Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to another edition of the Game Sports podcast. I am David McKay, host of the Game. The Game is powered by 91 Network. On this episode of the Game, there'll be two segments. In the first segment, I will be joined by new co host Brendan McCarthy where we'll be talking about all things National Hockey League. But we're going to take a deep dive in particular to troll Maple Leafs news this week as well as Scotiabank arena quietness. In the second segment, I'll be joined by Justin Heikl for our in the pocket segment where we'll be getting into some NCAA news. Our week nine pick them. And more news around a great iron. Let's go.
Oh, yeah. And it's time for the Game Sports podcast. Is your host, David McCaig Jr. Here for another episode of the Game? And without further ado, let's introduce the co host joining yours truly this evening. He is new to the Game Sports podcast family. Okay. But he is not new to the world of sports, of course. Supporting a backwards hat today. Love it. And sweaters. It seems like the sweater trend has been happening a lot on this show. Recordings. I love it. Brandon, my friend, how's it going?
[00:01:05] Speaker B: I'm doing good, buddy. Happy to be back with you here. And I feel like a lot has changed in Leafland since we last recorded, but we can get to that shortly.
[00:01:15] Speaker A: A lot of things right. The game of hockey. Throughout the season, things change. And that's why a lot on this show we take a different direction. We do interviews with all the athletes, but we also take news in a different concept. So you're not hearing what the other guy is already talking about. So I'm gonna make sure I stress that. But obviously this week we have yourself and me. We don't have par join us this evening. Schedule conflicts, which is my fault. And things that didn't change from last week. My background, I kept Marty Turco up in the background supporting Sault Ste. Marie. Were of course the Game Sports podcast is located. Brendan is not located in Sault Ste. Marie, though, may I add he's located closer to this team right here. As I move over to my right in the GTA area, as I would like to say, or some other ones from the north, we like to say down south. Whatever you want to look at it. Either way, he's not in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. And Brandon, like you said last week, we did talk we and we talk all teams here when it comes to hockey, comes to sports. But here in our top shelf segment, may I add this is the top shelf segment where we talk hockey. And let me remind you what top shelf means. Think of Morgan Riley when he went top Chad top shelf on either way, whatever you want to look at it on Connor Heluck last night. And again I remind you this is a pre recorded show. So it's October 29th when we are recording this show and Morgan Riley went top shelf on on Connor Hellebuyck and that was a big character win for the Toronto Maple Leafs. And I think that's a good segue because we do have the Leafs on our topics today amongst a few other ones in our short period today. So we'll go right into it. The leafs had Jake McCabe get resigned. We'll have a little bit of discussion about that. But ultimately the last time we talked about the Leafs were on a high when last time we recorded high they were 3 and 1 and 1. But of course now since that point until the win against the Winnipeg Jets, a team that was undefeated, mind you, they had a little bit of struggles that they were experiencing, Brandon and you know, that's the joys of this year. And it's still only 10 games in. But people were not liking what was happening for Toronto for the past week until that game in Winnipeg.
[00:03:14] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean Toronto Maple Leafs fans, their emotions can change on a dime and it can be great. All hunky dory. One week, you know, players are like, you know, star college running backs, everyone wants to hang out with them. And then there's one week where it's just like oh my God, we need to go on like a seven game road trip to get out of the city. It's that bad. But that's the life of a Toronto Maple Leaf and obviously fans are nuts for hockey. So yeah, the last time we recorded everything was good. They beat Tampa Bay decisively. And then as we were recording the last episode, the game was ongoing between Leafs and Columbus. And as soon as we wrapped our episode, Dave, I tuned into the game and Columbus was already up 3 nil. And I was like, oh my God, is this just a scheduled loss? And then I was like, okay, it's a flush em game, whatever, you know, you go to Toronto, probably gone to Columbus late National Hockey League at some point you got to take each team seriously. You can't take a night off. Okay, flush them game. Then they come back to Toronto against the Blues. All right, let's get a win maybe for Craig Berube, right? His former team led them to a cup, yada yada yada. All right, looking for a nice response. They lay an egg again and then it's like, okay, panic starts to kick in and then it's like, who do we got next? Boston in Boston Saturday night. And then I actually thought they played really well. They took them to overtime. I thought the big gun showed up. Obviously Matthews gave up a pizza to Marshawn for, for the eventual game winner. But it's just like emotions. It's like a roller coaster for Lee fans because it's like up and down and this is like, oh, it would have been nice to scrape out another point, but they come away with the point and then you got Winnipeg and it's like, geez, you can't catch a break because they're eight and oh, coming in. And you know, once again, the Leafs had a really, really strong start. They put up four goals. Johnny Tavares had a hat trick. Obviously Winnipeg didn't roll over. They pressed and almost tied it and forced overtime and ultimately they got it done and they, you know, snapped Winnipeg's winning streak. They were the only undefeated team in the league. Correct. So.
[00:05:19] Speaker A: Right. And that was max patch ready in that game. Like the chemistry is. It's great to see a 950,000 give or take player come on and get that chance and do good. I love seeing the guys that don't get paid that much do very good in school.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: 100%.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: Yeah. Those are those bargain chips that are so imperative to your lineup to put that secondary or that. I used to call it thirdly scoring. Went back in my coaching and playing days. Those are the guys that are on your third and fourth line. I know they, I know there's an actual term called secondary, but I like to call it thirdly. Okay, thirdly. Thirdly scoring. I'm going to call it thirdly scoring. That's how I used to call it. I'm going to stick to that as. No matter how dumb that makes me sound right now. They, those, those are the type of guys, those bargain chip. Those are guys that you can fit plug into the lineup. And him and Tavares, good chemistry. Willie's been playing well. Nice is, is. Is great that his, the way he plays the game fits this, this Toronto team. And playing with Matthews and Marner, I think that's also fit.
[00:06:27] Speaker B: Yeah. And I also think Dave too. I mean, I touched on Berubi in the last episode, but I also think it's important to bring up, bring him up again because he's not afraid to shuffle the deck. He's not afraid if he's going to hurt your feelings and drop you down for a game or healthy scratchy, right. Last game, Nick Robertson takes a seat in the press box. But then this forms a really cool line combination in Max Batch already. John Tavares and William Nylander, they were the hottest line last night. Max Domi shifts down to the, to the third line. And this is kind of like the rugged, you know, candid Frank Craig Berube that, you know, the team and the city wanted because it's like you have to make tough decisions if you want to win, whether you're going to get benched, healthy, scratched. He doesn't give a flying F. All right? He's there to win. And this is something where, you know, this Leafs team need to understand. Perhaps in the past it was seen as this country club where, you know, music at practice, yada, yada, yada, all the fun and skillful stuff. All Star game in Toronto, you know, they're wearing cowboy hats and fancy suits to the rink. No show up. It's a job, get it done, grind away, scrape away. And Berube is going to. If it's going to take, you know, every game to hammer that home, then that's the case. But eventually it's going to have to, you know, stick in their minds. And I think it's, it's, it's very, very early in the season, as you said, Dave, off the top, but it's something that this team still needs to understand, like what it takes to win. There's a lot of sacrifice. There's a ton of sacrifice.
