg's a very, very, very, very good hockey team. [00:24:02] Speaker B: Yeah, I, I'd have to agree. I mean back in the fall I was like, they're gonna come back to earth. What were they on 15? 0 to start the season or something like that. And yeah, like, have they kind of like been steady like that? I don't think it's not been a drop. Like Calgary had a fantastic start to the season and they've dropped like completely. Draw tensor grade for them. But Winnipeg has just been steady, Eddie. I mean they're two points shy of 60 and we're, you know, what, eight days into January. So. [00:24:31] Speaker C: A, I think the plus is reserved only for Stanley cup champion season. Are they on their way? Probably, but I'm going to give him an A. And that's the highest grade I can give during the regular season though. [00:24:43] Speaker A: I love par is tough. Yeah. Thank goodness you weren't. [00:24:47] Speaker B: But we're talking right now though, right? Like, like, like okay, you're, you're adding another factor. So like, because that's like even like that the Habs too, right? [00:24:56] Speaker C: Like you had different teachers in school and some were harder grader than others. You know, we got Dave, who's like your PE teacher. He's just giving you, you know, a good grade no matter what. You showed up. Me, I'm your math teacher who doesn't really like you. [00:25:10] Speaker B: Par is like a really tough, like, emotionless TA. He's like, I don't care that you had an 89 average in grade 12. When you walk into these doors, it's gonna be. Yeah, it's gonna be a humble C for you. [00:25:24] Speaker C: Exactly. Exactly. You should be thanking me that you got a C. I like season school. [00:25:29] Speaker A: It means captain in hockey, bro. That's it. That's what I thought. That's what I thought it meant. [00:25:33] Speaker B: No, but guys, just. Just quickly on. On. I was saying this today to. To a couple buddies as well. And like, I. I so desperately want the Habs and the Sens back in the playoffs. Like those fans and that. Like, the buildings are electrifying when they're in the playoffs. The Brendan Gallaghers, the Brady Tachuk, like, those guys are playoff. I know he hasn't been in the playoffs yet, but Brady Tkachuk just screams like he would go to another level in the playoffs. Brendan Gallagher we've seen in past seasons. He's a playoff performer. Like, I just. It gives me a headache to think an opening round matchup is going to be one of those like, Boner Metro teams that no one will be watching. It'll be like Isles and like Devils and it's like I literally have no interest in watching this. So it'd be great to just even get. Probably two is a stretch, but even one of them, like, come on, give it to me. [00:26:27] Speaker A: Let me ask you this before we go. Just quick answers on each. One more grade outside of a Canadian team that you would State could be high or low. Just give a grade about a team that you want. Brandon first. [00:26:49] Speaker B: Well, I love Sid, man. And PIT is right there. [00:26:52] Speaker D: They're. [00:26:53] Speaker B: They're hanging on. And if we get to see Pitt in the playoffs, one last year with Sid, I'll. I'll give them a. I'll give them a B minus. [00:27:05] Speaker A: Okay. [00:27:06] Speaker C: I'm gonna give the Wild an A minus just purely based on the fact that nobody expected them to be hanging around in the company that they are hanging around in. And I think they're doing great. So let's go see, you know, the Flower. Go get another. Another long run maybe on the bench, but I'd still like to see that guy go deep for me. [00:27:23] Speaker A: I'm gonna give two Fs to the Rangers and the Predators. Enough said. Think that is. I don't need to say anymore if I could do a double F like par did. Double Fs all over triple F. That is where I got is dude. [00:27:36] Speaker B: And think about, think about in September, everyone was just like salivating. You know, I love that word, Dave. Davey, like over the Preds, like oh, all these offseason acquisitions and the Rangers. And I'm like, no, like I'm, I'm actually happy that like ah, like those two teams, man, everyone just goes there, especially Nashville because it's just like you can kind of unwind and you know, party city. And I'm like, no, no, no, no. Thank you fellas. [00:28:05] Speaker A: We talked world juniors, talked about your experience par there. We talked about halfway report cards with Canadian teams, plus a little bonus ingredient there for our listeners. Again, not starting the year off right with time, but hey, we had a great segment here, fellas. It was awesome to talk about everything which you next week back to our blind rankings Black to a little bit more of the interactive. A lot more to come here on the game in our top shelf segment. But Brennan, I want to say thank you for taking the time as always, my friend. [00:28:31] Speaker B: Well, you said 15 minutes and par was right now we're at 28 minutes. [00:28:34] Speaker C: So just don't even, just. Dude, when he said we were going to record at 5:30, I was getting my dinner prepped. [00:28:40] Speaker E: Okay. [00:28:40] Speaker C: I knew that we weren't going to be ready to go. [00:28:45] Speaker A: It's just kidding. [00:28:46] Speaker B: Hey, New Year's resolutions, Davey. Doesn't, doesn't count the first week. Don't worry. [00:28:50] Speaker E: Okay. [00:28:51] Speaker A: We're, we're getting a cancellation this week. I like that. [00:28:54] Speaker E: That's good. [00:28:54] Speaker A: All right, my friend. Love, I love the Vlad reference today. Thank you for that. I need to get spoiled about the Blue Jays on a hockey segment. [00:29:02] Speaker C: Sorry to bring up those bad feelings, Frank. [00:29:05] Speaker A: Brutal. But I love, I'd love to hear, I loved to hear about your world Junior experience. That was, that must have been such a good experience, man. But thanks for coming on as always. We'll be back next week. [00:29:14] Speaker C: Dude, sounds like a plan. [00:29:17] Speaker A: Play some cod in a bit or something. But that, that aside, we got, we got more here coming on the Game Sports podcast. Thanks again to Brendan and thanks to Alex. Don't go anywhere. We got more. Welcome back to the Game Sports Podcast. David McKay continuing to host you this evening. And like I mentioned on the top of the show, the first show of 2025 and let me tell you, it's an action packed week. We had a lot to talk about. We talked about NHL update, the NFL playoffs around the corner which we're going to talk about in the next segment with obviously we talked about the World Juniors. Okay. There was obviously a lot of points to get to and get into these updates. And of course to remind listeners, this is obviously a pre recording, we do our pre recording here on the Game Sports podcast. So obviously between segment one and three and this segment, segment two were record on different days, but guess what? Still relative content. And the reason why I mentioned that is because we purposely postponed segment two until after the trade deadline, the full week in the Ontario Hockey League. And obviously today was where we were actually hoping that we're gonna have a special guest join myself and who I'm going to introduce in just a moment. Justin or not Justin Trudeau. My goodness, Jordan Trudeau. That's a fun little point. Jordan Trudeau. We did expect to have a guest join us, Peter Florio. But unexpected conflict for the schedule and he may jump on while we're talking, who knows? But nonetheless, this is Chuck Apach, the first segment, the first piece of 2025 with Chuck a Puck. And as I move slightly to my right, and if you're on video, you get to see there is now a Sue Greyhound puck in the background. And if things get inappropriate, I might have to chuck that puck. Don't know yet. Well, without further ado as I get through that opener and explanation here in segment two, reminding you again, Chuck A Puck here on the Game Sports podcast where we talk locally. We're in the Game Sports podcast located in Sault Ste. Marie and we talk Sioux Saint Marie Greyhounds. Purely Sioux Greyhounds Podcast content here in this segment, introducing Jordan Trudeau Trudes. Happy New Year. [00:31:23] Speaker D: Happy New Year, Dave. [00:31:24] Speaker A: Happy to have you back. Happy to have Chuck A Puck back going again. I missed you for the couple weeks, buddy. I missed you. [00:31:29] Speaker D: Yeah, I missed it too. It was a busy holiday for me. I don't know about you, but glad to be back at it. Glad to be back at the routine, the swing of things. And it was. It's always, it's always fun coming back Christmas break because I always feel like I'm on my phone. My past week, I've been on it a lot. So check it. Just check in every day, every day, every minute of every day, trying to check and see what movement is happening. It's an exciting week in the Ohl land. So excited to get into it season. [00:32:02] Speaker A: Second half's gonna be exciting. And there was obviously a lot to get to this week. And as I mentioned, we don't have our special guest join us, which we were very excited to have. But that's okay because you still get myself and trs. Okay, you still have us here on Chuck. [00:32:13] Speaker D: We're still here. [00:32:14] Speaker A: And you can still interact with us on these. When these get uploaded, let us know what you think because we're going to go through all the trades that happened in the Ontario Hockey League Suit Greyhounds focused. Remind you then we have some other news we get to and we only have it in a short period of time. So Trudes, we talked world Juniors on the show already. I was hoping to bring it up with you, but you know what? We just don't have the time. But you can give your quick reaction if you'd like before you jump into the trades. I think it'd be fair to give you a piece of talk because obviously Gibson suit greyhound though is a part of the World Juniors and obviously being our major junior and OHL and Sue Grayon's focus segment, it probably would have made more sense to talk about on the