OverDrive - March 13, 2026 - Hour 2 - Mike Johnson/Kevin Pillar

0:00Are you guys familiar with one of the new phrases out there, aura farming? Okay, I've heard of it. I don't really know what it means exactly. I have an idea. I think you're just like farming out of vibe, you know what I mean? Yeah. Okay. I think that I think you old Wyndham Clark. Not just anywhere. I think that stinky old Wyndham Clark was aura farming the other day. You guys tell me, watch this Wyndham Clark sitting down with Kay Adams and you tell me if you think he's aura farming, go ahead, Joe, from the bridge. I mean, sometimes it's nice to have a week long girlfriend, you know? Oh, yeah. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Wind up? Are you okay? I am kidding. But no, it's... I haven't found the right one. And I think when you find the right one, you lock it down, okay? Can you talk to me about this because you switched it? I mean, you're not. You're not. You're talking about... This is like a couple of times. You're just bouncing all over the place.

1:02Swiping left and right on these drivers. Still talking about drivers, right? Yes. Everyone's wondering what you're going to settle on. I'm on a tailor made right now. You know, I'm going to give a shout out to Adrian, the fitter for tailor. All right. I just think that's some aura farming. Okay, so he's trying to send a vibe out to Kay Adams as always. I don't know where he's like, there's nothing wrong. When you float out, there's nothing wrong when you're at a tour event with having a week-long girlfriend. Yeah. That is just looking for... Yeah, you're looking for... Well, Kay Adams has put a bunch of guys in spots where they have started talking and being... Like, there's a bunch of football players who have been aura farming. But she just puts them in their place. Well, I think, you know, she's a very good looking woman, Kay Adams. She's very good at what she does. She's a phenomenal talent. Like, really, really good broadcaster. And I get the impression like there's... There's more than just Wyndham Clark out there. aura farming or whatever you want to call it.

2:03But I don't even think Wyndham's going to play on the weekend. I haven't seen his name in a leaderboard in a long time. He's in a weird place, man. Very weird place. But I got to give you credit, right? I will give you credit. And listen, why don't we do this quickly out of the gate? MJ, you're going to join us here in a moment. But the overdrive PGA picks brought you by TaylorMade, which is exactly what Wyndham Clark has in the bag. Right? It's time to find your new fast with the QI-40 drivers. TaylorMade's fastest, most fitable drivers. Learn more at TaylorMade.gov.ca slash QI-40. You do have Xander. You snuck in Xander at the end with one of your two or three pack picks in a row, which is greasy. The week before you traded me a guy that was plus nine and you took the leader of the tournament. Yeah, I got rid of the potgater. And anyway, here's the thing. I got jammed because I took more Kawa with my first pick and he withdrew. So I feel like I got to be able to grab somebody here. But you have. You're not, I'm sorry. Like it's 80, 80 if you get.

3:04I can't get Seb Strocka. I can't jump on Seb. I wanted Seb. I thought I took Seb. You sound like me. That's think he's Seb Strocka, man. He's a top a lot of leaderboards. He can play golf. He'd bun sit around and just makes pots and he's good. Listen, you're in a very good spot. You have Ludwig Oberg. He's in the lead right now at 11 under Xander's at 10 under. I have Cam Young. He's at nine under. So that's my payscar's Cam Young. You got Corey Conner's at eight under. You got three of the top four right now. I am loving that leader. Are you guys able to add one as we go along here by the end of the show? If you wanted to add one. You would have to have called me immediately watching Morakawa. You can't let the tournament unfold. And then you're going to pick all these Seb Strocka. No way. Well, I'd like Seb. I'd love, you know, Justin Thomas is on fire again today. That's cool to see. Okay. Let's be played well. Take, take JT. Okay. You can have him. What's he at? He's at seven under. Oh, doesn't get anyone.

4:04Mine's an injury replacement. Mine's totally ethical. Yeah. I mean, it's almost mandatory. Well, that's not really ethical. If a guy gets into your screw up, we've got the perfect guy coming up. Because he knows about what's fair, what's realistic numbers. Yeah. Johnny's risky. Bring him in here. We got Mike Johnson on the line. Okay. There he is. Johnny, let me, this guy is a fraud, as you know. Morakawa stepped on the second tee and blew his back out. So, Hayes is pissed about it. And now today, he wants to replace him with a guy in the leaderboard. Where should that guy be statistically on the leaderboard for Hayes to be able to have him on his team? Besides, not my first question, guys. Is there a precedent for an injury replacement in your league before? Or is this the first time now? There is now. Yeah. We're establishing it now. First time right now, Johnny. Oh, there's the precedent. Yes, there's the precedent. Exactly. You, you, you have to go.