[00:08:04] Speaker A: But one of the cup, you have to do. You have to sacrifice in the, it literally in the game 10F type play. Matthew.
[00:08:11] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:08:12] Speaker A: Those. Those guys going to get in the dirty areas. Those are the guys, the Domys, those, those are the guys that I love seeing in the playoffs.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: Yeah, the grit grinders.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: Those are the guys that help you and you can have the flash and everything, but if you don't have those balance offsets, you're not going to be successful. And a lot of that's not just the team base. It's from a coaching perspective it allows if players can hold or coaches can hold players. Sorry. Accountable, that's what's going to allow for success. And this is no jab at Keith. I have nothing but respect for Keith. I got to watch him coach the Greyhounds here before he's in the Leafs and it's great. And I had the opportunity to just a brief meet in person. Hi, how are you? Walk by type thing. And because of the media side of things. But this nice. He was always a nice guy respecting in town. But ultimately when he went to Toronto, it's not that he failed. He's had a great winning percentage. He just failed in the playoffs and it wasn't that expectation. And I think the type of coach that Berube is, that's what's going to help this team get to that next level. And if they, if he can't get them to that next level, you know, it's not a coaching thing. You know, that's an accountability that's been put on the players. Now it's off players if they don't succeed this season. There's something with that core or is it Shanahan? And I'm going to be honest with you, it's the core more than Shanahan is. These are guys. But I know people always say that, hey, you got to believe in something. Don't give up on some like look what happened in Washington. They eventually won these they. And that doesn't always happen. Okay. Eventually you're going to have to make changes. And this year I think tree living did changes that were big. And speaking of those changes, he's locked up some significant D pieces in the past. Yeah, well, he's already been locked up for a little bit of term. But if you think of players that he's added up to the recent contract Extension, TANV, Oliver, E.K. millerson, okay. Obviously the trade deadline last year he brought in Labushkin. He'd brought back Labushkin. Those a fan of that. But he resigned Jake McCabe to a very affordable cap head under $4.3 million per season. Locked him up for a handful of years. Five year deal. You have Riley, Larson, Tanev and McCabe four defensemen locked up for four years at least between everybody there's four.
[00:10:26] Speaker B: There's your. There's your core four on the back end, right?
[00:10:28] Speaker A: Yeah. You have guys that are NHL guys that are going to do very well back there and not at very expensive. Ekma Larson's very affordable. Tanv is. I know his contract is just rough looking because of his age, but the.
[00:10:41] Speaker B: Term, the terms long but term.
[00:10:43] Speaker A: Exactly. Riley. No love Riley's contract. This is, this is the. He's locking up big pieces and he's recognizing him. Jake McCabe has been a tremendous addition. Thank you. Dubas to. To that move. That was a good move getting him from Chicago. He's fitting in really nicely there and he's found a home and he's. And he's gotten a bit more comfortable with his play and he deserves that extension.
[00:11:07] Speaker B: Yeah. And you also got Benoit too on a cheap deal as well, who's always mixing it up. And you know, he's the type of player that Brube needs to play a bunch to, you know, keep push back and you know, keep the nonsense from happening, from opposing, from opposing teams. Defend the goalie. I love watching Simone Benoit play. So in terms of their defense, like it's, it's finally starting to take shape. And for years it's like, who can play with Riley and the. There's a lack of depth, right? And after Riley and you know, whoever, who do we got? Like it was scary thin and now it's like, okay, we got Ekman Larson who just won a cup. Chris Tanov is like, you know, as Bobby McMahon calls him a biscuit eater. You got Morgan Riley who's been there since, you know, 2012 onward the dog days of leaf fan Leafland. And then you just got Jake McCabe who's locked up five years I believe. I think it was 4.5 mil per. But, but I mean those are four like great solid defensemen. And it's like, okay, these, this is, these are the guys we want, we want to win with on our back end. And it's, it's nice that it's now kind of rounded out effectively.
[00:12:23] Speaker A: That's a good way to put it. And I think the biggest surprise, I think Lee fans will agree is Oliver Ekman Larson this year I feel like he's shown some readiness to that team. That's going to be a good asset. Age aside, he's. These guys still have a lot of gas left in the tank. So what I want to mention about the lease further given time is Scotiabank Arena. Okay. Before we go to a couple other, we're going to talk McDavid briefly and another point before we sign off because we're already 12 minutes in. So Scotiabank arena, this is something we've talked about on the show and I was waiting and thinking that we might save this for par. And hey, if we make this a three way discussion after great but a couple years ago and you can look back at shows every year we seem to talk about this problem. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Scotiabank arena, okay, is I've been in that rink a lot of times. I've been very fortunate, been able to go see and take advantage of friends tickets that I know in the area and see a lot of games. I've seen the Saturday night games, the Tuesday night games, the Thursday night games. Never seen a playoff game, but I've seen games in all different areas and different times and at diff overall. The last time I've been at Scotia bank arena to sit in a game was actually before COVID Every year that I go see them, I went to a different rank outside of Toronto because of this, because it's too expensive. Which leads me to my point. Scotia bank arena, there's so many. Jesse Pollock is one guy. I don't mind name dropping. There's. There's Mike Raleigh is one guy on Instagram. He doesn't have the most inapprop, the most appropriate post when it comes to hockey. So I'm not encouraging it, but he had a very funny Scotia bank video saying that there's another individual too that I follow on social media that's saying, hey, I'm trying to read a book. Everyone be quiet. I'm reading a book. I'm reading a book. Everyone quiet. Hey, everyone quiet please. Okay?
[00:14:10] Speaker B: You're in a library.
[00:14:11] Speaker A: I'm on chapter five. Okay? Voldemort is just about. I won't spoil it for people that haven't watched Harry Potter or read the Harry Potter books, but honestly, I honestly go to Scotiabank arena and it's so sad, Brandon. It is so sad. It is the hockey mecca of the world. The fans are the fans that go to the road games in Winnipeg. When I went to Columbus, the half the arena was leaf fans. Okay? Because it's cheaper to buy a ticket, drive to Columbus and stay in Columbus before it is to buy a ticket in Toronto. So it's unfortunate and it's a, it's, it's such an old topic. But Scotiabank arena is so dead all the time. The two fans in the play are the ones outside. I feel like it's a wind open ended topic but it's such, it's such an embarrassment. As a fan when I seen, I see those empty seats and see guys on their blackberries. It's literally just a rich environment and I want to see the true fans of Scotiabank arena. The true ones.