segment. I'm sorry but two other people beat us. Wanted to really vent about it. So I'm going to give you the opportunity to vent about it if you'd like. And then I want you to dive right into the trades and let's get into it with the OHL deadline that just passed. [00:33:06] Speaker D: Yeah, sure. Thanks, Dave. Yeah, well, yeah, it was just obviously disappointing to see Canada lose like that for a second straight here. My heart broke for Gibby. I didn't agree with the call as a lot of hockey fans did. Not only Canadian like fans or Canadian people. Like I feel like there was a lot of hockey fans that didn't agree with the call. But you know, I, yeah, my, that my heart breaks for him and like I thought he played outstanding all tournament. I thought he represented the Greyhounds and his hometown himself really, really well. And I, the biggest thing I think is that's really cool is that you look at all these countries that are really, really getting better in hockey and they're, they're doing a lot better job of developing their players. Yeah, like the parody is lot better and like that's just, that's just really cool to see. Like it was, it's cool to look back on now. It's cool to look back on Lafaya beating Canada. It wasn't in the moment but like that's a record breaking moment. Like we witness history so it's always an interesting tournament to watch. And the kids did the, the kids did great on the, on the team. They, they played their hearts out. I think they did everything they could to win that game just wasn't in the cards. So yeah, as far as you know, back in Greyhound Land, obviously Andrew Gibson was heavily rumored to be being traded and he was one of the two deals that the Greyhounds made at the deadline. So one was the, the big one, Andrew Gibson, he went to the Oshawa Generals, he netted Brady Smith number two now for the Greyhounds. And yeah, so now they have two players named Brady Smith, not to get confused with the other Brady Smith that they already had on their roster and he netted eight draft picks. So out of that 1/2 and 1/3 notable, notable picks. And then just before the overage trade deadline on Thursday, the Greyhounds traded their beloved net minder Charlie Shankel. He went to the Kingston Frontenacs who they play tonight and it looks like Charlie's gonna be getting the start for them. So it's a perfect little send off for them here in Sault Ste. Marie. And in exchange they got the overage netminder Nolan Lalonde and three other draft picks, notably a their third round pick back in 2026. So the, the big takeaways from the trades, 11 picks in total they got for the two players and the one overage goalie who they had to swap with. But most notably 11 draft picks and then the, the 16 year old first round former first rounder Brady Smith. So just a little bit update on the two new players the Hounds acquired. Nolan Lond, he's an OA goaltender just like Charlie was. Charlie's a bit of an upgrade from him. So Charlie goes to Kingston who's trying to contend for a championship. Elon comes here to back up Landon Miller. He won a Moral cup last year with Saginaw. So he's, he's got that experience. He's drafted to the NHL. I think he'll, he'll, he'll work well for, for Landon Miller who's expected to be the starter next year. Right. So he'll be a good mentor for him. And then the. Brady Smith was, I think that he was the player that Kyle Raftis was targeting the whole time. 16 years old, first round pick, he got 132 points in minor midget last year. So he's got a high ceiling, skates very well, seems to have great vision. I watched a Generals game last week when he was playing and I, I really liked what I saw. Seems to be like quite talented. So he's, he's poised to join this talented young team for a contending run in the next few years. So it's gonna be a rough few months, but hopefully it'll pay off down the road. [00:37:36] Speaker A: I think so. And the Brady Bunch seems to be the thing with the Smiths. [00:37:40] Speaker D: Yes, the Brady Bunch and yeah, the Smiths. So unique situation. So they have the grounds of two Brady Smiths. Brady R. Smith. We all got to use middle initial. Brady r. Smith, number 12, who the Greyhounds drafted in 2023. He's been on the team all year. He's 17. Now we have Brady T. Smith, who is just acquired from the Oshawa Generals. And to make it more confusing, he's number 11. Brady R. Smith is number 12. So they're only one number apart too. So I'm glad to see they're having a little fun with that. [00:38:17] Speaker A: Yeah, the page, it's great. If your name's Brady, they're gonna. They're gonna like you for the Greyhounds. Okay. [00:38:23] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, yeah. We got three Bradies. [00:38:26] Speaker A: Come on over. Right. If you're Brady Smith. If you're a Brady Smith. If you're a Brady Chuck Jr. I don't know if you're. If there's another Brady. [00:38:36] Speaker D: There's another Brady Smith in the league too, that plays for Sudbury. So I say we trade for him next year. Let's get all the Brady Smiths. [00:38:44] Speaker A: And then Brady Smith cubed on the super. [00:38:46] Speaker D: Yes, Brady. [00:38:50] Speaker A: That's. That is epic. And honestly, the trade that we knew that was coming was Gibson. Just a matter of where, right? Yeah, that was the question. That was what everyone was predicting in Sioux Greyhound Land was where's he gonna go? Is it London? But after London traded for Allen, it kind of just move that away. And favorites were, of course, Oshawa was a team we're talking about. We know, we mentioned, we mentioned Kingston. We still mentioned London as someone to be. As a notable. Right. There was, There was options out there, but him going to Oshawa made the most sense, especially from a return perspective. [00:39:22] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:39:23] Speaker A: Be transparent. I. I do see. And like, I'm not going to be diving into on the pure negative side of things that, you know, there's been a lot of points brought up and what should have been done, but there's always going to be that question about what should have been, what could have been. And there's always a lot of backstory. I'm going to tell you from someone who has coached in junior hockey, never mind played. I didn't play. Oh, I'll just remind everybody. I didn't play there. I coached the, the, the junior, Junior, Junior A ranks. Such as where the Sioux Thunderbirds are Beavers. The coaching staff that I was a part of was Blind River. Just so you're aware, I wasn't a part of the Sioux Grayhounds or anything. But what I can share is that there was a player that was somebody that was a draft pick on the team that we had, and there's a reason why that that player was with us because of the specific region. But there was also a certain expectation to try to help development. Okay, so I'm going to say that happened over a decade ago when I was 20, 21. I'm now a 33 year old and I stopped coaching at the age of 22. So I am 11 years removed from the coaching, but I'm not 11 years removed from the game. So I can tell you right now that when it comes to certain trades, especially from the junior level, if it's junior B, junior, A major junior, whatever, tier two junior, major junior, whatever level, you want to consider it being where you're located. Development is a key part. And if you are drafted by an NHL team, the, the, the, the OHL team is going to have a lot of connection with that NHL team in terms of player development. Now what, what I mean and why I say that is because, yes, Tier 2 junior to Tier 1 junior is different than Tier 1 junior to the NHL, it is, but the idea doesn't change. Okay? So when it comes to own a lard, when it comes to guys like that that are drafted, I know that people were assuming him to get traded, but for him to be the age that he is, the, the movement to try to find a fit, but also him being drafted, that is something that people have to consider. All right, that is, that is there is a piece of development. And I'm not sitting here saying that. I know the Utah Hockey Club said that the Sioux Greyhounds had to keep him. I don't know that. But we have to predict and know that there is some involvement in knowing where he might go. And I'm sure Utah would have loved for him to go to another team to be a first liner and contend for a championship. But maybe they had a little bit of a point saying, hey, well, is his ice time going to be more effective and is he going to get more ice on the Suse Marie Greyhounds? And with him coming, if I recall correctly, I don't have this up on my nose, but I believe he had some injuries this year. [00:41:48] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:41:49] Speaker A: To deal with. Right. So his health could be a priority too, and also been a concern with other teams, there's a lot of points. And I understand people are frustrated with the Owen Alard a little bit and wondering why he wasn't traded. And to be honest, I think the. The Hounds should have looked to trade him, try to get something for someone. Right. I'm a firm believer of asset management, but there's a lot of moving pieces. Right. There's things that we don't know. As a fan, I understand that frustration and wanting that for your organization, but also understanding in a different way, but getting it Trudeau can underst. Can relate to. If you've been around the rink in the ohl, not saying you've been a gm, but you've been a part of the Hound organization and like, yeah, it's a business. Okay. And that people have to understand that maybe you don't get the trade that you want. Maybe it's not right. Or maybe there's other. Other people or in this case, maybe a team involved that could have. Could not have been. So if there's the one trade that I wish would have happened, sure. That is on a lard that is fun. I think that they could have looked at something there. And also there's probably a couple others that they could have looked at to move, but I think they've traded the player with the best value they can get. They