5:04Cannot be a guy in the top 10. Okay. Outside of the top 10. That's what you're telling me. 11th guy. You're getting the 11th guy. Okay. Give me some time. I'll tell you that you're generous. Because I mean, better than taking Justin Thomas who's like in six or whatever he's at or, you know. You know, you can't be taking the guy. You're not picking. It's the 11th guy. Well, there's a tie for, there's a tie for 13th. So here's who I can take. Okay. Victor Hoblin, Jason, I don't want any of these guys. I don't want any of these guys. I don't want any of these guys. I can't be team 13 in the moment with goals left to place. We ends up T nine. He's got to finish around. So that's the problem. Because Cap goes out there and he's fired. Oh, I kind of want Brooks. Fleetwood's still out there. They're T 13. All right. I'll take speed. All right. I'm taking, I'll take speed. He's in the clubhouse. All right. Take control. Daniel. Yeah. Yeah.

6:04I'll take your boy Tommy. Like that's your guy. All right. I'll take top. I'll take whoever you guys tell me who I could take. That's your friend. He is my guy. He's on a run. He is my guy. But he's still on the course. Like Johnny's point. He could end up T five by the end of the round. So anyway, let's not concern ourselves with this. Well, I'll pick something. Yeah. Later in the hour. Johnny, you were down there last night for that lead game. They won. I mean, they actually won the game. You know, like they got a big two points last night. What was the mood like in the building when Matthews got hit? I mean, I don't know if the crowd was reacting the way that we were reacting. I think the crowd was reacting to the Austin Matthews on the ice and say what you want about Austin. He doesn't stay down. There are not even times in his career where he's taking a big hit or cry at night. Two ladies on the ice. Right.

7:04It doesn't really happen with him. So I think the crowd was largely reacting to, oh, my goodness. Austin looks like he might be hurt. Not every single one of like every single one of us who watched hockey immediately thought, what's more on? Where's everybody? Where's the reaction? Where's the response? I don't know. That was the mood, Hayes. And I think they went and scored a couple of goals. The power play. The game actually got kind of lively in the building. The third period as they follow. No kidding. Isn't that interesting? When you weren't upset and hit. Yeah. Oh, I thought you said it well last night on the, on the panel when we are celebrating this response. When this response is what the NHL is, like that's the game. You don't get to celebrate it for playing the way you're supposed to play. Like that's how you have to play all the time if you want to be successful. And Hayes, I did really appreciate the Venn diagram analogy early. Johnny, let me interrupt you. Johnny, let me interrupt you there.

8:04I was rattled because he, I know when he gets in one of his things and he's like, I got a talk for five minutes here and everybody else shut up, but he threw out the Venn diagram. I was then Venn diagram. Then VEN, then VEN, VEN. You know what Johnny, then it was very, what's the Venn diagram, Johnny? It's where multiple factors in a common equation and the ones that overlap are part of a similar result. Who the hell would use that on an idiot sports? And Hayes used it at four or four old days on Atlanta. And it was good. I think about two buckets. What I liked about it though, Hayes, is that the Venn diagram, the overlapping part old that you need to be successful is a sliding scale. Because with the leaves of proven in the regular season, you can do a lot more with a bucket full of skill and a bucket that's not so tough on the grit or the jam or the juice or the

9:08whatever, you know, whatever term we want to say that. But in the playoffs, that pivots where the skill doesn't, it's not as important and you need more of that, whatever you want to call it, grit, jam, juice, competitive spirit. And I think, and I think that's right. And I hate, I hate, I find myself agreeing with you, Hayes pretty wholeheartedly, but I'm like, being that's right about it is, but Johnny, that my question is, and they've shown they can be good, but they, I don't know if they can win with it all with, I think it, and with the, with the culture that's been established by the top five guys, and it's not the top five guys aren't great people and great players and Hall of Fame players and maybe the most talented players of all time on this organization, but to have all five of them, as you've mentioned several times, wired so similarly, that is a challenge. You can have one guy wired like that, but not all five. So Johnny, how come yourself, and a lot of the analytics crowd continue to believe of them being like Stanley Cup favorites, contenders, all of that?

10:12How did you not see through this and understand that it's basically wasn't even possible? Well, I mean, I think they got to game seven against Stanley Cup winner. So to suggest that they were miles away from being a Stanley Cup, I didn't say miles, but that's a big about this, getting by that and then another round, and then come second. Yeah, but like, I don't think they beat whoever would have thought of playing the third round Carolina. Like don't you don't think they can beat Carolina, but I guess Johnny, it was time and time again, game six, game seven, big game. It was always an, I got it, I got it, I got it, and I think that's why they're not the favorite, but they were talented enough that the talent was so close to overcoming the lack of the other thing. It just couldn't quite get there. Yeah, and I was trying to, somebody was asking me about it this morning and I was trying to explain it like, I was not a guy who fought. I didn't want to get punched in the face like, that's not fun. I was not good at it.

