[MUSIC] >> Hey, morning, Joe, sports at 5.9 in the fan base. Frank Gunning, Leafs, Bruins, game four tomorrow night. Scotia Bank Arena, Commander Chris Hadfield will be in the building again. Like one of the highlights of my career getting a chance to talk to him. A true Canadian hero, rather than every day when you get to talk to me. >> That's the chief highlight of your life and then talking to the commander. Pretty good. >> It's true. >> So the Leafs try to avoid going down three games to one. The lightning are already down three games to none. >> No, that's worse. >> Against the Florida Panthers who yes, do feel like the team that the Leafs should have attempted to avoid if they had any control of their own destiny. Which they didn't, but they managed to either way and they still might lose. But yeah, like the Panthers look really quite, quite good. And have in the three games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and they can come back. This is the one sport where it's not just like the one 2004 Red Sox example. We have what, four? >> I think so, yeah. >> I think four series in the history of the Stanley Cup playoffs that a team has come back from down 3-0 and it's almost never see sweeps anymore either, right? Like you always get back to respectability. >> Oh, a gentleman sweep, five games, like the Leafs and Panthers last year? >> I remember. >> Yeah, gentlemen sweep. >> Yeah, there's nothing gentlemanly about that. >> Very gentlemanly, even like game five overtime. What a gentlemanly sweep that was. >> Gentlemanly in like a peaky blinders fashion, which is like punchy guy. >> Yeah, they're like dressed like gentlemen, but not really. >> Anyways, it seems more than likely that the Tampa Bay Lightning will be eliminated in the first round for a second consecutive season and the Leafs playing a part in that. Wow, incredible. Maybe ending the Lightning Dynasty. It's hard to say it continues now after you lose in the first round back to back years. And your captain is appending free agent and he's not just appending free agent, there's like explicit animus between he and the team as the way in regards to the way negotiations occurred last offseason was not super pleased was a Stephen Stamp Coast that the Lightning weren't talking about a longer term extension with him that they were going to let this thing play out obviously with the expressed understanding that like whatever happens in the postseason might impact their decision making here. And I think they were open to the possibility that something like this would happen. And there needs to be at least some sort of soft reset. Now it's hard when you have Nikita Kuchrov on your team and Victor Hedman and in a Brighton point and like I don't think they're going to strip it down or anything, but they've already committed $77 million to this roster next year, which the cap is going up to $87. You have like $10 million in cap space to fill out a bunch of roster spots. And I'm thinking Stephen Stamp Coast, if he wants market value, he's not getting that in Tampa. Like it does feel like there is a changing of the guard there. It's entirely possible. I still think it is more likely than not that he winds up back there just because if you're going to take because I don't see the spot for him where it is not some semblance of a discount to play on a good team. So if you're going to take that, why wouldn't it be in the spot that you've had all the success and no state tax and no state taxes and no pressure? And part of that is because he's earned the no pressure because they've won. Like this isn't just a Sunbelt thing. They've won. So they deserve the no pressure. But if you're going to take a discount to go somewhere, why wouldn't it just be there? Why? Okay, so I understand what you're talking about. But if you were going to do that, why wouldn't that discussion have already taken place last off season? Why would you capitulate until you have to? Okay. But also if you're the lightning. So like, okay, what he takes a discount. So what he's taken three million, like he's not making like Mark G or Dano money, like it's going to be the same conversation we have per game player this year. Right. And so not drawn to virus conversation, like he's producing more than JT right now. Okay, you're still largely bringing back a team that was life and death to make the playoffs until the end. And I guess part of that was not having Andre Vasilevsky at the beginning of the season. And then when you got him, like it took him a while to re reinvent himself as Andre Vasilevsky. But yeah, you're going to bring back a team again that has, okay, the guts of the team that won a couple of Stanley Cups and is in three straight finals, like it's not there anymore. And you're, you're going to gum up what almost half of the $10 million you have in cap space to the, the captain who is still a good player, but again, like where's it gotten you to a wild card spot and then a first round exit where you look like pretty significantly worse than the team that's at the top of