got a very good return, but ultimately there's a lot of things involved and a lot of moving pieces. But yes, I will agree with people that a large should have been traded, but there's a lot more to that. But the negativity towards Raftis and this might get people going by saying this. I still don't grade his DRE deadline as the worst trade deadline ever. Or not saying it's the best thing, that he hit home runs on everything. But it wasn't a failure of a deadline. I still think there was successes because of how they built for the future. [00:43:24] Speaker D: Yeah, I. So Newell Neward and Owen Alard both are Utah property. Right. So they. There's got to be a. Like, obviously the NHL team that they're both signed with probably obviously wants them to stay together. Right. Like, I mean, that's just. [00:43:48] Speaker A: You think? We don't know. [00:43:51] Speaker D: I don't know. I don't know. But like, that would just make sense. That would make the most sense. I don't know. He. He did what he. Kyle Rafis did what he had to do. You know, he. He sold off a couple big assets. I would have liked to see a large traded. He's a great Player, he played the world juniors last year. He's point per game this year. Yeah, he's ran in some injuries. He like, he's a great player. I, I, I don't mind seeing him in a hound uniform to, to end the year. And I just think that, you know me, like maybe they didn't shop them. Maybe there wasn't a deal. Like you know, it has to be a two way street for a trade, right? Like somebody has to like want the player in exchange for you know, what the greyhounds want in return and whatever you value. Like then there's terms of value. So like what's he worth? Some teams may not be willing to give that up. Like there's a lot of moving parts to a trade right in, in the ohl, so that's one area I wish we, maybe we could have, you know, we could have dealt him. I don't know if there's anybody else other than, hey man, they probably could have tried to deal them together. But then that's tough too because Alard is an overager and you're only allowed three overager spots. Nord is a import. You're only allowed to import spots. [00:45:17] Speaker A: Right? [00:45:18] Speaker D: Most teams have those spots locked in already. [00:45:20] Speaker A: So, and I'll be transparent, it's hard market. [00:45:23] Speaker D: It's hard market. Either way they're gonna, they're gonna help this team down the stretch. They're like like those two and like NHL drafted, NHL signed. Like they're going to mentor the, the young group that the greyhounds have. So that's, that's going to benefit, like that's going to benefit us down the road too. You know, seeing how they work, seeing how they prepare. So like that's going to give a lot of eye opener to the, to the, to the young players on the team right now for when they're in own a large shoes and Newell Nord shoes. So they're going to benefit this team. [00:45:55] Speaker A: So I'll say a fold is full. I will just say just for the record, for everybody, they should have traded a large and Nord. Yes, I forgot about Nord to, to, to mention. But yes, I agree they should have traded them. [00:46:07] Speaker D: I fully, it's a, it's a, like it's a double edged, double sided coin. [00:46:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:12] Speaker D: Like you, you trade them, okay, you get more draft picks, maybe a couple younger players. You keep them around the players that you currently have. Your current roster gets to see how they operate, how they prepare, gets advice on, you know, how to play at the higher levels. Newer. They both went to the world Juniors. So they've had that experience. Right. So they get to share all that experience with the younger players too. So, I mean, there's pros, there's pros and cons to each, each side of the coin. So bottom line is they're, they're greyhounds. They're finishing their, their junior career as greyhounds. So, you know, it's, it's gonna benefit us one way or another. [00:46:53] Speaker A: Yeah, the big trade happened that people were expecting to have anyway. Yeah. [00:46:58] Speaker D: I was relieved when it happened. [00:46:59] Speaker A: Yeah. So, yeah, if that didn't happen, if Gibson didn't get traded, then, then we got, then we say failure, then that. [00:47:06] Speaker D: Would have been tough. [00:47:06] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:47:07] Speaker D: Then it would have been tough to bid for Memorial cup in 2027. [00:47:10] Speaker A: Yes. [00:47:11] Speaker D: Now they, they are lined up for that. Yeah, they are lined up for that now. Yeah. [00:47:15] Speaker A: Well put. That's a topic that I make sure, I want to make sure we go back to not today for sure, future show. Because that you've come so close. But I think a reason is the way the building is. But I'm not going to go there yet. I'll table that for a second. I will table that. Overall, the Sioux Greyhounds trade deadline grades before actually we get into that. Do you want to touch on more of the trades that happened? True. It's like the dive into. [00:47:42] Speaker D: Yeah, sure. There was. Honestly, it wasn't too huge. I feel like Kingston made a lot of big moves. They acquired three players from the Spirit and they gave up like tons of draft picks for it. Like I think like 4 seconds, 6 thirds. They acquired Joey Willis, Will Bishop and. Who's the other guy? Will Bishop, Joy Willis and Ethan Hay. That was the other player. So like three players with Memorial cup experience. Henry Muse went to Sudbury from Ottawa. He's a defenseman. NHL drafted. Yeah, I mean, most of the activity was to the Eastern Conference. So London made their big moves and then Barry loaded up. They got last year's leading scorer, Anthony Romani. So the, the. It's gonna be a dog fight over in the east to see because Kingston, Barry and Oshawa all made big moves. So that's gonna be a heavy top four. [00:48:54] Speaker A: So much like. Yeah, mortgaged. That's called mortgage in your future. [00:48:58] Speaker D: They did, they, they did. [00:49:00] Speaker A: You're believing in that core. You're believing in that team that you're making a run. [00:49:05] Speaker D: Yes. [00:49:05] Speaker A: You really gotta say that. These pieces, I'm buying all these pieces. I'm making these moves because it is going to put my team over the top. It is this, this this is where you go to ownership and the fans saying that all the trust. And on the other side of that coin, speaking of double sided coin, by doing that, that should instill confidence into the team. Because I will tell you from a culture in a locker room, if you see your ownership buying and really selling for future, that means you're believing in the now. And if you're in that locker room, you need to say, we can do it. Our ownership believes in it. I feel that they can trust us to bring the best out on the game in and game out. So that's got to give a morale boost in the locker room, which is always a hidden factor and a hidden gem when it comes to these trade deadlines. Because when you are in the rooms with the trade deadlines and I've heard stories from players that have played the National Hockey League, the room gets buzzing when you bring in these players. That excitement there, yeah, some friends have moved on, some may get cut, some may get sent down depending on what league that you're playing in. But you see these bodies come into the locker room and you're like, first swear that guy is going to come in this locker room and make a change on this team. And we got to be pumped, right? And you're on the bench, you're on the ice with this guy. It's going to get you excited. Kingston did that effect. I think Oshawa bringing in Gibson, the defensive caliber that he is, puts their defense over the top. London's London, okay, they have a good team, even though they have the biggest undisciplined player as their top guy. Leaf pick, Easton Cowan, my goodness. And I'm referencing the world juniors there. It's just, I think there was a lot of moves and a lot of picks moved, but Kingston was on the forefront of that by mortgaging their future. But that's got to get to that team and I won't be surprised if that team plays a bit more of an edge. And yeah, they, they should definitely be a team starred by everybody going forward, in my honest opinion. [00:51:06] Speaker D: Oh yeah, yeah, those, those three teams over in the Easter, it's gonna be, it's gonna be interesting to see who comes out on top and also different because usually it's the Western Conference that's stronger. This year's, the Eastern Conference is, is much stronger. So, so I mean, yeah, it's gonna be like, it's gonna be a rough, rough second half of the year, but it'll, it'll pay off hopefully in, in the future in the next two, three years for this, this young Greyhounds team. I have three shoutouts I wanted to, I wanted to do in this just short to some players. So Kaden Carlisle, he's actually committed to Notre dame for the 2025, 26 season. So congratulations to him. He's a former fifth round pick of of the Greyhounds and with the new rule now he, he can go on and get his education in the NCAA rather than Canadian University. So that's super, super exciting for him. And he's always been known for his rely like his being reliable defensively. You know he's never going to light up the score sheet but constantly quiet presence on defense. He's the captain this year. He's been a huge part of the Greyhounds defense since 2021, 2022 season. Big congrats to him moving forward in hockey and academically second shout out. I want to say probably my favorite player to watch over the past few seasons. Got him back here. Charlie Schenkel. We'll get to send him off tonight poetically off the ice as he moves on with his new journey in Kingston pushing for him. Hopefully he can lead them to a championship. Huge congrats to Charlie, fan favorite and fan favorite. And lastly last third mention this was mentioned on the Guelph broadcast the game before the break. Justin Cloutier, Greyhound's 19 year