11:13But there's an idea that, you know what, people saying, well, you land or can't go in there because what if you have to fight, dude, is that's not a good idea or can't win? And like, that's fair, but on teams were, and we've all been on this team where you are so confident that even if you're the first to arrive, you're not going to be the last. That's the thing. I might be closest, I'll fly in there and jump on goodness, but I'll never have to fight goodness because there's four more guys jumping on top of them too. We're all in it together. That's the thing. And it's not, again, as you sort of alluded to this, to me, this whole reaction thing is less about intimidating the ducks or goodness or whoever's going to make that play. And it is everything about saying how you feel about each other and how you are willing to compete for each other, put it on the line for each other and get uncomfortable for each other. That's what matters. And I think that's the intangible, the culture, the camaraderie, whatever you want to call

12:14it. That's what matters in that situation. And yes, they responded and yes, I think they would have felt a great deal of embarrassment is a strong word, but a little bit of embarrassment for how the guys that were on the ice for not having done anything and they came out and did it again. But there's just something in that moment where teams, even when it happens with guys like me who don't fight, know that you just got to fly in there and grab somebody and everyone's going to fly in there together. That's Kampa. Ray points in there and coach her off and whoever's on the ice in that moment, Sam Reinhardt, he doesn't fight. But he's in there. We talk about Buffalo. You guys just had a razor on Buffalo last year was getting criticized for not sticking up for taste tops. In the exact same situation, didn't see the heat hit, but your main guys on the ground, nothing happened. Look at them now. That's not why they're winning, but it's a byproduct of that kind of environment of everyone in it together. So I think that's the challenge. So that was the frustration for Brube, for the players, for fans of this team that

13:17it wasn't instinctive. Even if it's not instinctive in the individual, which I get because it wasn't instinctive in me. They're like, Will and Neelander, it's not instinctive to fight, but there is an instinctive element of we're in it together. So I got to take myself out of my comfort zone and I know I will not be left alone. I will not get put in a bad situation when it comes to a melee because we're all mailing it together, including Joseph Wall coming down if he has to, like we were all in it together always. And then you're sort of not at risk, the same degree, it just isn't instinctive with that group of players. So Johnny, you're live in the moment there. Did you hear anything on the bench? Afterwards Craig Barubi said it was discussed and I imagine there might have been a garbage can kick. There's some words said in between parrots. He even said himself and the team talked about it. In the moment, did you get a vibe of anything or just because it was the end of the period

14:21it kind of just faded out? Not a ton of the moment because Goose got off the ice obviously so the main culprit was gone and they went to a power play and they scored a couple goals. So the tension was immediately turned away from the fallout of that hit and sort of being back into the game and scoring goals of the power play. But as I was saying, maybe even the broadcast may be offline, especially in that moment guys, where it doesn't matter if they win the game, it doesn't matter about the power play. If that's game seven, I might excuse them like listen, we'll take the power play, we'll get them later. It's not game seven. It's game 60, set five, six and they're out of the playoffs. Every reason a four goal power play, cross check on the head, whatever it is, get us fine. Yeah, nothing really new to set in the moment. I'm sure the guys talked about it individually. Part of the challenge too is I would almost say for a team, maybe you guys, what do you think

15:22about this? It's not over with today. I think it would have been healthy for them to have another conversation about this today. A player's only conversation led by the leaders or maybe not the leaders because they're on the ice and Austin, but Austin can't really go out there and say, hey, guys, we can't do that when he's the victim, I suppose we're going to call him in this situation. It's a weird dynamic, but I don't think he just moved past this. I think you have to sort of address this as a thing you have to change. Johnny, we asked the question though, if kneelander, that was kneelander, what Austin, Matthews, like pile drive, go to the center of the ground. So who's going to have a meeting? That's why I said it's hard to have the meeting, right? Like that's why it's tricky. I mean, I heard you talking about the guys that were on the team when you were younger and sort of leading by example, like Matt was my captain when I started, but he would be in there. Stumpy would be in there and Ty, of course, would, you know, Demetrius Gavitch, guys that

16:23didn't necessarily fight Danny Markov, like just everyone was just part of it and you just sort of understood that that's how it goes. And when it goes down together, you're all in it together. And whether you fight or you don't fight, but yeah, oh, that's part of why it's a hard chat because Austin can't sort of say that comfortably. Yeah. And the part is when you have those leaders, Johnny, that are involved and that's kind of the standard of doing business. I think what that does is it gets the guys that are fringe or on the fence to say for me to hang out with these guys and be a part of this, I at least have to bluff it. You know what I mean? Not just going to be like, that's not for me, they're like, if I'm going to be a part of this thing, I got to get in there and punch somebody in the head and act like I enjoy this when you really don't. You just got to go in and grab someone. You just got a great, it's got to just got to get in the pack, just get in with the group. And you don't have to be the ringleader, but if you're close, if you've got to go first and it might suck because you might, you know, have to be in there a little bit for a

17:26second by yourself and then that's how you don't have to win the fight. It's not even about beating goodness up. It's never, it's just get there and just to tell your team, I got you. Even if you're not, you know, hurting anyone or anything, it's it's a weird thing and it's so hard to quantify what that means. You can't kind of boil it down to a number and this team has more of that than this. But there is there's something to it. There is something about feeling comfortable with each other and committed to each other that I think does stick with the team and helps down whatever they're going through. Good times, bad times, physical times, whatever. Playoff's regular season and that's sort of, you know, the macro view of this, the micro view that the four guys are on the ice, well, they didn't do anything. They Morgan Riley put it out himself. He was right there. He's the closest guy who can sort of fight if he had to.