[00:15:11] Speaker B: Dave, I 100% agree and I'm with you, man. It is really frustrating to see two big things. The suits dominate the Platinums, right? For them, they're not going to see a leaf game. It's, it's, it's an event. It's basically like social hour for them. So they might creep in around like the 10 minute mark of the first period and then you know, go get their sushi rolls at One of the intermissions and then they'll come back out if it's a tight game. So that's why they're always empty, because it's an event. They're, like, entertaining clients. It's not really like, oh, you know, throw on my, you know, Matthews jersey, you're going to go support the Leafs. Like, it's not like, yeah, like a, you know, Winnipeg jets fan who is showing up decked out in all their gear.
Right? Like, the fans suck. Like, in terms of their energy, they do suck. And I think that's not all. The fans, like you said, outside Scotiabank arena, they are passionate, they are electrifying, and they're, you know, a treat to watch. The TVs always panning to them because their energy in the building sucks.
[00:16:18] Speaker A: The fans hugging. They're doing three. Like this platform on three people, they're doing. It's literally insanity.
[00:16:26] Speaker B: Low, lower. I should say lower bowl does suck it. The energy compared to other buildings is not good. The upper bowl is a party. It's a different. It's a different, you know, feel. It's a different feel. It's different atmosphere. But. But the other thing, too, at this point, I think people even in the building are just expecting another heartbreak.
They're disinterested because they know how the movie ends and they're fearful.
Right. Like, we can talk so much about, you know, corporate seats and suits and, you know, the real fans are outside or in the upper bowls. But at some point, I would. I would say people even going, like, it's a fun night out for big sports fans, but sometimes it's like, is this just the same old song and dance for this team? Are we going to have the same outcome that we do in previous years? So I think it's a mix of suits who don't give a blank, and also people who are actually truly into the Maple Leafs that are just so exhausted from. From what's gonna, you know, so probably. Probably transpire again. I'll say it. Probably. You know what I mean? Like, it's. It's so. It's coupled with that. But it is frustrating that, you know, there has been some nights where it's like, whoa, like, I. You could hear a pin drop, basically.
Yeah. So it is frustrating, but those are the two big things for me. The suits and just people who are just like, ah. When it's going to be the same thing. First round exit.
[00:18:13] Speaker A: It's this all. All year. You go through this and then you have a big, high optimism, and then Guess what?
We. You get crushed.
[00:18:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:23] Speaker A: Get crushed.
[00:18:24] Speaker B: So that. That's it probably. But.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: And I'd love, I love this conversation. I love that we have it each year on this show. I haven't posted a, a clip about it and of course the time that I don't it kind of goes viral a little bit. So if maybe it would have been the time, maybe I'll have to do a collection of clips all the years that I've talked about and put it onto one. But that aside, we'll transition from the leads because we did put a little bit of time in there and we only got a little bit more brief time. We'll save more Scotiabank. I'm sure we'll talk about it as. Oh yeah, the McDavid injury obviously by the time this gets posted the latest on Thursday, the 31st on Halloween. Happy Halloween in advance to everybody out there who's obviously celebrates that way. I was gonna put my costume on tonight. Didn't do it.
[00:19:09] Speaker B: That would have been hilarious.
[00:19:10] Speaker A: It was gonna be funny. I didn't do it. There's still a chance for the next segment. Maybe I'll put it on for the next segment. That aside the McDavid injury, we don't know what's. We're probably going to have an update by the time this gets uploaded. But obviously when McDavid goes down, it comes a hot topic. The best player in the game goes down. The Oilers are already in a struggle. You're also thinking people always forget. It seems like four nations face off. Are people forgetting that this is this year? I don't know. But like if McDavid had a torn ACL, every Oiler fan just dropped to the ground. Oh my gosh, there'd be a problem. There would. That would be a problem for hockey Canada, let alone the Oilers in the National Hockey League. So honestly I you never want to see that. But him getting up on his own, power skating off. I understand you can have a little tear, a little poll, but I don't think it looks as serious as people are making it to be branded, to be honest with you. But we could be wrong. And I don't want to get into it too much because it might not be relative points shortly and I might be look like an idiot or maybe I look right or maybe I am right. But it didn't seem that serious from quick glance.
It's.
[00:20:14] Speaker B: It's bad timing Just, just given the Oiler start. I mean Hyman has been cold, right. They really would just have to look to. To Dry saddle at this point. And it's always like a sky is falling panic when there's a McDavid injury scare because it's like, oh, like when he is out of that lineup, it's an entirely different team.
Entirely different team. But that's just, you know, comes back to depth, right? I mean, Matthews has missed countless games for Toronto and they. They're kind of just like, all right, steady go. Like, they. It hasn't been, you know, his absence is missed, but I think they've always been able to.
To. To persevere and also just like salvage points. And it's like, okay, he's missed, like, you know, he's day to day misses like five to seven games. Like, okay, like, you know, we're gonna have to. We're gonna have to manage without him. Right?
[00:21:16] Speaker A: Find ways to win.
[00:21:17] Speaker B: Good teams. Find. Find ways to win. And. And for now, Edmonton, it's like, you know what? Expect him to miss some time. Yeah, right. Like, you know, week to week, it's like, woof. Day to day. All right, let's try and scrape together some wins. Think didn't start too hot. I think they. They got pounded the other night. Was it last night against Columbus? They beat them 6:1.
[00:21:40] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:21:40] Speaker B: Yeah. So they got looks like poo.
[00:21:44] Speaker A: Sorry.
[00:21:45] Speaker B: But this is the problem. Like when your team runs through McDavid and dry style and you eliminate one of those guys for some time or an extended period of time, it's like, whoa.
Right? So strap. Strap on your boots, players.
[00:21:59] Speaker A: Time to go to work and put the hard hat on. That's what one of my old coaches used. Used to say.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:05] Speaker A: I think the one team that I want to talk before we. Before we. Before we sign off and, you know, I just, I look. I look across the NHL and it's the Pittsburgh Penguins. Okay? The Pittsburgh Penguins to start the year at this point, 10 games are 3, 6 and 1.
Crosby signs this contract, and I have a clip that comes out that says, most unselfish athlete to play a sport. That was my quote about Crosby. That was my point about him. Latang Malkin, these guys have been together for ever. Dubas is the GM down there. Sue. Ties are there, but he just extended in Pittsburgh. Right. And the big reason for this extension, and he did say it, he wanted to win again, he wanted to save money, he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh. I'm sure the underlying reason was to remain in Pittsburgh and be there for his career. But Crosby deserves better than this. Brandon, I. This team, I've said beginning of the year. And I'll say it again, this is not a playoff team. This is not a team that is going to make the playoffs. You're going to hear me say it here and it's not, it's not an expert knowledge opinion by any means, but this team does not look effective. Crosby, I feel him and Malkin, they still have their effects and fingerprints on the game. Crosby is awesome to watch still. But this is somebody who I feel bad for and I. Despite winning three Cups gold medal, he's hopefully going to win four nations this year. Sorry Americans in every other country, we're Canadian, so gotta expect that. And hopefully he gets another gold medal around his neck before he retires. Because I can assure you one thing, he's not going to get a Stanley cup ever again in Pittsburgh if he stays there, right? That you got to think that loyalty and stay with the team is great. But you had to be surprised that Crosby would consider and think that he could win again with this team. So that aside, what he said, and I hope he really meant that he was just staying there to be loyal to Pittsburgh, because I would have respected that comment a little bit more because that's what's going to happen. This team is not playoff bound. They're not going to be playoff bound while he's there. Still, when he retires and they rebuild, then he may be. But this is. I gotta, I feel bad for Crosby so I want to spend this last minute or two just saying you got to give like Free Crosby next year. If this is the direction of, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, trade them somewhere for one more chance to win.