old. He has now played in 242 straight games. So he's got an ironman streak since he's started his career in 2021, 22. What an outstanding milestone for, for that young man. Great leader and very effective player. He's, he's fun to watch out there. Always brings the energy. So congrats to those three and here's to another half of a season of Greyhounds hockey. [00:53:45] Speaker A: And I'm gonna say right now Justin Cluce will sign in Pittsburgh. [00:53:50] Speaker D: That is. Is that your prediction? [00:53:52] Speaker A: Prediction. He will. [00:53:53] Speaker D: I'll second it. [00:53:53] Speaker A: He would be a Pittsburgh Penguin season and you're after. [00:53:57] Speaker D: I could see it happening. [00:53:59] Speaker A: Dubas is already on. [00:54:00] Speaker D: I don't know why. Maybe some Kyle Dubas is there GM some guy he might know Justin Cluce a little bit. [00:54:07] Speaker A: I think there's some familiarity with, with the Pittsburgh Penguins who, who are starting to climb a little bit. If you're talking NHL standings a little bit. I thought they were going to be toast but they're staying in there, those penguins. But number 87, if you have 87. [00:54:25] Speaker D: On your team, you always got a shot with him. [00:54:27] Speaker A: Yeah, 100 now I'll ask You one thing before we send off the chuk a puck into onto the ice for the first time in 2025, rate the Greyhounds deadline as a grade. We've done that like we've done that on previous deadlines with shows but now we get to finally do with the hounds. What do you rate the deadline as a grade? A plus highest. [00:54:49] Speaker D: F being lowest. [00:54:51] Speaker A: Lowest. [00:54:54] Speaker D: Well, I mean my profession, I am a hard marker. No, I'm just kidding. So I don't know, I give it a B. Like I, I don't really think there you're always going to have criticism and you're, you're like you're never gonna please everybody. Right. And that's anything you do. So I don't know. They did what they had to do and we'll see what the future holds. I think there's only time will tell that for this evaluation of this deadline. So I'd give it a B right now. Some people might disagree but that's okay. [00:55:39] Speaker A: And for me to end it I'm going to say B minus. I'm also a tough marker but and again as I spoke for three minutes before, we don't know the background about a lot of things but some of the players that did move a large newer and to be honest I kind of would have looked at moving clue or something but it could be a big part of the team next year. Right. It's just I could have imagined some of those 19 year olds that could have fetched quite a wicked return that maybe we don't. No but the main two, Alard Andured those are the two that I expect that I would have moved as the gm but again we don't know so that's why I'm going to be a little bit tough on a B minus. If those two did move I would give it an A. I would have given it an A. Absolutely slam dunk. But kudos to getting Charlie moved and Gibson, there's some value returned there and especially with the Gibson trade capitalizing that value. And I'll say thumbs up to him for his dedication to save Marie community from the Thunderbird level up to the Sioux St. Marie Greyhounds. And obviously what he did the world juniors he was their best defenseman. I don't care what anyone says from a two way. I don't care about that call at the end call. [00:56:43] Speaker D: Oh, I felt so bad for him. [00:56:45] Speaker A: Oh he did. [00:56:46] Speaker D: Oh my goodness. [00:56:47] Speaker A: Yikes. [00:56:47] Speaker D: And, and the B DW hit too. Like in my opinion what's a penalty? Well like in My opinion, like, in both of those instances, the opposing player was trying to make a move to avoid the hit. So, like, as a, like, as a defending player, like how. Like as a ref, what do you're expecting the player to just kind of stop on a dime once they've committed to a hit? I mean, like, what are we teaching? [00:57:13] Speaker A: Right? [00:57:13] Speaker D: Like, what are we. We're like. It was frustrating, but, like, that's hockey. [00:57:20] Speaker A: It is. And that's. The Cora guy is such. Oh, yeah, that's talking. But. [00:57:26] Speaker D: And, and, yeah, like the. The Alard and you know, we could go on all day, we can debate all day, but at the end of the day, they're here. [00:57:37] Speaker A: It's cool that we get to see guys that are NHL picks that are here. I'm not in any which way criticizing. I only say B minus because I'm an asset management believer. But we still don't know. But I will say, as a fan, Alard and Nord being here is very good to watch. And while you're in those seats or as your ears are tuned into those games on radio or on other means of watching, enjoy that they are here because Alar juniors last year newer played in the world juniors. We have some talent here and those are good hockey players to watch that we will remember in this very historic piece of talent that we've had here in Sault Ste. Marie. There's been a lot of good players that have come through here and there's still players that were seeing that. But now we can start really selling Brady Bunch shirts. I think the Sue Gray Hounds really have to capitalize the three. [00:58:23] Speaker D: Yeah. With this three faces. Yeah, definitely. [00:58:30] Speaker A: And don't hesitate to send us 10 of those royalties for giving you that idea. Now for the shirts. But nonetheless, truth, it's been fun for the first. First segment of Chukkapak in 2025. Obviously there's a lot getting into this year, so another half of season, it's going to be interesting how that goes. And I obviously got media passes to the games. I know you go to the games. We're going to have to do a bit more coverage live on location, which we'll plan this year. We'll plan some clips or we'll plan stuff as we go. [00:59:00] Speaker D: Sweet. [00:59:00] Speaker A: Very excited to bring you some of the new stuff that the game will be featuring from a local perspective and national perspective. So truths, thank you for taking the time and we'll be back here next week for another segment. [00:59:11] Speaker D: Awesome. Can't wait. Thanks, Dave. [00:59:13] Speaker A: Awesome. That's Jordan Trudeau. As I said, I called him the wrong name at the beginning as a joke and oh yeah, sort of as. [00:59:19] Speaker D: It happens all the time. [00:59:22] Speaker A: But I'm sure people get some laughs out of that. But again, thank you to truth, but we're going to take a quick break. I'm going to have a sip of water. I might have to get a drink beside me for when we talk football, but I'm going to have Justin Heiko joining yours truly, talking college football and the National Football League as we go to the end of the segment. Don't go anywhere. Welcome back to the Game Sports Podcast. Dave McKay continuing to host you this evening. Getting to our final segment of tonight's episode, I am joined for our first segment of in The Pocket in 2025. But it's not our first episode segment of in the Pocket. It's obviously our eighth season of in the Pocket, which is sponsored by Sports Center Bar and Grill. Susie Me Ontario's best sports bar over a handful years in a row. Susan we best wings multiple years in a row. Look, you want a great sports atmosphere, you want some delicious wings, you want some, I want a cold brew. Or you just want to have some good grub or be around good atmosphere. All in all, with friends, family, whichever the case may be, make sure you go to Sports center in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault St. Mary, Ontario's best sports bar. And if you're from, if you're from outside of Sault Ste. Marie, just check it out. Give it a Google Sports Center Bar and Grill. Go watch the game that you want to watch. Football, hockey, they got everything on the tv. I will warn you, the owner is a Montreal Canadiens fan so that creates a good little rivalry between me and him. And also my fellow co host here, the one and only Justin Heik, my friend, Happy New Year. We were talking about in the first segment that you can say that until the end of this week, week, that is it, after you say Happy New Year after the end of this week. It was the first time I've seen you since we've had our last recording in our Christmas break vacation, New Year, all that stuff in our vacation. So I get a freebie to say it too. But now this is the final week we can say it. But I'll say it one more time. Happy New Year, Justin. [01:01:12] Speaker E: It's, it's good to be here. Happy New Year, Dave. I didn't know that there was a, a time limit on it. I just kind of figured last like last Friday, you know, it was kind of like the day. If you were working last week, you put it in your email. And then this week it's like everyone's just kind of like, yeah, we're back, we're back. There's no cookies anymore. I don't know how to do my job. Snow. Let's pass on the niceties, and let's just get through this week together. [01:01:37] Speaker A: Everybody, literally everyone's. Most people are back into the swing of it this week because a lot of people had vacation before, but if you're like me, and I think you did too, but I worked during the holidays, a little bit of bug as well during the holidays. And I also had a disgusting taste in my mouth because of Canada. Hockey Canada. But we've talked about that in the first segments. We're. I'll try not to bring in hockey to my point, but hall holidays have come and gone, Justin, and it's 2025 this year. [01:02:02] Speaker E: Yeah, I. I mean, I'll touch on that point a little bit. I guess. Just when you, I don't know, don't pick the best players to do something or qualified coaching staff or anything, that's kind of what happens. You get beat up by quality programs, quality efficiently. And I'm not saying, like, Canada is an efficient, quality program, but like the US Hockey program, obviously the Finnish hockey program, doing something right there. USA Hockey, though, juggernaut right now for sure. And I mean, we can transition that into. We're moving into the