18:26Willie is talking about, I didn't see it. He's calling a penalty. So I mean, he saw it. Yeah, he was like, Raf, you know, what's your arm up? I get it right. And I got Brandon Carlo is the biggest guy. He was that center. So he's a long way to go to get there. He probably would have earned some favor. How do you just barrel them there from 100 feet and did it anyways? But it's tough. It's a tough situation. That's the thing. Like, they're not making the playoffs. If Brandon Carlo buries in there from 75 feet away and runs over Goudus and accidentally hits a ref and gets suspended today, like, you know that he's at least laying it on the line. Like, the temperament of that group. And maybe the group's not that tight or whatever. But we've all played on teams where it's like, you know, you're either a tight team, or you know, the difference between right and wrong out there. And I think those guys are regretting that today because they know the difference of standing up for a teammate, regardless of your room's tight or not.

19:30And that, I don't know, I'm sure there's a lot of frustration there today. And guys having just adding to the pile of what the season has already been. Ultimately, right? Right. Right. But one of the thought guys, one of the thought is that it just happens two games or now, I'm sure there will be a different response. If the same four guys are on the ice and Matthew and I, because the guy who gets hit, those four guys are, you know, three of them will probably go flying in there. But it won't change that it's not sort of instinctive to the group. It's a reactionary based out of the fallout of the embarrassment, you know, regret, whatever it might be, but it's not instinctive to the group. And that's, it has to be that way to really ring true. Right. And that is established by your mainstay, guys, your best players. And that's why, you know, like I'm getting pushed back, I'm going to get pushed back.

20:30Like, oh, you don't think these guys can win. You could, like, fill Castles an example. I don't think a team could win with that, like, four or five fills in terms of the way he goes about his business, but he didn't have to charge, but exactly. He went to Pittsburgh and it's like, that's not dunking on what we're talking about. He went down there and Sid had established the way it works. And Gino had established the way and he was a part. And guess what Mitch Marner just did? It's not Mitch Marner's room. He's just joining what has been established. Could Matthews do that somewhere else? Yes, I believe he could. They can win. I'm not saying they can never win. I'm saying this formula can't win because it's been established. It's steeped in. Like, this has been defined the way it operates here. And that answer has probably been in front of us for a long time. But unfortunately, it really became evident last night. And now they're in Buffalo tomorrow. You know, and they got to keep playing. And they still got to go through Anaheim. They go through Anaheim in a couple of weeks.

21:31And that'll be a built-up game. Sorry to interrupt, Brian. Like, what do you think? Now, goodness is, by the letter of the law, not a repeat offender, because his last suspension was 2019. But what do you think that falls in? Like, if not in person, like, I thought two to four. That's what I was thinking last night. I don't know if I woke up different today. I would love to hope that Matthew says a Charlie horse instead of a knee injury because he's such a strong man. And his leg was lifted up a little bit. Maybe the impact wasn't as harsh. But, you know, what do you think, and Johnny, just on the raw penalty of the penalty? Yeah, I mean, I was surprised they didn't offer an in-person, just to give it, like, what if Austin comes out with a torn ACL today? Like, you'd like to have that flexibility, depending on what happens. And I understand it's been enough years where he's not a technically repeat offender.

22:32But, and they, I don't know, what is best again? He got that, he got six games or something like that knee or whatever. He got the one time in the playoffs. Like, a Matt Cook had seven games in the playoffs once for a kneeing hit, maybe a little bit worse than this one. But, I don't think, I can't think of that many kneeing hits, but just when I washed it and knowing the league without knowing the cops, I'm like, out two or three games. Like, I wish it was more, but I mean, I, you know, I think that's sort of where these things in my mind, where he's going to fall. I could be wrong, there may be cops out there that would suggest more, but it obviously not, not more than four. I don't know what you would have to do with our finger. I don't know what more you have to do to be suspended long term, like kneeing one of the best players in the league. And God knows what the consequences are for Matthews. I just don't know what more you would have to do for a long, like to look at that and say two games, I think is insane. Insane. Yeah, I mean, but I guess I'm not saying it should be two. I'm saying it will be two.