[00:24:31] Speaker B: Yeah, it's, it's unfortunate just because Pittsburgh, that team is just like not, not exciting at all. And you have Sid in a situation where he's still, you know, in his, in his mind, it's like, you know, it's like 2009, we can, we can will our way there, right? But at some point, you know, Father Time catches up and also your supporting cast is not what it once was, right? And look, we can talk about Sid as a person, right? Unselfish, loyal to the fan base. But there's something about, you know, as an athlete like retiring or leaving on a high, right? If he were to leave in the off season, Dave, it would have been like, holy smokes, like bowed to this man. Got his three Cups, you know, his resumes, revived the organization.
[00:25:23] Speaker A: When he got to revived, yeah, it was bankrupt, man. That team was trash.
[00:25:29] Speaker B: So it's unfortunate because it's like when he does retire, it's just like, damn. Those last couple years in Pitt were just like. It was almost like a waste of time. I probably should have reconsidered going to, like, Colorado, play with Mac or know a contending team. Like. Right.
[00:25:48] Speaker A: It's just Toronto.
[00:25:50] Speaker B: Yeah, I was gonna say Boston, but. Yeah, but it's. It's just. Oh, like, it's like a. It's a slow burn because it's just like, no, you can't. You can't. I mean, he ultimately agreed to sign on two more years, right? Two more years at 87. But it's just like, oh, man. Like for, you know, one of the greatest players to lace him up.
It's like, this is how it's gonna end. It's just. It leaves a. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
[00:26:23] Speaker A: It's. This is a team that's, at this time of recordings lost five in a row. They were three, one and one kind of a start. I was like, oh, okay, Pittsburgh, I see you. Okay, maybe there is a little change then. The true colors, the true black and. Yeah, okay. And they have a minus 13 goal differential at the time of this recording. And they're in a tough division. New Jersey, New York, Rangers, Carolina is no joke. Washington improved this year. I still think Washington's overrated. Sorry, call me out on that. And the Islanders have not lived up to what they have been the last couple. Like, to what they can do last year and this year. I don't. I just can't understand the Islanders. I thought. I thought they'd be a very tenacious team. So Pittsburgh's going to do something. It's a wild card finish. That's my honest opinion. If they, if they make it. They won't. My prediction is they won't. But you know what you get for a present if you do that? You get the Florida Panthers or you get the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto, whatever team in the Atlantic that's hot. Which is all good teams because the division is so even then the Metropolitan. You get the New York Rangers, who are arguably. I know, I predicted Leafs, Oilers, cup finals, me being the bias slash optimistic Canadian hockey fan. Let's be real. I'm a. I'm in love with the Rangers. Okay. That is a team that almost looks like the team that's going to make it this year out of the East. I know. And Florida can't pull it away from Florida. They still look solid too. Right. But that's what you get if you make the wild card. You get a present with one of these Guys, and unless you're the Vancouver canucks of the 2000, I believe that's 2011 when they, when they lost to Boston, then, you know, you make it to the cup finals. Those are far few in between. This is a, this is a team that wouldn't have that depth to do that. And it's like you said, that's a great point. You get down to Crosby and I like to use Eisenman not as a comparison as a player, but his last game against the Oilers, he has a picture which is Stevie Wise, last step on the ice in Edmonton. Okay. But in Detroit, this is a guy who had such an impressive career and he left on a decently high note because the Red Wings were still good at the time that he left. Right. There's a team that was still successful making the playoffs all the time. Crosby is not on that case. And I feel like he needs and deserves better. And I wish he would have went signed somewhere else or, you know, I hope Dubas is the guy the Sioux boy pulls the trigger to pull and trade Sidney Crosby. And there would be no better fit Brandon than with Nathan McKinnon in Colorado. Nonetheless, Brandon, what we're going to do is I got Justin Heik waiting in the wings for in the pocket. Of course, we're. We're 28 minutes and we've had some. We're about 13 minutes overdue. See, I guess Par wasn't lying that we go a little bit overtime, but nonetheless, I wanted to. We went into what we can tonight in our short period of time. When we come back next week, hopefully it's me, you and Par for three of us. We'll get back to some of the games that we play in a little bit more of those intense topics that I want to start talking about as the game sports podcast nears our debut on Spaces as well. Very excited about that, but nonetheless, Brandon, it's been an interesting talk.
[00:29:27] Speaker B: Yeah, it has been. I'm sorry. I hope I'm not this distracted next week and there's no beeping going on in at my cottage.
[00:29:33] Speaker A: You don't have to apologize. It's me that's taken up your overtime. Okay. It's me that is literally making you stay longer because of my running mouth and starting different topics. So you are good to go, my friend. I'm going to let you go. And when we come back next week, we'll talk more hockey, of course, me, you and Alex. And thanks again, my friend.
[00:29:51] Speaker B: All right. Thanks, Dave. Appreciate you.
[00:29:53] Speaker A: We'll be right back here on the Game we got Justin Heiko. Join yours truly for in the Pocket segment. Don't want to miss it. Welcome back to the Game Sports Podcast. David McKay continuing to host you this evening here on the Game. I am joined for the in the Pocket segment which is presented by SportsCenter Bar & Grill and sponsored by SportsCenter Bar & Grill. That's in Sioux St. Mary, Ontario, Sault Ste. Ontario's best sports bar, the Game Sports podcast. Power by 91 Network of course, but Sports Center Bar and Grill, the original home to the Game Sports show at the time when we started now the Game Sports podcast and as I mentioned, Sue St. Mary, Ontario's best sports bar, best wings, great atmosphere. And of course on in the Pocket we talk football in all angles, local, regional and national with a heavy dive international of course. I am joined by Justin Heichel, my friend Justin. Another week of in the Pocket and we are now in week nine of the National Football League. Nine weeks ago, me, you and EJ were doing episode one of this season eight of in the Pocket. The season's flying by. Right now we're pretty well at the.