NFL playoffs, College Football playoff right now. And obviously the finest programs there are succeeding as well. [01:02:50] Speaker A: Yeah, the finest programs. Yeah, for sure. If you want to talk about a fine program with finishing first overall, first seed, an undefeated year with being favorites to win the national championship. The best team that Oregon has ever fielded, arguably. Arguably the best team. They've had a lot of good quarterbacks in the past decade. Mariota, Knicks, and now Gabriel. The list goes on. But that game against Ohio State, Justin, I was watching that game and they were down 14, nothing early. And I was watching with my wife. Yeah, I didn't go anywhere to watch it that night. Everybody, just so you know, I watched at home with my wife and my dog, and I looked at Hannah, my wife, and I said, we're gonna lose this game. I knew after that second touchdown that this, that game was done. You could just see it on the field. Ohio State was. What was that? That was the most juggernaut performance I have seen in confident. They were just. They did not give two shits about Oregon and what they did this season. Oregon was flat Footed. That's a hockey reference too, but we'll use it in football. Flat footed. They were not ready for, for kickoff. They were not the team that we saw here. And that was disappointing that they went out this way because this is a team that should have, should have. I don't care what anyone says, should have won the national championship. That is how a team is built to win. But Ohio State said, huh, did we forget that we're also a very good football program that could have arguably or should have again, should have finished higher than what we did. Okay. But that loss to Oregon hurt them a little bit and all that this year. Right. That hurts the seedings. There's a lot of effect and Ohio State's a better team than what they were, so. And as I'm sitting here just confirming the seeding, it was eighth. Yeah, I thought they were seven for a second, but Ohio State was eighth going against number one Oregon. And they didn't play like an 8C team. Justin, this looked like a juggernaut. First seed Ohio State out there. That made it look easy that whole game. [01:04:43] Speaker E: There's. There's sometimes moments in a game or a season for any team really, that sort of like, I don't want to say it's a make or break moment, but it galvanizes a team and like the worst thing that could have happened to Ohio State all year. And I would imagine in the coaches minds, in the team's mind, players minds, you just don't lose to Michigan. And then that's what happened. And from that point on, Ohio State's had nothing to lose. [01:05:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:05:16] Speaker E: And I mean if you play against anybody who's in the nothing to lose mentality, that's a problem sometimes when you're just going out and trying to play either your game or play into your script or playing to. However, Ohio State's just there to, to play it out and not like they're. [01:05:37] Speaker A: They beat Tennessee in the first game. Justin. 42:17. [01:05:41] Speaker E: Yeah, I see. [01:05:42] Speaker A: Saw that win and I said, oh, and that Ohio State that we saw, that had some, some struggles throughout the season. That's the Ohio State that we should have seen all season. This is the true Ohio State team. [01:05:56] Speaker E: They're. I'm gonna use, I'm gonna use our, one of our swear moments here today. But they're playing you football right now. Like Dan Campbell style football. Like it's just. [01:06:09] Speaker A: Yep. [01:06:09] Speaker E: I mean Ohio State doesn't want to hear that. They're playing like a good quality, good quality Detroit football. MCDC over There. [01:06:18] Speaker A: But see this? That's a team. I know. Notre Dame had a good game against Georgia, too. Okay. Like, Notre Dame's looking good. I my predictions out the toilet. It's in the. I think yours is also the. [01:06:31] Speaker E: Yeah, mine's a garbage dump. [01:06:32] Speaker A: Yeah. So I'm going to say this right now because we get a fresh guess. It's going to be Ohio State, Notre Dame in the final, which is great. [01:06:40] Speaker E: Banana sandwich, to be honest. That's must be delicious. [01:06:44] Speaker A: And Ohio State's winning it. If they especially keep playing this way, Nobody is touching them. Nobody. I'm sorry. Texas. Texas fans, sit back, buckle up, okay? Because if Ohio State plays the way they did last week, Howard, they throw the ball. Defense was like, in your face. It was. It was ridiculous, what I was watching. And it said 41, 21 is the final score. That's what it says, obviously, right in the Rose Bowl. All right, let me tell you this right now. That is not what the score should have been. Okay? It should have been 41.7 the way Ohio. I think in Oregon, I had to believe it or not in the second quarter or beginning of the third, I was like, oh, my God, Maybe Ohio or maybe Oregon will have a miracle comeback. Then next play, Ohio's like, ha. Just kidding. No, not happening. Running the football, dangerous. Throwing the football, dangerous. The defense, dangerous, dangerous, dangerous, danger, dangerous. Everything was just dangerous. And they've been like that for. They've been starting to get consistent, but basically since the start of this playoffs against Tennessee, now Oregon, they're going in against Texas on a high. On a high right now. And if they embrace that high and have that confidence and they just go with that, as Justin said, you football, they're gonna walk into that national championship and they're gonna start engraving the name by the end of that first quarter in the national football. Football in the championship. But I will say, as an Oregon fan, it was a great season to watch. [01:08:02] Speaker E: Heck of a season. [01:08:03] Speaker A: It was nice. I haven't. You know, I've seen a lot of good seasons. A lot of, like, obviously it's the first season, the Big Ten, if you're Oregon, which is nice now. I should have went to see them at the Big House. I wish I would have. I don't know if they're ever going to feel the team this good, but they'll have the opportunity now more so because they're in the Big Ten. They'll be in a. They should be competitive for another. I think next year they'll be a competitive team. But not as competitive. But this was still a good season to watch. And same with Boise State, right? Running back central. What it was. All the storylines this year in college, I feel really set us up for a very successful overall season. It's still not done. It's been a lot of good storylines. Sanders, as list goes on, it's been great to see. [01:08:46] Speaker E: Might be an unpopular opinion, but the college football regular season was a lot more exciting than the NFL regular season. Season. [01:08:53] Speaker A: I don't mind that opinion. I like it. I'm not saying that because I'm an Oregon fan. Just in general, I was more involved. [01:08:59] Speaker E: Was just fun to watch this year. Yeah, I mean, sometimes college ball just gets a little dry and it's not. Not super interesting. You know, it's just sometimes they're just kids playing football and sometimes you got like superstars. And this year was just a. In the last couple years, honestly have been unreal. But this year the story lines were unbelievable. [01:09:23] Speaker A: Hop. And a skip from here, too. You can hear the noise right from the Canadian border with this team. It's. There's a lot of Ohio State fans in this community as well that are invested. [01:09:32] Speaker E: That's just Lions fans. [01:09:36] Speaker A: Lions just absolutely hot. Now the one thing I'll say about college football. Bill Belichick. [01:09:42] Speaker E: Yeah. [01:09:45] Speaker A: Look, when I, When I look at Bill Belichick and I had a. I had, I had an article up on NFL.com there it is. News has learned. Okay. It's heard from multiple teams. Okay. I wanted to click this article because I did. I was skimming through it before the show came on. And you know, they use the term in a surprise move that Bill Belichick agreed December 11th on a five year contract. Five years to become the head coach of the University of North Carolina. And you can check this out NFL.com but there was obviously a lot of teams that were reaching out, you know, from, you know, different sources. There was the Raiders, apparently that were involved. Maybe the Bears were reached now, but we heard a lot more about the Raiders were a team. And also Jacksonville was another team that was apparently in the mix. But now with the Las Vegas Raiders having Tom Brady as a minor minority owner, that's where a lot of the rumors started surfacing. Right. So. So in a surprise move, though, like I said, on the 11th, he agreed to become in call to go to college football and obviously signed a pretty little payday with, with the University of North Carolina. But that is a name that's going to bring in some names to North Carolina now, right? You have Sanders, you have Oregon that went to the Big Ten, that has had a good presence and very nice jerseys. But besides that, Ohio State, these teams are, are really stepping up and are being really attractive for players to play. Obviously, Michigan had a very good recruiting season this year, and there's a lot of question to how that went the way it did. But I won't say anything on this show if, you know, you know, the. I really think that the University of North Carolina bringing Belichick is not a surprise move. I don't, I don't. I. I'm not surprised Belichick went to the college route. He's a. He's accomplished what he needs to in the NFL. He's older. Being honest, he's older. College football is, you know, it's a different opportunity for him. It's like it's going in a different direction. That and I. Bill Belichick is full of surprises, and this isn't a surprise, even though it seems like it is. [01:11:43] Speaker E: He knows what the NFL needs. I mean, it sounds weird, but, like, he knows what players have to have skill wise to get