23:33Those are two different things, right? Like, I'm going based on what the league's track record, it doesn't they sing that I guess they would say, well, you know, how much did his knee track out? How much was it Austin, you know, dipping out of the way? You know, I'm just saying these are mitigating circumstance factors. I'm not buying it. He got beat clean through his leg out there. So we didn't get walked to the net. So guys, Neo, I mean, it was a dirty play. When you play defense skating forward, best case scenario you take penalties. Worst case scenario you get suspended. And that was worst case scenario. He tried to step up to a guy, give his caught. He got walked because he wasn't fast enough to move laterally. And he stuck his knee out and got him neon needs. But again, someone can correct me with the recent cops for a kneeing penalty, but yeah, I guess I'm with you. Two to four would be the range I would think. Yeah, I think that's what's coming. I mean, it's a phone hearing. Is that getting more than that? So we'll see we'll see what comes with the news on Matthew's which I'm sure we'll find out probably this evening

24:35and certainly before the game tomorrow night. All right, Johnny. Good stuff, buddy. Thank you for doing this as always. We'll do it early next week. All right, they won last night. And a whole bunch of guys broke their scoring slums too. Just for yeah, both were. That was great. That was great story, man. I can't play sorrow. He's not a kid's great. He's really cool. He's he's got he's got defensive zone starts. And Kelly kill and all kinds of stuff there. And it's not unfortunate for him, but his, you know, kind of shining moment this year. Doesn't matter. Totally overshadowed. Was that in front of his parents fighting? Like, who cares? Like, it's just like not talked about at all. A win for three, four power play goals. None of it matters because the bigger story is the bigger story. Starting it up, but we were sitting on the panel. Pizzetta, two seconds in, drops the gloves. Great fights, parents, they're emotional in that. Seven seconds later, they give up a two on one. And like, you're like, that what somebody said, I think after the first period, they were like,

25:36yeah, that that fight sparked the team. I'm like, no, it didn't. They give up 19 shots in the first period. And gave up a two on one. Seven seconds later to Santa Monica. Walk right into to the, but like, Pizzetta, I was happy for him, but it was like, that didn't get the emotions and the juices going. No, there's only one thing that ultimately did that. And, you know, it may have caused Matthews. We'll see, you know, if he plays again this year. All right, Johnny, but really it was like, there was a second intermission. Whatever I'm the second intermission. Yes. Clearly, we'll see, we'll see, we'll see, bottle that the rest of the year. Let's see what happens. Yeah. All right, thanks, buddy. Mike Johnson joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Red tag days are here with the all electric Toyota BZ. Goes from zero to a hundred and just 5.1 seconds and charges from 10 to 80%. Just 30 minutes drop by Maple Toyota today. Best bets later in the hour overdrive. Continues on the TSN app. Melody and Friday is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP,

26:36where you get an entree of sight and a drink, and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston Pizza. All right, Melody and Friday brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP, where you get an entree of sight and a drink, and you get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston Pizza. Best bets later in the hour. We've got some blue J news today, Jose Barrios. Going to check his arm out, I think in Texas. And it's a second opinion, and Tommy John is being thrown out there. It doesn't mean it's going to happen, but it's certainly concerning. We know that Bieber is not going to be prepared to start the year. But that's probably secondary news for the WBC tonight, because we got Canada versus the US. We need a win, don't we? Got to have a win tonight. We need a win tonight. Like we don't need to get kicked in the junk. Yes. What was it? Women's Olympics, hockey, men's.

27:37Yes. Yes. Um, that's enough. Listen, the US, not surprisingly, a massive favorite tonight. Like minus a thousand, which to me is a bit rich, considering the way the Americans have played. Well, where would Canada rank versus Italy? Like doesn't Canada have a shot? Um, I don't know. They're in the quarters. They won their pool. Like, let's ask Kevin, right? Let's bring them in here because we got Logan Webman, Mike Sorokit tonight in areas, long time, Blue J, long time, major leagueers. Got a podcast out. Now there's Kevin Polaro. What's happening, Kevin? How are we doing? We're doing well. Do you, do you see this as David versus Goliath tonight or what? I wouldn't say quite David versus Goliath, but I think team Canada has a definite uphill battle to team USA. I think, um, I think Italy surprised, obviously, the world, right? And obviously surprised team USA. And I think them given that second life, um,

28:38is going to really, really motivate them today. And I expect them to kind of take care of business pretty easily. Don't get mad at me. I love Canada. I love what they've been able to do. Obviously, they won their tournament, but are there, they're pool play, but US is just so deep. It's only a matter of time. When you have that much talent on a roster, it's only a matter of time before it just clicks. Yeah, what does they need Kevin? Like, is it a, did they need just the masterful pitching performance or like against that lineup? They must need somebody to go out here and just be a heater for a long time out there in the mound. One thing I think, I think the road map to victory was shown with what team Italy did. I think you kind of just got to trip away and try to score some runs early in the game. And then the pressure kind of amounts on team USA. I think that's something that people aren't really understanding too. When you're that heavily favored, and you go down in a game like that, every individual player on that team starts to feel the pressure a little bit.