the conference right now. I think you, I think because all those guys are still there, if this was a stem coast is the last nominal to fall, I could see a pivot, but because all those guys are there, I think you just have to continue to bring it back to your conversation with daymo earlier this week. You just keep on trucking. I think, you know, you look at the guys, the middle class on this team, they're not trading Eric Sternach, a 26 year old defenseman and kind of his prime. He makes five million bucks, you know, Anthony Sirelli's not going anywhere. Brandon Haggle's extension is kicking in next year. So he's certainly not, not going anywhere there either. I just look at it and think that it is more likely than not. He winds up back there. I think he gets contentious. I think he gets a little nasty. I think he goes to the market and ends up taking meetings probably with the Leafs. But I think that when push comes to shove, it's, if it's going to be roughly the same money, do you want to try something new or do you want to stick with what, what, you know, yeah, there's a danger to that, right? Like you, you become the penguins or the black ox who held on. I mean, again, like you're talking about no trade clauses and, and it being worth it, right? Like flag fly forever and boy, it could, couldn't have worked out better for the black ox who end up with the next generational superstar and Connor Boudard funny on that work. So yeah, it is interesting. But yeah, like at, at a certain point, you do want to do the Bill Belichick thing where you side on selling too early, then too late if you, if in fact, you want to reopen the winning window and as great as Nikita Kucharov is, yeah, I don't know if he alone is good enough to win a Stanley Cup because clearly it's, he's not even good enough to win a game in the first round against the team that is one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference. Uh, Leafs Rowan's mentioned tomorrow night, we'll see about, um, William Neelander, um, and his impact on this roster and this lineup specifically and where he slots in, mm-hmm. What have you made of, okay, and we'll ask our next guest who I, you know, he's part of the journalism fraternity, but what have you made of the way this story has been messaged and then the changing of the story yesterday with the great reporting by Elliot Friedman, that in fact, it is a migraine that William Neelander is dealing with. I think it was a miscalculation by the Leafs. I don't know why they thought it, but I think they thought they could just say, hey, he's not available, he's skating over here and don't ask any questions about it. We'll tell you what we got an update. I, I don't know why they thought that's the way it would play out. But yeah, I think the Leafs kind of mishand it. Obviously you have to keep the player out if you can't play. This isn't me saying they mishandled that part of it. But from a messaging standpoint to, I, I think they wanted to keep it as quiet as it possibly could have been, but it's the Leafs and it's William Neelander. So as quiet as possible is not quite at all. Let's talk to our insider brought to you by Don Valley, North Lexus, where you can expect excellence online and in the showroom, visit DonValleyNorthlexus.com. Today's insider, Frank Sirivelli, president of hockey content at dailyfaceoff.com. How's it going, Frank? Pretty good. How are you guys doing? How do you feel about the way the Leafs have messaged the William Neelander thing and eventually the reporting from Elliot Friedman that he's dealing with migraines? How do I feel about it? Yeah. It's the playoffs. It's the playoffs. Right enough. Okay. There, there is no forthright when it comes to the playoffs. You try and keep everything under lock and key and if it comes out, it comes out. Was it a mistake then, Davim skating? So like I know, no, you don't think so because I think if they'd wanted to not have questions about this, rolling the William Neelander out and saying, Hey, look, look at this guy skating is about a bad way as humanly possible. I don't know. Maybe they feel like it's better to have the eyeballs there as opposed to what's going on with Marner or them trailing in the series right now. But that's the thing I thought was so kind of strange about it is how they seem to think they could just kind of not talk about it, but obviously it was going to be a story. There's not one part of this that's strange to me. Every single thing that you do as a team, you try and do in the best interest of the Toronto Maple Leafs. So the first part of that is you want them as close to, you know, game shape as possible. You want them to be testing it out. You want them to see how it feels. So there's no harm in skating. So of course you want them skating and if there's eyeballs on that, so be it. And then the next part with the reporting is you just give as little information because there's no NHL injury reporting requirements. So you do whatever it is that you feel like you have to do. If he misses the rest, I don't, there's not