there, and he knows what the league needs from players. And so if you can create a pipeline, because I don't think there's a lot of programs that are trying to become a feeder system to the NFL. [01:12:12] Speaker A: Good, good point. Yeah. [01:12:13] Speaker E: They're just trying to win football games. And I think he understands the University of North Carolina isn't necessarily a football powerhouse. [01:12:24] Speaker A: But he wants to be there. [01:12:25] Speaker E: But he wants to be. Yeah, like, it just wants to help. [01:12:29] Speaker A: Make it a better program because it has the. It should. It has the capabilities of being a very good program. It's obviously a very good basketball program. University of North Carolina. It has the capabilities of being a prop, a popular place for people to be. [01:12:42] Speaker E: It's a name they, like, they already. It's. It's a name and a brand. Yeah, they just, they now have a coach and a program because, I mean, Michael Lombardi is there too, running the general manager of the football program. And he's no slouch either. He was believed the GM of the Patriots for most of those years. [01:13:00] Speaker A: Look at that. [01:13:02] Speaker E: Yeah. Crazy. But I mean, it's also. I think it's good for players. [01:13:08] Speaker A: Yep. [01:13:09] Speaker E: I mean, like, there may be some guys that are on the cusp of, you know, you could be a quality NFL player or you, you know, not only just players, you may be better suited as a coach, you may be better suited for this, you know, and like, that program is not just about players. It's about getting people opportunities. So there might be draft. Not draft, but develop coaching. You know, develop younger coaches to develop. [01:13:37] Speaker A: And make them stronger in the game, prepare them from the NFL. And look at the effect of having big names coaching Sanders. Right. Colorado, you got Belichick. I've had why the heck. [01:13:47] Speaker E: I believe Michael Vic somewhere. [01:13:49] Speaker A: Yeah, Michael Vic also has went somewhere. But who was I thinking of? The coach of the Charger. Harbaugh. The Harbaugh. Obviously Harbaugh had a good effect in Michigan. Right. And he went back to the NFL. But obviously with Michael Vick. I think it's norc Norfolk states that. [01:14:07] Speaker E: Yeah, it's not like. It's not like a super popular university. But Joy, it's just an interesting one. Like DeShawn. DeShawn Jackson got a coaching job somewhere too. [01:14:19] Speaker A: Yeah, it's North Northolk State University. I was correct. So December to a Norfolk State university. He's the 19th coach in. In the club's history. So now you got a player join there. You had Mayo who just got let go by the Patriots. Right. I think that's somebody who should be the Looking at going to the college route and stepping away from the NFL and going to the college route. I think. [01:14:39] Speaker E: I think he's just better suited as a coordinator than he is or. [01:14:43] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. But sorry, you were. You were saying before Vic. You were saying before Vic. I think I interrupted you there. Sorry. I wanted to confirm that it was in fact Norfolk. [01:14:50] Speaker E: But yeah, Train of. Train of thought is gone on that one. [01:14:53] Speaker A: But it's all good. I. That's my bad. We do that. That's. [01:14:56] Speaker E: It happens. [01:14:57] Speaker A: I think the overall college football space has improved in exposure and it's good to see because college football is massive in the states. It's. We don't have that here in Canada. Okay. Those in the United States. It's not the same here. It's for college football. It's not. And you know that. Look at our CFL compared to your NFL. Sorry, just saying how it is. It's not exciting. How you want to put. The CFL is for Canadian football can be the NFL and cfl. It doesn't belong in the same sentence because the NFL is what it is. College football is what it is. And it's light years that it's so entertaining. And college football should have that investment because of how it helps develop these men into the NFL and having the right coaches and having names. There are big obviously coaches that with Ohio State, coaches of Michigan, Oregon, all these great programs have been Great. But seeing Vic join Norfolk, seeing Belichick go to, to Carolina, you know those are great to see these programs that should be. [01:15:49] Speaker E: It puts asses in the seats on game day and I mean that's what some of these programs need. They need money to keep going. Not I mean I'm not letting universities cry broke here by any means but I can't imagine that a traveling football program of those magnitudes are cheap to run either so. [01:16:07] Speaker A: No they're not. And they're paid for. For, for, for these guys to be there. [01:16:11] Speaker E: Oh yeah, they gotta buy them Lamborghinis and like that so. Because they do that in college now. [01:16:16] Speaker A: They do rich boys. Now you have the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic that's going to be on January 10th at 7:30. That is Ohio State, Texas and then you have on the 9th which is tomorrow the day of this recording. So by the time this is getting to be uploaded by the tenth at the latest so by the time you listen maybe you've watched both football games already. That's why we're not talking about the football games because we don't want any non relevant news interference. No interfere. Exactly. But we did predict the championship. See if we're right. Comment below if you if we're wrong and Sherpas. But that's January 9th at 7:30. You got Notre Dame, Penn State so you got some good football coming up these next couple days in the college for leads up to Nassau championship on the 20th but he's just around the corner. Justin, as we segue from cf CF new from NCAA we jump to the NFL NFL football play or NFL playoffs is here and blink of an eye. You know it feels like just yesterday we were just starting season eight of in the pocket and now we're in the playoff time of in the pockets and there's a lot of interesting storylines that led up to the playoffs. There's a lot of disappointments this year in the season but given time right now we don't need to worry about doing grades in the season. I think after the super bowl is crowned and we have the winner for the Super Bowl I'd like to backtrack to see who surprised you this season. Who didn't surprise let it play even before the super bowl we can do that so we can have some extra. Obviously people be searching Super Bowl a lot on the clips so we can make sure those are up. So if you keep an eye on our clips that's the game sports podcast on Instagram and Tick Tock but playoff football is here. Justin, I want you to, I want you to start us off with recapping what the games are you maybe what led us to this point. If you'd like then I can do a little reaction to that. Then we can pick the. Pick the games this week. [01:18:12] Speaker E: Yeah, I mean I'm. The NFC is real interesting. Like what a crazy, crazy friggin year that was. Three teams from the NFC north making it into the playoffs. [01:18:25] Speaker A: Yep. [01:18:26] Speaker E: Like that's, that's kind of silly especially. Well, like just in the history of that division. I mean most of us in this area have been exposed to Detroit Lions football for a long time. [01:18:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:18:39] Speaker E: You know, Green Bay packers football, Chicago Bears football hasn't been a lot of winning the packers all you know they got a Super bowl mid 2000s there with Aaron Rodgers. But other than that, I mean it's pretty mediocre football around here. And on the AFC end of things, I mean. Sorry EJ The Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati. I mean to a lesser extent, Pittsburgh, Baltimore. But you know, it hasn't and now you look at it and even from the AFC end, Baltimore's playing Pittsburgh this week. Cincinnati was a sniff away from the playoffs and honestly I had Cincinnati made the playoffs. I would have considered Joe Burrow maybe for an MVP run this year. [01:19:22] Speaker A: Right. The guy deserves so much better this year. [01:19:26] Speaker E: So much. A couple bad beats and that's where it. You know, they were a playoff team like the Colts. I hate bringing up. They should have fired everybody and they didn't. But like the Colts were a win and a half essentially a win and some help away from the playoffs and they had no business sniffing around that. Absolutely none. Like Houston barely deserves to be there but they won our division so they have to be in the playoffs. Well, would you rather watch the Chargers Houston this weekend or the Chargers? Bengals. [01:19:58] Speaker A: Chargers. [01:19:58] Speaker E: Bengals, exactly. [01:20:00] Speaker A: Like I, I've never been a fan. Like you could compare leagues about how you do it. The mlb, the NHL, the NBA and how they do seating and, and playoff arrangement. I've always been a fan of the top. You choose your select teams. That amount of teams are going to make it in the afc, the nfc. You just choose whoever, how many with the number, whatever the number is supposed to be. Right. And if you're supposed to have. And if I think I'm right for five, six, seven from each side. [01:20:31] Speaker E: Seven. [01:20:31] Speaker A: Seven from each side. I, I counted that top of my head. I promise. Seven on each side. So you pick the top seven in the end of the season standings. I've always been A fan of picking the true seven to go on no matter what wins the division. But then you say what's the point of winning a division title? Screw the divisions. But then you can't say screw the divisions because people, you have the time zones you have to have and I get that. But not you don't need, if you really don't need to have divisions, the best seven should be in the playoffs. And it's unfortunate because if you look at the af, the NFC banana, it's crazy. The Lions, Vikings and packers all having 11, 14, 15 wins respectively