29:39And that's what team Italy did. They put some pressure on them. They added on, obviously, team USA, you know, with the amount of talent they had were able to make that game a little bit close late in the game. But it was a little late for them to make a comeback. So it's going to take a little bit of some heroic from the pitching side. Fortunately for them, they do have a guy in Michael Sorroca who's got, obviously, he's a bonafide major league pitcher. He's not like a guy who's going to be scared of the moment. He's, he's familiar facing these guys. You know, it's not like you're asking a guy who is in AA last year to go up against team USA. This is a guy who has the utmost confidence and his ability to get these major league hitters out. He's got to go out there. He's got to put up some zeros. Team Canada has to score early and then allow the pressure to kind of mount on team USA, especially given they were given this gift to even get into this, you know, second part of the tournament. Right. Well, like Mark Dorosa, who we've had on a bunch. She's a great interview, you know,

30:39and he was he was a blue J in the past. He's been with MLB Network for a long time. He has taken some heat and, you know, about whether or not he knew they were getting through or they could get through or possibly be eliminated and then he came out and said, no, I already, I always knew which I'm not sure is accurate whatsoever. But in terms of legacy with the Americans, like we've tried to figure out what this WBC means to a lot of countries, you know, it seems to be pretty big in Japan. It seems to be pretty big, certainly in the Dominican and Puerto Rico and, you know, it's going to an extent up here in Canada, so they're finally out of the group stage. So tonight would really put it on the map. But if the U.S. wins tonight and ends up winning this tournament, in your opinion, what kind of value is placed on that? What does Aaron Judge get legacy-wise? What does Mark Dorosa receive legacy-wise? What does this tournament mean if the Americans win? Well, I think all will be forgotten for Mark Dorosa in terms of, you know, him potentially speaking out of turn. And I obviously played with Mark when he was in Toronto

31:42and I was just a young kid. And, you know, throughout my career, I stayed in touch and even more so now that I'm kind of entered the media world. He's been nothing but great to me and gracious with this time and, you know, been a resource for me. And it's very unfortunate in today's day and age when you miss, speak or you miss, yeah, you miss, understand maybe the rules a little bit, you know, something he's never really going to be able to run away from, you know, and it's very difficult. The rules of this tournament are a little bit confusing and, you know, it's a shame because it's going to follow him the rest of his career and I don't think that's a fair thing. So, you know, as a fan of Mark Dorosa and obviously in American, I'm hoping that they can win this tournament and all could be forgotten for Mark Dorosa. But when you were talking about that, I don't know if you guys have seen the quotes of Julio Rodriguez coming out and talking about what it would mean for him to win a WBC tournament, playing for Dominican and he said something all along the lines of no offense to Seattle.

32:44I love my time in Seattle and I want to bring a championship back. But the epitome of winning for me is with his country. And I think we had seen that with the Latin American countries. I think we've obviously seen it with the Asian countries, especially Japan, how important it is to them. And I think over, especially this year, going out and getting the best players that America can get, you really started to understand how much it means to the entire world to just kind of have those bragging rights and being the best baseball country in the entire world. With Kevin Polar, the podcast is Bluebird Territory and you're a big part of that podcast and obviously in the media world and longtime player, longtime Blue J. I want to ask you about the J's because the Burials news came out today that he's gone to Houston to meet with a specialist. And you know, you hear Tommy John associated with it. It doesn't mean it's going to happen. It doesn't mean that that's necessarily the road it's going on or going down. But it is out there. It's surrounding him in terms of what's going on with him right now.

33:44So Burials, you know, not currently in camp. You got Bieber who still isn't even throwing off a mound. They're going to take their time with you, Savage, which has been their plan. And they've been pretty clear with that. You know, where do you stand on the rotation with the J's and the expectation of, you know, how this might play out the first month or two of the year? Well, I think it's making some decisions a little bit easier. I mean, you know, if you would ask me the, the same question a couple of months ago and you're like, okay, the Cody Pond signing and then you sign Mac Sherser. You know, you take Eric Lauer and arbitration. He wants to be a starter. They say he's a believer. He's going to work as a starter. It looks like a very crowded and messy starting pitching room. But that's the reason you go out and acquire depth in the starting pitching department because you know, on our podcast, a couple of weeks ago too with Ricky, I think he talked about the number of starting pitchers the Dodgers used last year in order to win the World Series. And it was like 20 some guys started games from last year.

34:47So it's important to have depth. And I love what they're doing, which raise averages this spring training. I know it's hard for Blue Jay fans to kind of understand what they're doing. And there's obviously got to be a level of concern. If you're not fully aware of what they're trying to accomplish with him, I mean, this is a kid who was pitching in the minor leagues last year, not very far removed from college. The amount of workload he had on himself last year, not just the workload, but also the intensity of the games that he was pitching in. It's going to be the best for this kid's career in the long run. Allow him to come along a little bit slower in spring. I truly do believe that he'll probably be ready for, he won't be delayed. I think he'll he'll make his first scheduled start. Will he be on a little bit of a pitch count at the beginning of the year? I think so. But boy, does that make sure they're signing look even a little bit more enticing right now, especially with what he.