one part of this that's odd or has been mishandled. Okay, let me, let me ask you this. Do you think that this had, because I, I think when you're, when you do, you know, like step back a bit, you're right, like teams want to be secretive in the playoffs. But we also, no one's making them be honest. So why would you, that's exactly where I was going to go with this is do you think that this was a bit of a, this could be a bit of a tipping point and, you know, just, let's be on. You don't think so. You don't think that the, and all the reason I say that it's not that they owe us anything. This is, it's the NHL. We've heard wishy, washy injury reports in the playoffs forever and I'm not gambler, they all gambler something like how much of it is that we can go to the floor. A lot of gambling, gambler, we even go to the swam and all marketing in terms of who's going to be the starter from Boston. Like do you think with how many eyeballs are on this, there could be a change in terms of how forthright teams need to be, be it with starting goalies, be it with injury stuff, just because of the gambling. I don't think the culture of the sport needs to change, but the gambling element of it. Do you think that there will be a kind of tipping point with this? So we're talking about a couple of different things here. One is what the Leafs should do or are doing. That's a separate thing than what the league should be doing and is doing. And then there's a whole other thing, which is what I think everyone should be doing, and it is doing. In this case, when it comes to the league, they don't feel like they owe gamblers anything. One because hockey is such a small overall percentage of the handle that sports books aren't beating them up to give more honest information. And two, part of this is part of the game. They feel like if you're going to take a risk and bet on hockey, which is maybe the most unpredictable in all of sports, that's on you. You're shouldering the risk as the gambler. Yeah, no need to make excuses. I was going to say now, the part that I, I mean, to me, honestly, is always the best policy. Just here's the, I love the NFL. Here's the injury report. Here's who participated today. Here's everyone's status. Yeah. On the injury report every day of his entire career and never missing a game. Yeah. No, there's, there are always on the up and up those, those NFL teams. Well, that, that's, that's another part of it is that even if you're seeing it in print right in front of your eyes, that you're taking them at their word, which as a journalist, anything I see, no matter what it is, always comes with a healthy dose of skepticism. Mm hmm. Um, as far as, here's a whole, whole other thing though, that I think is, give me another thing, point out a whole another thing. I think you're entirely different. And because of how, or I should say, because of what we know about concussions, and I'm, we don't know that William Neelander has suffered one only that he has symptoms that have presented that could be related to a concussion, that's something that should be revealed every time, because it speaks to the severity of the situation. It speaks to, um, really, because of what we know, in that case they shouldn't be, the wall shouldn't be pulled over anyone's eyes. This is a significant head injury that, you know, could potentially need to be dealt with. And I'm not saying that Neelander has that, which also brings in some gray area of it. The Leafs don't know that this is a concussion, but when there is one, it shouldn't be called upper body injury. No, no, no. The concussion thing is different because yeah, we need, it's, I think we've all established that we're good with like independent neurologists like evaluating concussions because the player needs to be protected from himself and the, the team needs to be protected from acting in its own self-interest without the thought of the, the player's long-term health involved here. Um, but yeah, this is a weird gray area because like, I, I don't know too much about migraines. Like people just have migraines that haven't suffered concussions. I also know people that have had migraines because they've had concussions. Yeah, that part is weird, right? Like, who knows, maybe William Neelander wants to play through this thing and somebody is putting their body in front of it, somebody within that organization or like, what, what is the protocol for the NHL with, with the independent neurologists and like, yeah, we very rarely see the concussion spotters. I mean, there was an incident in one of the games in the series, I guess was game two where Ilya Sampson off takes a puck off the side of the head and, and you're like, oh, was that a concussion? And they rarely are the goalies ever pulled from games to, to be evaluated for that stuff. But like in off days, what is, what is the protocol for the NHL's independent doctors looking at a potential concussion? Well, there's really not really a such thing as independent, I should say. I mean, are there people that, that should be there