[00:30:55] Speaker C: Halfway point in the the regular season. Now daylight savings time coming up, shout out Cora Football on the weekend we've winning the city championship. So I mean that's when, when you know the high school sports changeover starts to happen, you kind of realize, ah, we're getting, we're like halfway but we're close to American Thanksgiving which is another sports holiday on its own. So let's, we'll just roll with it.
[00:31:21] Speaker A: Love it. And we just passed the sports equinox. That's on Monday where you had everything on at once, which was great. And as Heiko said, Cora football is a Sault Ste. Marie based high school for those outside of the Sioux. So congratulations to Cora. They're big fans of the Game Sports podcast. We've had coaches on there, we have analysts that are casual members of our show now, but that have had their fingerprints on the core football organization, of course. So obviously the Game Sports podcast holds Quora right here close to the heart. Of course, even though Heiko and I both didn't go there for high school. Fun fact. Before we get into the National Football League, I am going to dive into a reminder about the ncaa. Now when it comes to the ncaa, I'm going to give everyone just a quick little, little, little blurb. E.J. russell is the expert on this panel and show when it comes to college football. And when it comes to college football, Justin and EJ are the ones that I would trust going back and forth with me, I follow it. Am I a passionate college football fan? Not like, whoa, I like gotta get in. But I have been an Oregon duck fan since 2012, if everyone really wants to know. Marcus Mariota. That so that so I am a fan. I have. I bought into it. I like it. I watch it routinely now. But when it comes to the expert opinions, that is E.J. i'm going to be honest with you, but I'm going to say something. I can read. That's one thing I can do. I promise you. Most days. And there's a team that's in first and then in. In all of college football and that team is of course the Oregon Ducks. So I want to just make sure I say that because that is a team that I cheer for and it's great to see teams be successful. It's good to see a team overachieving this year. As I point at the video to my sweater. Of course, as a hockey fan, a lot of disappointments. Okay. So my sports has been very do has been very kind of mixed up of emotions. I've seen a Super Bowl. I've seen the NBA championship. And where am I going with this? I'll tell you what, seeing the first rank, Oregon absolutely is a goal of mine. And this weekend they play Michigan. And I am currently looking at tickets and thinking about going because I think this is the year to go. All right. But I'm going to remind everyone of the top five currently for the. For the NCAA for football. Oregon, Georgia, Penn State, Ohio State and Miami Florida. So that that's. Those are the top five right now. But there's one team and I know Matthew McConaughey is going to like this. The obviously the team that I think that should be in the top five is Texas. I I think Texas based on how they how obviously the quarterback situation. But of course, that is a very octane offense. I feel like that is a team that is not getting the credit that it deserves. I know records speaks volumes. And seeing Ohio State 6 and 1, Texas 7 and 1, I feel like Texas maybe should be a little up. Miami down, Ohio State, I feel like Texas should be in the top five. And overall it doesn't matter because nobody is dethroning Oregon this year. I've watched Oregon's games all year. Gabriel, the guy is lights out. The defense is lights out. Not only are their jerseys lights out, the fans have been lights out. The Oregon duck commercials have been off the chains this year. If you're An Oregon Duck fan. You are loving college football right now, but one team that isn't in that top 25 is the defending champions Michigan, which has been a little bit of a, an unfortunate season for them up to this point. I didn't think people would think. I didn't. People didn't think they'd be at this point, at this season. Well, I didn't believe.
[00:34:57] Speaker C: I didn't think they'd be where they're at. They are.
[00:34:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:00] Speaker C: It's a challenging year for them, that's for sure.
[00:35:02] Speaker A: Very challenging. An adjustment year. Right. And obviously this is a year that after you win the national championship, you could expect growing pains. But these are more than growing pains if you're a Michigan fan. But what I like to see is in college football is that the games have a different excitement, a different feel to them overall. And when it comes to the games, it feels it's different than the NFL. Okay. These are college kids in comparison to NFL men. That's, that's, that's obviously the difference. Grown adults, experienced football players. And what goes back to my point about knowledge and football and what I want to talk about with college football, I just want to talk about the overall pace, you know, and I feel like the game is different in terms of how that freedom is for the quarterback to pass. You see a lot of the offense really, really be showcased a lot more in college football and it's because of the players levels all over. But Oregon Gabriel has taken it to a different level this year. He is at Bo Nick's level. He is playing at a Marriott, a Heisman level. If you want to compare to Oregon greats, right. These are performances that we see that are great to see. But quarterbacks in general in college football are really highlighted. And the running game is so much more, so much more yardage is what the running back gets. And it seems like the running backs are able to gain just more yards because of their build and it's amazing. I just love the college football atmosphere, Justin. And I feel like the offense is really demonstrated more in college football.
[00:36:36] Speaker C: It really, it's a team by team basis, honestly.
And, and what talent you have, what your quarterback can do, how much of a game manager he can be.
I mean, not that I'm going to take some shots here, but I mean, I think what Oregon's working with and per se and Anthony Richardson at Florida only played three minutes in high school and four minutes in college, probably only knows two or three plays before he has to take a break off. So you Know, I get really, it really depends on the staff that you have. Players, not staff, you know, like a team like Texas. I mean they've two standout quarterbacks.
Right. You know, and it's.
[00:37:22] Speaker A: And they're killing teams a lot this year. 56, 7. I know these are teams that aren't, don't get me wrong, there's teams that they should be like Oklahoma, you know, but Vanderbilt was a, was more of a tough game than they realized it would be. But 52, nothing against CO State. Right. Colorado State if everyone wants to know what that is. But obviously you got Quinn Ewers on the, and the young man and you got, they got options there in Texas and that's why I think that team deserves to be higher up. And Penn State, the Lions are where they need to be. I feel like obviously this a team that's third ranked in the nation Jewel.
[00:37:56] Speaker C: Game this week too, don't they?
[00:37:58] Speaker A: Yeah. So this week, and I'm looking at their schedule right now, they play Ohio State this week and that's got to be the college game of the week. That is the Big Ten. That is the game that you want to watch Saturday at noon to watch that game. Eastern time. Great way to.
[00:38:11] Speaker C: I thought that was going to be a Saturday night game for some reason.
[00:38:14] Speaker A: And yeah, and honestly this will depend and this will cause a little bit of movement on if, hey, if Penn loses, Ohio State gets to gain that ground and gain a little bit of a higher ranking going into the following week. So. But going forward in their schedule, you got Washington, Purdue, Minnesota, Maryland, does Penn State. So after Ohio State, these are wins that Penn State's gonna have. So if you're Ohio State, you want to get that win. But this is the college game of the week this week. This is what you got to tune in and watch. And when you look at the Ohio State Buckeyes, they have one loss this year and of course that loss was to Oregon and it was a game that they arguably could have won. But if you look at Will Howard and you look at Carnell Tate, that's the name I was making sure to confirm. There's a guy from a receiving perspective with the Ohio State. This is a team that has national championship aspirations this year, but they're not that loss to Oregon. People are saying, oh, they're no, they're not going to do it this year. They're not good enough to do it. Are you kidding me right now? They could have won that game against Oregon. I'm saying this as an Oregon fan. They could have kicked the football and won that football game, but they didn't do that. They went in a different direction. And this is a, a team that is. If you're an Oregon fan or a national football fan or a college football fan, you watching Ohio State and you're watching Texas. These are the two teams that you're watching to be next up to Oregon as my top three favorites. And that's no offense to of course Georgia, you know, to of course Penn State and to of course Tennessee, who is also going to be. And Miami who's in there as well. But when you watch Ohio State and you watch, you just watch the Ohio State play. This team is a team that easily could be undefeated. Justin, they lost to Oregon, who is eight. No. So it's not a loss that it should come as a surprise to anybody.