in the same division is insane. Okay, it is. That is something that you will not see all the time. Not all the time. You might see two teams have a double digit win column in their division like you do see in the NFC East. I believe the Eagles and, and the Washington Commanders do. So if you look at other divisions, the FC west they had three teams being double digits which is, which is crazy to the look at the Colts. [01:21:35] Speaker E: Division like the AFC South. I think Houston made it in at like 10 and 6. [01:21:40] Speaker A: 10. Yeah. 10, 7. [01:21:42] Speaker E: I mean like it's, that's not, it's not a terrible record, don't get me wrong. But it's not, it's nothing to brag about. [01:21:49] Speaker A: Like when I, and when I look at my notes here, I have it noted to myself that that about standings in general, always have the best teams go. I obviously don't have that noted because I was free speech here. But one thing I've noted that when I look at teams that are top in the afc, the Bills are better than the Chiefs in my opinion. I, I, I am about Josh Allen this year. I think that's some great football that he's played and he's winning your mvp. And when I think of the nfc, I'm thinking Lions, baby. Those are the two top teams in the NFC and the fc. But what I want to start seeing is leagues trying to come up with something that actually has the best teams get in. Because the Bengals are better than the Texans, the Steelers. Look, I'm a Steeler fan people. I'm big. And this year was a hot start. It was very hot. It was a sexy start. They were, they were winning football games. But it's been brutal since and they're starting to show that they may actually be frauds. It's not because of their defensive side, the football they've had some injuries with. So have the Lions. That didn't stop them. So that's no excuse. That is a team that is Defensively, built for playoff football. Offensively, there's been something with Pickens that's off. He's been hurt. Russ Wilson had a quick shot of Mojo for a couple weeks and he caught fire. [01:23:03] Speaker E: Now he's Denver Russ again. [01:23:05] Speaker A: Exactly. Now you got the Ravens, who have Derrick Henry, who is. And Lamar, who is an absolute truck. Both guys are trucks. MVP guy in Jackson and arguably the one like the running back season that Henry had this year was stupid. So, like, you're going into trouble up this week, but the Ravens deserve to be. But are the Steelers truly better than the Bengals? I'm asking you that as a Steeler fan, right? So, like, and I know the season can go the way it can happens, dude, you don't make it. You have a good team, you have injuries to deal with all year. You get a shot of bad luck. You don't make it, that's fine. But I would like to start seeing the schedule a bit more balanced within all the leagues and sports where you play in your division, afc, NFC or Atlantic, whatever it is, Eastern Western, you play in your. You play at the certain amount of teams a certain amount of times. It's fair. Matchups against everybody. And truly the best seven. Or if you're another league, the best eight, whatever, get through. I would love to see that. It makes it for way more exciting football and games to be more meaningful in the year because you know what? You can have a division that sucks all year, okay. And that you can win the division you get in. But then guess what? You might win the super bowl because you guys just catch fire. But truly, is the Texans better than the Bengals? [01:24:21] Speaker E: And the record says yes, but I mean, everyone knows. [01:24:25] Speaker A: Screwed. I'm gonna say. And I'm a statistics guy. Screw statistics. Bengals are better than the Texans on paper. And truly as a team, they're better. But it's tricky. [01:24:34] Speaker E: I mean, the Bengals get to play Cleveland twice every year, but that division's tough. Like, the AFC south is a show. Houston has six easy wins. [01:24:45] Speaker A: The Brown suck. [01:24:46] Speaker E: Right off the hop. [01:24:47] Speaker A: The Brown suck. Sorry, I know EJ's on the show. [01:24:49] Speaker E: Yeah, but they. I mean, at least they play teams hard or they try to play teams hard like AFC South. Everyone's soft. Softer than baby. Like. [01:25:01] Speaker A: But look at the disappointments of this year. We're saved this for another time. But Jacksonville. The Bengals, I guess. I guess the Bengals were a disappointment if you want to go there, because they make the playoffs. Surprises the bank. The Broncos made the playoffs. I'm from Oregon and I'm gonna play like the guy that was in Oregon, Sean Payton. [01:25:21] Speaker E: They're a nice combination there. [01:25:22] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:25:23] Speaker E: Harbaugh and Justin Herbert. I mean same thing with the Chargers being in the playoffs. [01:25:28] Speaker A: Like stories this year. [01:25:30] Speaker E: Great Chiefs defense has kept them in games that they don't have any business hanging around in. [01:25:35] Speaker A: They might not 3p2, but I wouldn't mind seeing a chief. [01:25:37] Speaker E: It's going to be annoying though. Know we're going to be annoyed. They're gonna win at least one game and everyone's gonna go for like and we're here. [01:25:46] Speaker A: It's exactly. And you know what if they three peat we all know what's gonna happen at the Super Bowl. Pick who the camera is gonna pan to and we know what's gonna happen. Okay. [01:25:54] Speaker E: And you read eating a cheeseburger. [01:25:55] Speaker A: Oh yo. Best storylines though. Great. Love those storylines. [01:25:59] Speaker E: It's good for tv. [01:26:00] Speaker A: I still think Mahomes is battling an injury. Still. There's something attack, attack. Mahomes tackle. That's all. If you can. Not easy. Easier said than done. I know I couldn't do it. The Cowboys not making the playoffs. I actually thought they'd have a better season this year and a little bit of hope for the Cowboys, but God, they suck. [01:26:17] Speaker E: Dak got hurt. Wheels came off, came off. I mean like they, they in the back half of the season, they were still a tough team to play. [01:26:25] Speaker A: And The Niners. [01:26:27] Speaker E: Niners. McCaffrey was just like most people in fantasy football that drafted McAffrey. The Niners not having McAffrey really, really. [01:26:35] Speaker A: Screwed the p everybody and then finishing last. I didn't have that on my docket, but I like it. Justin. I think there's a lot of good story lines going into this to the playoffs. A lot of good opportunity. I think the biggest pressure though in this playoffs is somebody in the AFC and it's not the Chiefs, it's the Bills. That's where the expectation is in my opinion is on Josh Allen, not the Ravens. They have expect. I'm not saying it's on. It's on. Everybody has the pressure. Everyone has it. But I think if there's one team that I think feeling it and a little bit more of a microscope of for me like a little bit more of a zoom in is the Bills. [01:27:12] Speaker E: Yeah. I don't know. I. I'm really mad that that's the 1:00 game on Sunday too. Like I'm sorry, I'm sorry for Tampa and Washington fans, but I would have rather the Buffalo game been the Sunday nighter. [01:27:25] Speaker A: Yeah. 100. [01:27:27] Speaker E: But that's neither here nor there. [01:27:29] Speaker A: The games this week, you got the Chargers and Texans, Steelers and Ravens, Broncos, Bills, Packers, Eagles. Commanders, Bucks, Vikings, Rams in the wild card round. The divisional round will be on the 18th, which is next weekend, which will be obviously very, very interesting in the Super Bowl. Remind people, if you're wondering, oh, when's the super bowl again? You're probably Googling on your phone. It's February 9th. Just so if everybody wants to know, Justin, let's pick the games this week. [01:27:56] Speaker E: All right. All right, let's. [01:27:58] Speaker A: You go first. [01:27:59] Speaker E: Let me get it pulled up here. All right. Saturday afternoon, Chargers, Houston. I am taking the Chargers Saturday night. Baltimore. Pittsburgh. I'm gonna take the Ravens in that one. Sunday, Buffalo, Denver. I'm taking the Bills, Green Bay, Philly. I'm taking the packers in this one. Just because. [01:28:21] Speaker A: Nice. [01:28:22] Speaker E: Tampa. Washington. I'm taking Tampa Bay. Baker Mayfield's just been pretty fun to watch. So good. And then I'm taking Minnesota over the Rams on Monday night because I kind of forgot that the Rams were going to be in the playoffs. [01:28:37] Speaker A: I had to go Chargers over Texans. I'm going to take the Ravens over the Steelers. And I'm a Steelers fan, ladies and gentlemen. How am I a true fan? Look, we're listening to a sports podcast. I don't want to sound like an idiot, okay? I got to be honest with you. I am going to be cheering, and if they win, I'm going to be celebrating and I'm going to be jacked. But I got to be real with you. What I've been seeing going into the playoffs this week and the last time that I bet against the Steelers to lose, they won. So maybe that voodoo will win. But Ravens going to be very tight. Very, very tight. But go, Steelers. Yikes. I got the Bills over the Broncos. I got the Eagles over the packers, and probably an underrated best game of the week. Maybe that's underrated, but I think that's gonna be the most entertaining game of the wild card round. That's what I'm gonna say. Buccaneers commanders. And I. And I got the Buccaneers in that game. Baker Mayfield. That's odd. That's all I thought of when I was making this pick. Just him elevating to a whole new level under. In this. In this light. And he was so good in the playoffs last year. I think. I think Baker is gonna rise to the occasion here. Vikings over the Rams. So the Lions are waiting and getting healthy. And for those that are Lions fans, prediction for The Super Bowl, Justin. I've said it since day one this year. I will say it again, people. I'm wearing blue, but I'm gonna remind everyone the shirt about a hockey reference. If you know, you