making decisions, you know, totally in the best interest of the player, of course? But the reason William Neelander is not playing is because William Neelander used his voice to say something's not right. And that's not to say that the Leafs don't have his interest in mind. It's just that every single time, 100 out of 100 times, it always comes down to the player saying, I'm good to go or I'm not because that's the thing about concussions or end or head injuries is it's completely subjective and you can mask symptoms. Yeah, I think you're, I think you're a bang on there. And I think there's also, and again, like we're all playing a bit of a guessing game here. It's like entirely possible to William Neelander said the thing and then like, I'm not feeling so right. And then we're two games into the series and he's going, well, I'm still not playing. This is ridiculous. I didn't see this playing, playing out this way. Like it is entirely possible. Another big topic of conversation in this series is that where the case you would have played in game three then. Are you sure? But so you think if you, if you think of William Neelander says, I'm playing, that's that because I think if it's a, if that's a hundred percent the case, if he says, I am good to go, he's playing. Hmm. That's, that's interesting. I, that's how it works. And that's the problem with, with all of the head injury stuff is that it always comes down to specifically what the player says and how he feels. Do you think, and even if he doesn't feel good and says he feels good, how also you're you going to know? Do you think that that's why there's, there's the testing and whatnot. But even some of the testing can be gained. Right. That's why I was, and again, like the Leafs would have been secretive about this. This isn't a Leafs thing. This is playoffs in the NHL. But from a public perception standpoint, it feels like it would be even more imperative than for them to keep whatever it is quiet because not that like, I think Neelander's perception has come a long way. But God, do you, do you know segments of every fan base, certainly this one that would hear God, it's up to him, play or not play. And I would think the team would be trying to protect the player from that narrative at all costs. Well, I think that's another reason to be honest, is that every single person on the planet now, no matter how hardcore of a fan you are, should understand any player at any point saying my head isn't right and have no pressure. So if he doesn't play in the rest of the series, which is also possible, although it does feel like the narrative is that he's gaining momentum to play in tomorrow night's game. If he doesn't play in the rest of the series, Leafs lose in this series, the Boston Bruins. How much will be a caveat at all when we talk about, ah, Leafs lost in the first round yet again, but man, no William Neelander, what are they supposed to do? I don't think so for me, I mean, if the Vancouver Canucks lose to the Nashville Predators, are you going to look back and say, Oh man, they didn't have Thatcher Demko, I would personally me. Yeah. I think goaltending, like I also think there's a difference between a top six winger, not the, you know, William Neelander is just that and you're starting goaltender, though I will say that as well. I, it's a huge deal. It's changed the complexion of that series. Every part of it's enormous. I just don't know that that's how necessarily things work. You don't just look back in five years from now, there's not going to be an asterisk next to this series that says, you know what, William Neelander didn't play. So yeah, whatever. Yeah, I mean, John Tavares missed an entire first round series and we certainly don't give, and like rightfully so. We certainly don't give the, the Leafs a break for that. Gamesmanship is such a big part of postseason series. You know, be it from the players, be it from the coaches. Sheldon Keefe did his best to draw a little attention to Brad Marshawn. Do you think Raps are looking at him a little more closely? Is his reputation kind of already set in stone? Do you think Sheldon Keefe took the right tax drawing attention to everything that happened with Marshawn in game three? No, I don't. For one, you have fully admitted that Brad Marshawn is living rent-free in your head. Two, if you want to work the officials, I understand that the idea of doing so publicly sometimes coaches have been successful with that tact against the Leafs. I think specifically is probably why it lives rent-free in his head. I'm not sure that that's how it works and I'll take it a step further and I'm going to venture to say that Sheldon Keefe has almost zero cache with the officials based on the way he appears to talk to them. So if that was his plan, I'm not sure that that's working. And I think third and most importantly, and I've been a big believer in this for a long time, your team feeds off of your energy, your attitude, your comportment. Worry about keeping Brad Marshawn off the scoreboard. What Brad Marshawn is