[00:39:58] Speaker C: It's. With college football there's always a, there's a couple teams that are like 1A and then you have about eight teams that are like 1B. Before you get into the. There's just usually one or two teams that are like, they could probably beat the bottom half of the NFL.
Like, just without like. And I, I don't mean that as a cheap shot or you know, my usual nonsense. It's just the way the programs are run, the way the coaching is like they're just a better run program than some NFL franchises.
[00:40:29] Speaker A: It's facts.
[00:40:31] Speaker C: There's, there's more money in the college program. They can hire the guys, they can pay their coaches.
[00:40:36] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:40:36] Speaker C: A trillion dollars to be the guy who goes out and rolls out everyone's yoga mat. Like, it doesn't, it's, it's just crazy that what if your college program is winning? What winning does for the hype train the success, the future success of the program. Like, yeah, it's crazy. And if you consistently like Ohio State, you win consistently, you, you're gonna stay in the top echelon of teams consistently. Oregon's really no different. I mean they've had some drop offs but never really far. And like not like a Michigan this year. Like Michigan is totally not there. Yeah, I don't.
[00:41:19] Speaker A: It's a team that doesn't have that offense doesn't. They've lost a lot of pieces. And look at this. We've spent 11 minutes and 30 seconds talking about college football. You mean that's the most that we have.
[00:41:28] Speaker C: That's the most. Most we've done ever, I think.
[00:41:32] Speaker A: And it's great because we talked about a piece of topic that I think ej would have been proud of something that we are able to get into and talk about in general. Obviously, I went down a rabbit hole with talking about Ohio State and Penn State and these teams that could be really big threats and talk about players like Tate and players that could be effective. But that's the joy this year. I'm really, I'm getting the last few years been able to get more invested because I feel like the talent has been the Michigan was great to watch last year. It's a great story. You know, it's. It's. I think college football has a good upper. A good upper class of draft like the talent that we're going to see be effective in the National Football League. And I think just college football has its balance even at the top. There's a balance. You know, Ohio State's competitive. Penn, all those guys are competitive. That game with Oregon, Ohio State was, was fantastic. And that's why this game this week with Penn in Ohio, you got to pick at your popcorn ready and watch that game. It's good. I think it's going to be not defense. It's going to be high scoring. It's going to be a 39, 37 something stupid score, if that's even possible. 37. Ever heard of it? Yeah, you can get 37. Sorry, quick math, whatever you want. Yeah, you can make it happen. It's going to be one of those games this weekend and I think it's going to be a weekend full of good football action. And sports are full swing. The World Series, you got play hockey. Everything's going on and it's great. But college football, let us know what you think of college football below this year. I think it's been exciting. Now I ate into our little bit of NFL time, but that's fine. Last week he called point and news piece from last week that you want to talk about with the National Football League that stands out to you.
[00:42:59] Speaker C: Well, I'm.
I'm going to go just directly to the Colts because that's where I have to go this week in game in like in the game. Like we're very winnable game at that point. Third and almost goal. And our quarterback decides he needs a breather. You know what everybody, no big deal. I'm just gonna go take a knee on the sideline and I'm gonna take a break. What in the cinnamon toast do you think? Like what, how, how? Why? I don't even understand. Like Mitch Marner is so far off my list at this point. Like I don't even Care. I don't care. I don't care. That Saturday night, Bruby said that he overplayed him, and I almost blew a gasket about that. He was tired. Yeah, okay. And then I get this on Sunday.
[00:43:51] Speaker A: Like, me, I'm about that blue and white, man.
[00:43:57] Speaker C: Seriously. And. But the part that drives me the most insane is that they put him back in. You're a coach in any sport in absolutely any. If your player comes to the bench and says, you know what? I need a couple minutes to take a breather.
Yeah, sit down. You're not going back out there the rest of the game, so take it easy. No big deal.
[00:44:17] Speaker A: Get a beer, get a water, get a Gatorade, whatever the hell, because it doesn't matter. You're not going back out in the game.
[00:44:22] Speaker C: I just don't understand how that happens. And then he goes back out and botches the fucking game. I mean, not any worse than he already was, but it hasn't been a.
[00:44:31] Speaker A: Successful story with Anthony injuries. And then this comes out and Barstool was toasting them. And I'll get Barstool credit. I read their post about them saying about the breather, and you play until that final whistle blows, and if you can't handle it, get out of the sport, dude.
[00:44:47] Speaker C: It's just kind of ridiculous. I mean, like, as a coach, why would you just lie? Like, as a player, just lie.
[00:44:55] Speaker A: Sorry.
[00:44:56] Speaker C: Come up with anything else? Any. Absolutely. I had the runs, I got hit in the gut. I felt like I was gonna. My pants, so I just came off the feet. We wear white pants, you know, like, come on. Come up with the most ludicrous answers that no one's gonna question it. Like, don't do this to yourself. I mean, like, honestly, in the grand scheme of things, he's young. He's 22 years old. He just said what he. He just said what happened.
And he. Someone has to. Has to be some protections there for the player to understand that that's not how you talk.
And like, okay, if that stays in the locker room and the locker room handles it fine.
But, like, this gets out into the media and being a Toronto, like, being a Toronto sports fan, you know how fast things get out of hand in the media and now, like, in the NFL. The NFL is a global.
Everyone's interested in it. And if there's a story to be had, everyone's talking about it. And, like, that's. It's just. It's not a good look. I feel bad for the guy in a sense, because he's got more talent than as many.
[00:46:03] Speaker A: He's just as talented as the upper. That could be.
[00:46:07] Speaker C: If you can throw a ball 80 yards off your knees, like that's. There's something there. But honestly, maybe he just, you know, this is the right move, putting Flacco in, letting them sit back and watch a little bit. I don't know. I don't, I don't.
[00:46:24] Speaker A: You know what happened in the old days? Olden day, 80s, 90s. You go off in the field like that. Them dick cut days in the 80s with the Bears.
Yeah.
[00:46:32] Speaker C: You bring to your car and don't come back.