know, Lions, Chiefs, Lions winning the Super Bowl. I would love to see Lions, Bills. But we know what's going to happen. The Lions, though, this year will win the Super Bowl. Calling it Justin. [01:30:21] Speaker E: Yeah, I'm saying Lions, Bills. I think Josh Allen's going to earn his mvp, but he's not going to win the super bowl, so. [01:30:29] Speaker A: Oh, you got the Lions, too. We got the lines. [01:30:33] Speaker E: The Lions are going to win the Super Bowl, Leafs are going to make a playoff run this year, and then we're gonna find out in July that there's a meteorite the size of Earth that's about to obliterate this planet. That's how that's gonna shake out. [01:30:46] Speaker A: Yeah. And then all of our. Everything is out. And also on that July, the Blue Jays are gonna sign a big and trade for a big star, and they're gonna try to think they're gonna go for a ride. [01:30:57] Speaker E: The Blue Jays aren't gonna do anything. They're just gonna post articles about how they're in on everybody and then do nothing about it. [01:31:04] Speaker A: God, I can't wait to vent about that team in the next Strike Zone segment. But we're talking in the pocket here, Justin, a little bit extra. We were aiming for that 20, 25 sweet spot that we usually get, but a little bit over. We did say New Year's resolution. [01:31:17] Speaker E: Not the worst. [01:31:18] Speaker A: It's not. But I want to say one thing before we go. I've won. Wondering obviously, E.J. russell. I want to wish E.J. russell all the best. He broke his ankle, actually, and he had surgery. So I'm. I know EJ's resting up and getting better, and he's been absent a little bit this year. There's obviously been schedule conflicts. There's been a lot going on, and he's been telling me to make sure I've been open about mental health. So I will say that on his behalf that obviously mental health, he had to take time away as well from the show because of other things that he has had to handle, such as mental health now this injury as well. So E.J. russell, obviously still a part of the game sports podcast family, if you're wondering, because you obviously have seen EJ since 2016 and how he got on the show, but he's needed to take time away for the show and we may not see him back this season. We're not too sure how that's going to shake out. It'll be all dependent on schedules and how EJ's feeling. But we would expect potentially EJ to be, obviously he'll be back next season. So you got me and Justin for the remainder of the year, which is obviously, you know, we're filling the void, especially with college football this year. Justin, like, what the heck? There's been more college football conversation on this show outside of late Scott Nason, who talked about it all the time with Butch and ej. And it hasn't been talked about on the show in over a couple years until this year. It's been more talk. It's been talked about, but I mean talked about. [01:32:41] Speaker E: It's been good stuff. Telling you it's must see TV. [01:32:43] Speaker A: It's not two minute warning NCAA edition anymore. It's actually like we got a full 10, 15 minute conversation about college football. It's terrific. [01:32:51] Speaker E: I love it. It's not me trying to talk basketball and slush my way through it. I actually kind of know what's going on. [01:32:57] Speaker A: Who's the GM of the Cavaliers? That was. I wish I had your picture of your face in that moment on live tv. If you know this story, you know, you should know if you're a fan of the show. But long story short, Justin got asked on live radio a basketball question about the Cleveland Cavaliers. If you know Justin, he ain't your basketball expert. Okay, he's a sport expert, but I mean, he don't follow the GM of the Cleveland Cavaliers. [01:33:24] Speaker E: I had a better chance answering a question about cricket. [01:33:28] Speaker A: So, yeah, you know, we should try pickleball. Never tried it. Have you tried it? [01:33:32] Speaker E: No, I'm, you know what? I, I seriously want to try to understand cricket. Like, I've watched it on TV a couple times now and like you look away for two seconds and then you look back and like the score went from being like 23 to like 40 to 150 to 23. And it's like, how the, did that happen? Like, what, what sort of unit of measurement do they use for scoring here? [01:33:57] Speaker A: And it takes sometimes long to finish a game well. [01:33:59] Speaker E: And like people are into it like they're Marie. [01:34:02] Speaker A: At the John RHS Community center, if you drive past the John Rhodes, they have a leak. I know. [01:34:07] Speaker E: I watched them after touch football one day. I was standing there, I probably look like a creep on the other side of the fence, but you're like, just, I'm just trying to understand, like, what's going on. Like, you know, something. You can watch something like, you watch hockey, okay. They get the puck, they put it in the net. Okay? That's. That's how this works. [01:34:24] Speaker A: Yeah. I don't want a Google version. I want someone to maybe come on here and talk to me about freaking cricket. [01:34:29] Speaker E: I just want to figure it out, that's all. I just want to understand. I'm probably not gonna play. I doubt I'm. I'm good at. Unless maybe I can just be the guy that crushes dingers. I don't know. Do they like. Do they crush dingers or are they like low rollers? I don't. [01:34:43] Speaker A: Or is that an out? Is that. [01:34:45] Speaker E: Yeah, that's what I mean. I just. I don't understand it. I just want to know. [01:34:48] Speaker A: You could tell. We don't know. I'm not gonna Google it. Pretend that I know. [01:34:51] Speaker E: But like, I need. I need someone who understands that I'm fairly ignorant when it comes to new. [01:34:56] Speaker A: Things and comment below to chirp us about talking about cricket on a football segment. But we do that. It's fun. It's fun. We're having fun, Lois. [01:35:05] Speaker E: It's just fun. [01:35:07] Speaker A: It's just fun. [01:35:07] Speaker E: New year, new us. [01:35:09] Speaker A: Is it. But the same us. But new us. I just made no sense in the pocket segment. This is sponsored by Sports Center Bar and Grill. Sue me, Ontario's best sports bar. Five over five years in a row. [01:35:22] Speaker E: It feels like 10 now. [01:35:25] Speaker A: That's why I say over and then obviously best wings. Look, you've heard it from me for years. Get down to SportsCenter. If you're in Sue St. Marie. If you're not in the zoo, just check it out. Give them a follow. They have some good posts that they do. They do some contest giveaways. Yeah, check it out. Like I said, if you're from out of town, you could be a part of a contest potentially. If you need any information, let the Game Sports podcast know. We can connect you. But we're also powered by 91 Network. Remind you of that, the YouTube channel. And you can see us on spaces. You know, we've had a few weeks vacation for the Christmas holidays. We have two vacations a year, Christmas and the end mid of August. And despite that, I'm having a child. I will not be taking vacation. That will be my disconnect because I'll be off work for a few weeks, if not a few more than a few weeks. And I will. That's. This will be my connect. So don't worry about any vacation. Extra Vacation, summer. But we're glad to be back in 2025. It's going to be the best year for the Game sports podcast. And no, I'm not just saying that because it's any which year we have new partners with us such as Suit Today and Spaces. A lot of big things coming for the show, both locally, regionally and nationally. All that makes me feel good to say there's a kudos and a touch to our friend Scott Nason. It's. But that's all in motion, just like we envisioned. And I thank Justin, I thank Alex, I think Brennan, I think everyone who's been a part of not only this episode, but who's a part of this of the game sports podcast family. That includes you, the viewers and listeners. Make sure you hit like follow and subscribe, but don't hesitate to hit share. Don't hesitate to hit like, don't hesitate to comment and say you guys suck. I don't care. Comment below. We want that interaction and we it all this work that we put into talking about it, not just because we enjoy it, because we do a lot, but we'd like to also try to get out there and connect with everybody that is on the level with us and also get our name out there. And if you love listening to us, make sure you, you help us by getting us out there in your community. Justin, we're on Tick tock, Instagram, Facebook. We're all over the place. But you and I, we're not all over the place. Despite being overtime today, we've stayed on point with our topics and after this week, sort of until the end, after this week, we'll be back next week on our usual schedule, our usual upload day, which is usually on Thursdays, sometimes Wednesdays, week pending. So we'll be back next week with another edition of in the Pocket, which will be about our divisional round and we'll have some more college football to talk about that, my friend. So thank you for taking the time. [01:37:45] Speaker E: Yeah, no problem. Good to be here. Good to chat sports, Good to get my cricket rant out of my system and let's, let's see what these college games got tomorrow and Friday. [01:37:54] Speaker A: Excited and I gotta say it. Best background on the show. [01:37:59] Speaker E: Tie fighter is up there now too, eh? [01:38:01] Speaker A: That is so cool. I can't, I can't. I don't know why I pointed at your thing. Yeah, there we, there we go. That's, that's the way I gotta go. Point that way. Love that. But my favorite thing is that thing down there. You know, that. The Joker. The Joker thing. Yeah. Big fan. And the X Wing. Geez, can't forget the X Wing. My God. Anyways, listeners, thank you for tuning into the Game Sports podcast. And again, make sure you like, follow and subscribe. Until next week. I'm here to remind you, keep your stick on the ice, swing your bats, catch touchdowns, drain your threes and shoot your shots. Booyah.