doing is the Stanley Cup playoffs. This has been happening for the test of time. He's become, he is elite to use Sheldon Keefe's word at towing the line and more than that, he's not just a pain in the arse. He's a damn good player. So the focus should be entirely on not having him beat you instead of trying to game the officials or worrying about a call. And it just feels like yet another misstep in front of a microphone for Keith. Austin Matthews scoring 70 is a major distraction. Brad Marshawn not being able to keep him under wraps is the referee's fault, not ours. I'm sorry, like I get the idea of trying to put that out there in the ether to draw everyone's attention to it. Everyone already saw it. Yeah, I mean, maybe he's done the Gretzky. It's a croc crap, you know, it's a croc crap. It's just the croc is full of crap. Anyways, we'll see. We'll see. Maybe maybe the officials, yeah, go the opposite route and they give Brad Marshawn minus penalties tomorrow night somehow. I don't know. They award him penalty shots. Yeah, no, ask Frank the question you asked me. Is Brad Marshawn getting a penalty tomorrow night? Just true or false? Brad Marshawn one in over under one minute and penalty minutes for Brad Marshawn in tomorrow night's game. I mean, you could ask that of any game Brad Marshawn's ever played, but he's got zero through three games. Yeah, I'm going to say no. Yeah, I agree. No, he's getting one. Nope. Yeah, Bruins leading seven one and like a final minute. Thanks, minor, Brad Marshawn. Yeah, Frank, thanks as always, pal. Have a good one, guys. All right, Frank Sir Valley, president of hockey content at dailyfaceoff.com. He was our insider brought to you by Don Valley, North Lexus where you can expect excellence online and in the showroom. Visit Don Valley North Lexus.com. I hadn't considered that possibility. The officials hate Sheldon keeps so much like, Oh, yeah, you think we've been turning a blind eye in the first three games? Watch this, which which again is like exactly how you want the neutral observers and arbiters of rules. Well, none of this is all conscious, right? Like I can't even in my most cynical brain can't be like, Oh, the officials in the room before the game were like, screw that guy, screw this team. And like, let's let's watch the. I don't think they make a point of saying, let's screw those guys. But I think if they like just, I mean, like we all talk about our coworkers and they're not like, I guess coworkers in the same way, but they're like, yeah, I kind of don't like beef. And I'm sure that conversation happens a lot before games. But this actually ties perfectly to the hobby horse I've been banging since the start of the series of why Brad Marshawn gets to play the game by different rules. Darryl Sutter came into Toronto and said into a microphone, I've been getting hosed in this building by officials for 30 years. I don't hear officials say, Oh God, we have to go like, we don't hear this that Darryl Sutter's never going to get a call and his team never going to call. We see this all the time. Maurice does the five one or six one or whatever it was. It is a couldn't have done six weeks ago. It's a great point by you. Good job. He's not an alien. Maybe, but I don't know. I haven't been paying close attention. Maybe he's developed an extra thumb in there in the time. But I look at it and say that it is just infuriating that it is a, I honestly think it's a leaf problem. You tell me Sheldon Keefe, the only coach in the league that gets in guys face and screams to them. Wrong. Wrong. You think Patrick was going, excuse me, sir. I'd like to have a very, a very moderate conversation with you about something I feel different. I don't think that's happening. And yeah, he's Patrick Waugh and that should matter. But Sheldon Keefe is coached in this league for a while now. There's what three longer tenured head coaches in the league and it is infuriating. It's the same thing I say about Marshawn. And part of it is the championship DNA and being a winner and yada yada. You can't tell me that if Brad Marshawn's wearing blue and white, we're all sitting here talking about how he games the officials. And that's anything other than a black mark on the officials. But here we have to shake his hand and say, Oh, good, he is at it. And he is good at it. But he's only good at it because the guys who were deciding the rules go, Oh God, he's so good at towing the line that we set. Yeah, it's infuriating. And is it, is it human nature that if you get screamed out by a guy, you're not going to want to give him the benefit of the doubt all the time? Of course it is. But guess what? You're supposed to, that's what the money's for. You're supposed to get yelled at and still be a neutral observer or arbiter or whatever you want to, or whatever way you want to look at it. It is infuriating. Now, Brad Marshawn was a leaf. He'd be in Millhaven serving like the first of seven consecutive life sentences. All right. Yeah, for licking, like a bridge to bar. We cannot have it. When we come back, Blue Jays