[00:46:34] Speaker A: Don't come back. This isn't like you, you know, this isn't a. There's somebody waited in line to play next. There's players coming. There's players available. There's people that would love to play, that are waiting to play. Okay. Like there's options. And you can go to the car, start it. Don't hit a pole on your way out. Drive and literally go home and retire. Okay.
[00:46:59] Speaker C: If you wanted to take a break, take a break at the start of next season so we can go. Owen, whatever and draft the younger Manning.
[00:47:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:47:07] Speaker C: Let me survive this season a little bit. Like. But yeah, anyway, like that's it. Very frustrating as a fan.
[00:47:15] Speaker A: If you're a close man. That's very frustrating. I'm glad you brought that up. You're allowed. Even though you're our fan, you probably. You're talking about the Colts. There's a whole story to that and I like that that you brought that up because it makes sense.
[00:47:25] Speaker C: Side note, shout out to Jameis and the Browns. James Winston is the man. The way he talks. Absolutely fascinating.
[00:47:34] Speaker A: Yo, you only get one shot. Did I miss a chance to blow this opportunity? Because one in the lifetime, man. Quote, if you know the song. If you don't know the song, I don't know what you're doing or what planet you're on by my shout out this week. And just keep it to brief. Point with this is, you know, the commanders, man.
No quit with that team, dude. You got whatever his face. Sorry, I can't remember who it is. To the crowd.
[00:48:00] Speaker C: Yeah, buddy from Chicago there.
[00:48:03] Speaker A: Oh my God. Right? And I like. They got it with 24 seconds left. And that was.
I can't remember all the games this week. I know that was the Sunday nighter or the Sunday game.
[00:48:14] Speaker C: Yeah, it was a 4:00 game. 4:00 game.
[00:48:16] Speaker A: The afternoon game.
[00:48:17] Speaker C: It turned into 7:30 game.
[00:48:19] Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah. And I was Watching the Sunday Nighter is. Is what I kind of had on was the Sunday Nighter. And you know, I didn't see the highlights to that. Okay? I didn't see the highlights to that game. And I see the Bears get their touchdown with 24 seconds. I'm like, oh, okay. Well, they beat the commanders. And that hurts my pickup even more. All right, This, I feel like this is that the game's over. And then they. Then the. The highlight. I was watching the announcers and anchor stop. I don't know what channel is on, doesn't matter. And they said, hear this. And all you can hear is the play clock, the announcers talking. They're live in the game. And it pauses and it shows the guy on the Bears like this. Whatever he's doing, okay? He's doing his little dance that every time the fans calm down, okay? And I. And I was like, oh, no. I knew when I saw that exactly what was gonna happen. Okay? If you don't know if that's happening live because the camera's not looking. And Daniels gets it and he gets sad or never moves around, gets it and he does. Yike. He throws it like that sound effect, you know that sound effect, you know, and he fired it, what, 70 yards. I forget what. It was a moonshot, just an absolute cannon. And then the guy who's like, oh, shit, runs and then he jumps and hits it off and it goes to the other guy and he gets a touchdown. Look, I'm gonna tell you right now, karma is a. It is a thing. I don't care what anyone says. You don't have to believe in whatever you think it is. And trust me, I'm aligned to that. I'm just saying karma is a. And it is a thing in sports. Karma happens. If you go and point the scoreboard when you're up three, one guess what, you're going to lose that game or you're going to lose the next 10 games. In that moment, you're like this, calm down. It's a one touchdown game. Have you not watched any other history in football with the Packers? Packers did that against Detroit Lions. I think that was Rogers that. Obviously it would have been Rogers that did that a few years back. There's more. More. Mahomes has done it recently. Not recently, but before too, I believe. Look, anything can happen. You get that one second on the clock, you get the kickoff, you can run a return.
Harrison in the super bowl against The Cardinals ran 100 yards on a return. Okay? I'm telling you right now that anything can happen in the world of football, and that Daniels kid is a stud. I don't know how many times we've swore on this show. Listen, sensitive words, Sensitive ears. Apologize. This is. We isn't new. We do swear on the show.
[00:50:45] Speaker C: Passion today. There's a little bit.
[00:50:47] Speaker A: There's a lot of passion. Daniels is a stud, and that guy.
No, no. You're not bouncing with your car. You don't have to bounce with the. Shut up and play. Like, if I was the coach, dude, you're done. You're set out. I don't care who you are. You're not playing for a few weeks here. But I don't care if we're in the playoffs. You don't showboat like that. That is a joke of character.
[00:51:08] Speaker C: Have some fun on the practice squad for a couple weeks.
[00:51:11] Speaker A: Yeah. Get your. Yeah. An unpaid suspension. I don't know what it is, but that was hilarious. Seeing as soon as he threw it, I'm like, no, no. And then these. The guy. Yeah, he's trying to get there. The guy should have to stay dancing on the sideline because he's the one who tipped it to the player anyways.
[00:51:27] Speaker C: He's stay d. I wish we could hear, like, his internal monologue that was going on while that all went down.
[00:51:34] Speaker A: I feel like it was like. And then he was too busy knowing that he up and he's running like this. Just like, running an incredible rate here, Harry. He's thinking, that's what's going to. He's Jim Carrey. Running an incredible rate here, Harry. Like, that's what I think. What's going through his mind. All right, and then that sound. The most annoying sound in the world.
[00:51:52] Speaker C: Ha.
[00:51:53] Speaker A: That's what was going through his mind afterwards when he was getting beaked by the fans afterwards for that joke of a character performance there, but that's hilarious. Commanders bandwagon. Not cheering for you, obviously, but I'm on it. I'm in. I love watching it. I want to see the commanders. I love seeing the Lions do well, see my Steelers do well when they weren't expected to love football. It's great. All right, so we ate up time for news. Those are our two pieces that Justin and I have for feedback this week. Okay. For football. We talk college football for 11 minutes on the show. That is a record. And now we're talking. We talked love for the Colts and we talked absolute dance moves and an absolute cannon by Daniels. 70, whatever freaking yards down the field for an absolute beauty that. That will be shown on clips for years. We're going to see that we're old and gray. When I'm at the old folks home, I'm like, I talked about that on my podcast.
[00:52:49] Speaker C: It's going to be a top 10.
[00:52:50] Speaker A: For a while, for a long time hike. Pick them and then we're going to wrap up the episode tonight.
[00:52:56] Speaker C: All right, let's do a quick score recap here and then I'll go straight into my picks.
So we got the keggers gridiron Pick still in first, 82 points. EJ with the Browns. Is the Browns in second with 81 points. Getting a little taut up in there. And then I'm, I'm in third still at 74 points. All my Colts picks not working out for me this year.
So in the pick them this week. Taking Houston over the Jets Thursday night even though Houston's got no receivers left. Nico Collins on the IR dig's now out with a torn acl.