35:49No, I think we got lashes in the velocity and being back. And you know, ultimately going out and throwing four no head innings. It's going to take a lot of guys to get through the season this year. I think the blue jays have done a really good job of going out, you know, signing guys like Mac sure is their Cody Ponds, but you know, also keeping guys up until this point, Barrios and, you know, allow her happy as well too. But, you know, I don't want to over react until he gets there because they said it was just inflammation and it could be more than that. But I think you got to allow him to go see the doctor, which I'm actually right down the street from where he's at. So maybe I'll try to get down there and get a little inside scoop on what's going on. I'll get the breaking news. I'll go into myster's office and be like, what do you got? But hopefully it's not Tommy John. Hopefully it's, like you said, it's just a little bit of inflammation, something he can, you know, miss his star and spring training and then allow himself to kind of build back up. But the blue jays just have a bunch of very interesting decisions they have to make of who's going to be those five guys

36:52that's break camp that are going to start. Are they going to go six man rotation? Because I know they're opening the season with seven straight days. Do they piggyback, allow or entree a savage to kind of cut down on the savages workload? But I think, you know, it's never good to hear one of your guys going down. Especially from everything I had heard, he had been throwing the ball pretty good. So Kevin, outside of, you know, what's going on with the pitching staff, you know, Vlad, he had an unbelievable second season last year. Now Bo's not here. What do you expect or what is your expectation for Vlad, this season, you know, coming in? He's obviously the man he's got the contract. But, you know, what would be a reasonable for your expectation for him this year? I think he's going to build off of what he did in the post season last year. I truly believe that he is going to take the next step in terms of the power department and being a little bit more of a home run hitter. And it's difficult because he's such a pure hitter.

37:53You know, he's a guy that you expect to be right around at 300 more, you know, he has the ability to hit the ball the other way. He has the ability to take hits and hit tough pitching. But I think with the, with boba shit, not being in that lineup, I think he's going to be asked to do a little bit more in terms of the power. So I do expect maybe the average to come down a little bit, but I do expect the power to get up there a little bit more. I do expect him to be kind of in that 40 home run mark. But a law that's going to be reliant on who's going to step up in the absence of bow. Is it going to be out of some barge, or is it going to be Alejandro Kirk? Because the guy hit it behind Vladie in this lineup is going to have the way to the world on his shoulders early on in the season, protecting Vladie. So a lot of that's going to be dependent on who's hit behind him and who gets hot. And, you know, who could kind of step up as that guy that bow was for the last couple of years for Vladie. Well, we're a couple of weeks away from opening day. It's quick, man. I remember I saw you down at the dome.

38:53It was three months ago. And here we are again, it's happening again quickly. And prior to that, though, we got the WBC in Canada, USA tonight. It's going to be a fun one this evening. Enjoy it. And again, your podcast is the Blue Bird Territory. You, Ricky, I think Mitch is a part of that with you. So that's awesome. And we appreciate you doing this. Kevin, we'll do it again down the road. All right, sounds good. There's Kevin Polar. Oh, you saw him down at the dome. I don't want to see one of your best spotings. Yeah, we got a little stoppage on. A little stoppage on. Get Kenny Rosy on there. Get Kenny Rosy on there. Kenny, I did a little stop. I don't know if I did a stoppage out with Kenny. I think, you know, I was in those circles with Kenny Rosy and Thor. Remember the big kerfuffle with Kenny just knocking over the camera guy and then the death's there. It's a meme. It's a forever meme. It is a meme. I didn't see the meme. Oh, yeah. He is looking back. He is looking back. He was one of those out of a movie where the TV guy is a bit of a jerk and he was just

39:55like, how dare you look on his face. Shoot him in the cabin. That's what he was. Yeah, it was a king looking down on a peasant. You know, it was like how could you do it with the camera? He was holding a camera or water, but yeah. Well, because someone was doing the Gatorade Splash, so Kenny got out of the way and pushed the guy over and then Kenny looked back like how dare you. So yeah, well, we've had Kenny, we had Rosy and Thor. Funny, like when the Toronto teams were in the World Series NBA finals, you can get anybody on, right? Like, we had Barclay on back in 19. Remember, we had a bunch of monster names on when the rapists were in. You try to get them on now. They're like, no, we're not coming on. You just showed it. He doesn't even help the guy up, knocks him over and then staring at him, like, how dare you run into it? Yeah, wasn't a good look for Kenny Rosy, though, like, look at this guy, like, how dare you? I should have looked at.

40:55And he's like, get out of my way, that little hand gesture right there was like, you're a piece of garbage. So God. And that goes resumes the interview immediately. Rappers in action tonight, Phoenix and town, they're favored, but it's not going well for the Raptors, Leafs in Buffalo tomorrow. The players, Melody and Friday brought to you by Boston Pizza, enjoy a $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree aside and a drink and you get it all in 20 minutes or less. So fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza. Come back and recap the players, get to our best bets, and I will make an injury announcement. I'll make it official, right? It might be speed. It might be Thomas. Dude, we already said it's 11th or, like, that's it. Tommy Fleet. Let me look at it and I will establish, and when you're done looking at it, I want an updated leaderboard when we come back. Updated leaderboard coming up, overdrive continues up on TS on four. Melody and Friday is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar.