lost the series in a very bizarre way yesterday in Kansas City. Talk briefly about that. But more, look forward to sold out weekend series against Shoyo Taney's Los Angeles Dodgers. I thought you were going to say we're going to do like Dan Shulman, like like turf care tips because of the, because of the rain delay yesterday. It's like, well, if he had some, maybe they would have continued the game. Okay. So they didn't. Dan Shulman next is the fan morning show continues. Ben Annis, Brent Gunning, Sportsnet 590, the fan breaking down the top stories in the NHL every day. The jazz Mary show, subscribe and download the show on Apple Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Fan morning show Sportsnet 590, the fan Ben Annis, Brent Gunning, I hate sitting in traffic. Um, the worst part of it though is like when it happens unexpectedly. And like, I don't know how long it's going to last. Kind of like yesterday's rain delay in Kansas City. Who knew how long it was going to last? I mean, the end result was something I thought we would hear about much earlier than three and a half hours, uh, it taking for the rain to subside and then an attempt to get the field in playing condition and then decide that no, in fact, the game is in fact over. Uh, what was it like for our next guest, Dan Shulman joins us online. How's it going, Dan? Well, rain delays when you're sitting at your own house with the comfort of your television, your fridge, your cozy pillow, your slippers. Those are a little different than rain delays when you're actually at the ballpark playoff hockey to switch back and forth between that we weren't locked in, you know, yeah. So was there anything weird about the process? Because, yeah, John Schneider didn't seem all that pleased about it. So, uh, you know, listen, sometimes mother nature is just, it's unpredictable, right? And these things can't be handled perfectly. And there's a little bit of hindsight here, but I think this could have been handled better. And I'm not talking about the fact, you know, whether the blue chase were up or under down or under, we're going to win or lose. I'm not talking about that at all. Like everybody knew this was coming, you know, and, um, I mean, I said it in the open off the top of the show. Uh, I'm not sure they shouldn't have like never even started the game. But if they start the game, you know, it started raining, I don't know, in the second or maybe the third and by the fourth, it was pouring. Um, I thought I was amazed. So the blue chase hit in the top of the fifth and they don't score. So they're trailing. Yeah. I was amazed. They played the bottom of the fifth. That was another 15, 20 minutes of water, because in that inning, the Jose burrios would throw a pitch, get the ball back. And the same is called Reagan step off, try to dry your hand, try to keep the baseball dry. So now you're like 25, 30 seconds between pitches, and that was 15 more minutes of water. Um, and then they decided to cover it up. And I just thought they a shouldn't maybe shouldn't have started it be stopped it too late. Uh, and then, you know, we knew what they were going to do. We, we knew there was a window and they were going to try to make the field playable, but it took an hour to make the field playable. And that's when it got a little ridiculous, because we could see sitting in the booth, Chris Guccione, the crew chief, he'd go talk to Schneider, then he'd go talk to Quiteraro, and then he would disappear for 10 minutes. And then he, and then it would come back and go again and again and again. They would keep walking around. And if, if Chris Guccione felt the field was unsafe or not playable, I think he's entitled to say, I don't think this game should resume. It just took so long for them to get to that point. And I, you know, I think it probably could have been handled differently earlier on. Yeah. Yeah. The easiest way to affix this would have been to just not have started, you know, Schneider. And I think he's right to point out the comments of, hey, how much worse was it than what Bixette had to field in at various points in the game? But the thing I kind of look out with that, and you know, I know this is no solace to Schneider or a Blue Jays fan this morning, but just because you made a poor decision earlier in the game doesn't mean you have to make one again in the interest of fairness. At least that's kind of, that was kind of my read on it. Like, I understand the frustration from Schneider and the, and the Jay's perspective. But I think you kind of hit the nail on the head there with if it's not safe to play, it's not safe to play. Yeah. And listen, if it's not getaway day, it's a totally different situation, right? Like it's 100% different situation, but it's the last game of the series and the Blue Jays aren't going back there. And that's what makes it tricky. And I'm, and I said this to a few people, like Kansas City is literally going to be here next week. And there's a mutual off day, but I was told under no circumstances would was it ever considered for