Atlanta over Dallas on Sunday, Buffalo over Miami, Cincy over the Raiders, Cleveland over the Chargers, New England over the Titans, Washington over the Giants, Saints over Carolina, Baltimore over Denver, Philly over Jacksonville, Arizona over Chicago, Detroit over Green Bay, Rams over Seattle, Flacco over the Vikings and Kansas City over Tampa on Monday night.
Scores this week I got KC27, Tampa 21 in the Monday nighter and then Philly 24, Jacksonville 17 for a Sunday at 4 o'clock game. Points this week, the Lions again, fewest points this week. Carolina again.
That's what I got.
[00:54:22] Speaker A: We love Carolina on this show. They're great. Now for Kega's gridiron picks. Currently in first place. You know, for the last couple years I live in first for the first little while. Then EJ tends to find his way back and he is after an impressive week last week. So EJ knowing you're not here to defend yourself, but I'm keeping this ground this year, okay? Let me tell you, bud, we're pumped to get you back soon. But picks for this week, Thursday night are from the top down. I got the jets over the Texans. Tough back. Falcons over the Cowboys, Bills over the Dolphins. Bengals over the Raiders. I got the Chargers over the Browns. Sorry to Winston and Browns fans. Titans over the Patriots. Commanders over the Giants. Absolutely. The Saints over the Panthers. Because the Panthers suck. Ravens over the Broncos. Eagles over the Jaguars. Jaguars are not good either. Bears over the Cardinals. They're going to come back after last week's debacle. Lions over Green Bay in a very good football game. Sort of. I think Lions took a score lots, but I think it's gonna be a good game. Seahawks over the Rams, Vikings over the Colts and Travis Kelsey with likely Taylor Swift in attendance over The Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28 14. Chiefs over the Bucks for a tiebreaker game and the other tiebreaker got 24 Eagles 10, Jaguars. Justin, we're pretty close in that score for the most points this week. I got the Buffalo Bills just feeling it. My second choice was the Lions though. And guess who my last choice is? The least points in the week. Stay with me everyone. It can't be Carolina Panthers. Feel it. Yikes. Unfortunate for those Carolina Panthers, eh?
Nonetheless, that is the Pickums. Let us know what you think below who's going to win what and interact with us like people have on TikTok. We appreciate that, Justin. Another week of in the pocket is sold. We've sold the Hail Mary no. 1. People were dancing on sidelines and we got it in and we got the score.
My thumbs up this week. Steelers give me a thumbs up this week.
[00:56:22] Speaker C: What? It's going to be a weird one, but the people that under no Are going to are going to laugh at this. Thumbs up to the Football Night in America crew for finally putting those three people behind a desk. Okay, the Jason Garrett. I forget who the other guy is. And then the chick, I'm sorry, the lady, the female, whichever she is, she is very tall. Very, very tall. And for the last two years they've had weird little Jason Garrett standing beside her staring up the entire time. Now they're at a desk and Jason Garrett is like 3 inches taller than her.
[00:56:57] Speaker A: Yeah, he had to pump the chair up.
[00:56:59] Speaker C: So shout out to them for finally doing that because that is something that's probably bothered me and only me for the better part of two seasons. Seasons.
[00:57:07] Speaker A: It's. That is a very good point. Very observant as well, Justin. I didn't even factor that in. Very observant. Love that. It is great time. Football is in the thick of it. We are there into the to the dog days if you will, of the season almost. You know, it's, it's, it's midway point. A lot of critical games now you want to make sure you get those wins and let us know what you think of this NFL season up to this point. Now, Justin, next week we will have an episode we record every Tuesday uploaded by Thursday morning, sometimes Wednesday day if I'm feeling like it, but likely Thursday mornings for in time of those Thursday night football games. The game sports podcast will be soon to be on Spaces I should probably turn that the other way because of Mirror Image, but that is fine. That is a sticker from Spaces and that is a community based platform based in su, Ontario, connected with Village Media that the Game Sports podcast will be on and hosts of the hockey and sports space for the Spaces platform. If you're on TikTok, Instagram, wherever the heck you are, search the Game Sports Podcast. We're there, Follow, interact. We, the followers are growing up and we appreciate that. We want the interactions be a part of the chat. We do this for us. But we also like, we enjoy what we do. We hope that you sense that and that we hope that's why you're here because you'd love to be with us while we talk sports. I want to thank you to Brandon McCarthy. I want to say thank you to you, Justin. Next week, man, we'll be back at it.
[00:58:38] Speaker C: Yeah, we'll be here another week. Another pile of excitement. Getting into November now. So get your trick or treating in this week or the dad tax, whatever you got to do. Load up for snacks on Sunday and we'll catch you next week to do a little recap.
[00:58:52] Speaker A: Yep. And if I had the time, Justin, if I wasn't going to hockey and we had a little bit of time, I had a surprise for you. And I'm going to tell you what that was. It was gonna be, I have a Charizard Pokemon. Pokemon costume. I was gonna put it on and wear a Charizard costume. Maybe I'll do that next week. Even though it's beyond Halloween. I can show everyone what my costume was going to be. Be a fun little clip for everyone.
My wife got Snorlax.
[00:59:17] Speaker C: Yeah, I got, I got a little baby shark roaming around here. So I was, I really pushed for the family costume. Tried to do the three Faces of Mick Foley. I wanted Sid to be mankind and I could be Cactus Jack and Tampa.
[00:59:32] Speaker A: That's so cool.
[00:59:33] Speaker C: But it didn't really fly in the household.
Maybe next year Sid will be mankind and I'll be the undertaker. And everybody knows, I think we need.
[00:59:42] Speaker A: To do a Halloween party based at the Game Sports Podcast studios, if you know what I'm saying.
[00:59:47] Speaker C: Well, I think it's Friday next year.
[00:59:48] Speaker A: So now we're talking Halloween. We hope everyone has a great Halloween because that's when this is going to be uploaded, on Halloween every everybody. So get out there when you hear this. Please be safe. Don't accept candy from strangers or bring it to me. Or bring it to me. But yeah, you have to accept it from strangers at their door, but don't do it on the street. And if you see someone in a Mike Myers mask on the street and they're just staring at you and following Mike Myers doesn't run. So just run. Don't be one of those horror movies and slip and fall. Get up and run. Okay, Happy Halloween to everyone. We hope everyone has a great Halloween and everyone is safe. And don't be shy to show us your costumes too. That would. That would be fun. Maybe we'll compare whose costumes better between mine next week when I show everyone my charizard one. Justin thank you again. Brandon, thank you again. Thank you again to viewers and the listeners. We'll be back next week here on the Game for more talk. And we plan for action packed agenda more. So next week could be an interview show. Just saying. Baseball for the World Series has been hot. There's a lot going on that we'll get into more next week. But we had hockey and football here. So make sure you interact with us on your thoughts about the update on the grand iron and on the ice. And again, follow us on all platforms until next week. I'm here to remind you, keep your stick on the ice, swing your bats, catch your touchdowns, join your threes and shoot your shots. Booyah.