41:56Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree aside and a drink and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza. Give a quick little shout out to the lovely ladies at Hildest Sewing in Cullingwood. Going away tomorrow and I was in a pinch and I called just out like out of a whim. You guys know what I'm like. If I want something done, I kind of get a little bit antsy and they said bring it in and we'll do it for you and we'll get it to you before she said, you know, we close at five and I'm leaving. So if your daughter can come and pick it up then great. I did it. Lovely people. Hildest Sewing. I love it. Okay. There you go. Hildest Sewing. Hildest Sewing. That's all about it. Google it. You'll find it. Jogs my memory because I did let something pass that you said earlier this week or last week. I kind of had a knee-lander moment where I let it go without jumping. Oh.

42:56That's ignorant. Well. Now it's a knee-lander moment where you don't jump in. Riley moment. Carla. A leaf moment. So what did I say that went over your head and you just were like what you said you got you got track pants tailored. You get why are you getting track pants tailored? Well, why are you doing that? Think about it. You idiot. I know why. I have a 36 and then 22 inseam. That's what it is. Yeah. My jeans right now are 42 30. We used to have 40 30. Remember that was one of our hats. 40 30. 30. Dude, this guy blew past a 40. Dude, those are circus carny pants. Those are wild pants. But those are jeans. There's no elasticity there. Track pants move, dude. Unlike you, I've got an ass of an athlete. So when I buy some sweatpants and stuff, they're made for Patrick Ewing because to get

44:01around my ass, they've got to be 12 feet long. So I got to get them chopped off, say, be tailored in. You're taking the feet. OK, you're taking the little one. Nice. I thought you were blowing. Yeah, it was. OK, I got you. That's reasonable. Best bet's powered by Fandall. I'm on RJ Barrett to have a big night tonight. It just feels like I'm going 20 plus. You got to play a little bit of juice tonight. I'm not betting again because I don't know why the Raptors are five and a half point favorites the way they're playing. I just I wouldn't touch the game. But I think RJ has himself a night at home tonight. Best bets powered by Fandall must be 19 plus physically located in Ontario play responsibly. All right, I want to play this one clip because someone just sent it to me and it's worthy of it being played on a day like today. Let's just end the show with it. Play the clip on the shows. Do you know what got to be back? I'll come back. Well, we'll come back and close it. But this is a clip when Lee fans talk about nostalgia and what they love and what they want. This is what they see when they close the rise. They're seeing the home to victory here in game one Anderson comes in.

45:03Gilmore was it inside the line. I'm sorry. And this is going to drop. Clark and it's already in the rocket. They're going throwing punches. Oh. It's nearly. Sorry. How extraordinary comes back. All right. That's it. But that's why one look like it's Rwando Clark, man. Right there. Look at Eastern Cowan. You don't think people had like a little love on for Eastern Cowan last night. Yeah. I love it. Okay. White collar people walk through the doors there. They want blue collar stuff on the ice, man. Yeah. And not listen. Wendell's a special breed, man. Yeah, it is. Wendell's a different cat. But like, Goudus is top. Marty McSorley is top. And everybody always said, all the people in Carolina, all they want to see is hits and fights and rough hockey. So to Canadians, so to the people that go to the Maple Leaf games. What a great. Don't know how the crowd was like the crowd was. Yeah. There were four of one. It was game one. The game was over. And McSorley wanted dirty. It was a dirty hit too.

46:04And it just, that's what Gilmore was trying to get to the other bench and get to Melrose. And it was an, what a night that would have been to be in the building. Leafs win, game one, Gretzky in town. Clark McSorley. Crazy. Yeah. Good that would have been. Yeah. All right. There you go. Good stuff. Good stuff. All right. Let's see what we got. Raptor's sons tonight. The players. I'm taking speed. That's my, I'll just take speed. Going into the weekend. I want to be on that train. All right. Jordan Speed. There's my injury replacement. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out. We appreciate it. Everyone for tuning in today. TV, radio, podcast, web, and up on YouTube live. We're out of here. Enjoy your evenings. Enjoy your weekends. We're back Monday at... Windom Clark. You're a little snake. 4 p.m. We'll chat then. The newest tracks. Let's go. Music. And the next big thing. Always on the new music first. Your first place to hear it all. Because you don't like it. Love it. Want to play it twice. Playing now. I heart new music. Your digital station for brand new drops.

47:04Fresh vines. And tomorrow's bangers. I think we need something new. Discover I heart new music. Always fresh. Always first. Stream now. On the free. I heart radio app. I heart new music. Always fresh. Always first. Stream now. On the free. I heart radio app.