the two teams to play here, say next Thursday with Kansas City is the home team. There was a possibility of the Blue Jays going back there on the Thursday. There was a mutual off day in September. They talked about, but you know, what you're talking about is somebody on the West Coast, and you're only allowed to play 20 days in a row with players association gets involved. And obviously, like everything, there are more layers to this. And it's a little bit more complicated than we think it is in the moment. Yeah. And my take on it is if in the world of the expanded playoffs in Major League Baseball, it comes down to one game that you missed the wild card because of this game that you weren't leading like you don't deserve to be in the playoffs anyways. I think we're beyond that. But now we start this incredibly, I don't know, anticipated series against the Dodgers. Dan, there is not a ticket to be found for any of the games this weekend against Shoyo Tani's Dodgers, which you know, is not unusual considering the way they packed that building after the new renovations. But this feels different from my perspective. You're going to be there, obviously. Does it feel like a different series than a normal April series against an out of league team would feel? It does from the hype and the fan point of view, not from the on the field point of view, like to me, is this like on the field between the white lines? Is this any different than Atlanta coming in or the Yankees coming in? I don't think so. But from a high point of view, there's no question. I mean, you know, a, the Dodgers bring hype, obviously. B, they have Shoyo Tani and C, and C is the big one is a lot of the people that are going to the game. And I hoped and maybe thought that Shoyo Tani was going to be a bluejay. And I think that's actually the biggest part of it. And I think it's going to be a bit of a charged atmosphere tonight. And I think a lot of people are there to cheer for the blue jays. I think some people are there maybe to get on Otani a little bit because, you know, they had hoped he would come here. And that's their prerogative. I don't think it's going to bother him much. And I don't think it'll last all that long. But I think it'll start, you know, there will probably be a little bit of that, at least at the beginning of the game tonight. But yeah, it's, I don't want to say it's going to feel like a playoff game, because that might be a little bit too far. But I think it's going to feel more than a typical sold out regular season game. Yeah, I think what's going to be interesting is how different the tenor will be to his visit last year. I mean, there were 40,000 in the park for the entire angel series when they came to town. But that was more as, ooh, this Saudi he pitches and he hits. And, you know, if you're a sports fan, he's just one of the guys from this era that you'd love to say you saw in the flesh. That was a, it was almost like he was the he was the 10th Blue Jay on the field at any given time. Like you wanted the J's to win. But if he did something special and an angels loss, that would have been great. It's just going to be very jarring to me how different the tenor is going to be this time as opposed to last. Yeah, because there will be some people and I don't know if it's a thousand or 5,000 or 10,000 or we'll find out tonight, who will feel that he and or his representatives use the blue chase. I think that I think some people will feel that. I don't know how true that is. I know he's seriously engaged with the Blue Jays and, you know, John Schneider was there, Ross Atkins was there and we know he went to Dunedin and all that. But, you know, who knows where the plane story came from, who planted, what, where, how serious was he. Those are all great unknowns and we are never, ever, ever, ever going to get the, I don't think the answers to those questions. But I think some people in the ballpark tonight will feel that, you know, his, his representatives use the Blue Jays and I think we'll hear, we'll hear how they feel about that at least, at least tonight. I think it'll pass and eventually it'll turn into a baseball game. But I think there'll be a little of that early. I saw your tweets, everybody, not you, Dan. I'm talking to the listener. I saw your tweet about, you know, Shoyo Tani being on a flight to Toronto. Yes. Ha ha ha. It is true that he was on a flight to Toronto yesterday for this series. He's having a remarkably similar season. Hey, okay. What tweet did I put out about you? No, I said, not you. I said, I said, not you, the other listeners. Okay, listeners. Yeah. Yes, who, you know, made fun of us for like glomming on to one talk about, yeah, he was like actually finally on a flight to Toronto was the joke, right? Yeah. Oh, yesterday I see I got you. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Good one, Ben, and everyone out there. No, it wasn't me. No, I said I saw everybody else's tweet. Anyways, he's having a remarkably similar offensive season to the one he had last year, who was the MVP. He's not pitching this year, obviously. So it's, yeah, maybe he wins the MVP on the strength of his hitting alone, which I mean, he's more than capable of doing. It's tough as a DH, but boy, he's an incredible offensive force. Blue Jays are probably more than one bat away, but man, put yourself in an alternate reality where, and Justin Turner has been so good for this team. So I guess you have to kind of subtract his bat to add the Shoyo Tani, but doesn't feel like they are, because the pitching has been so, so good that like one unreal bat, like Shoyo Tani's or Juan Soto's bat, and I mean, we're talking about a different result in what like five games at least this season. Do you like, do you like causing yourself emotional pain, Ben? Yeah, yeah, let's do it. Let's do it, Dan. How is this helping you? It's not. I mean, yeah, he's one of the, you know, if he's not the best hitter of the game, he's one of the top two, three, four, whatever you want to say. He's a fantastic player. You're right when you say you would subtract Justin Turner, and obviously it would have been awesome for them to get Shoyo Tani, but the, you know, the bigger issue to me is the, and I always thought this was the bigger issue is people spend 98% of their energy in the off season on who they should go get, and 2% of their energy on what about the guys that they have, and the guys that they have have to hit better than they are hitting right now. So, uh, oh, Tani would have made an extraordinary difference. Justin Turner's been great doing what he's doing, but, um, you know, all you have to do is look at the numbers and see the overall team numbers and, and know that, uh, say Springer and Guerrero and Beshette and Kirk, like these guys are all significantly hitting under their career averages right now. And, uh, they know that. I mean, Bo talked about it openly a few days ago, how the top three, uh, has to do more. So, um, I wouldn't, you know, you do you, but I wouldn't recommend, uh, you know, uh, that's, that's a lot of dead end energy for me. Like, uh, you know, it's healthier to be in, in your world than mine. Well, yeah, my world's not totally healthy, but, but, you know, like, let's talk about the guys who are aware in the Bluejay uniforms, you know, because they're the ones who are actually going to determine whether this team is a playoff team or not. And, and, um, like, I hope they give Addison Barge or some real run here and however long he is up. I hope the, the guys who need to hit more start hitting more. I hope Bar Show keeps it going, but I also wonder when the point is, and I don't think we're there yet because John Schneider was asked about a point like a couple of days ago about, you know, making changes, changing the order and there's only so many things you can do. And, you know, he pretty emphatically said they're not there yet. But, you know, another week or two of this, and I think they've got to consider some things, whether it's changing the order, changing the playing time of the guys on the roster or, you know, even another roster move up and down, try to try to get some hot bats into the lineup, like these games count. You mentioned Varsho there. I mean, as far as good stories on the Bluejay's go, I mean, we can obviously look at the pitching staff as a whole, but from an offensive perspective, he has been far and away the best story so far. How I'm not expecting him to fall off a cliff, by any means, but how sustainable is this? I mean, the Bluejay's traded Gabriel Moreno for Dalton Varsho because they saw something close to this was possible. I don't know that this is sustainable, but just how close to this version of our show do you think they can expect over the rest of the season? I'd like to think it's pretty close. I mean, I think he has been hot and, you know, there's somebody told me many, many years ago, you know, never make big decisions like nobody's as hot as they appear to be when they're hot. Nobody's as cold to be as they appear to be when they're cold. Like, you know, it's a snapshot. It's a moment. I would like to think he can keep pretty close to this going. He's made significant changes and he has stuck with them. I've always felt and I'm sure I've said this on your show and the other shows. Last year, he was in a really tough spot, you know, traded for one very popular player and one very highly thought of prospect. Come on in and try to balance the lineup because they don't have a lot of left handed bats. Brandon Bell is coming off knee surgery. So instead of hitting six, you're going to hit fourth. So protect Vladie and help lead us to the playoffs. That's a lot for a 26 year old guy who had never been traded before. So I think he's in a much, much, much better kind of mental emotional position in year two. And he's he's a tinkerer and he's a perfectionist. And those are two hard things to be. And he's not tinkering anymore. He's trusting the process and have putting faith in the results and so far so good. And I think it's been great. And I think he's kind of be an easier on himself too. And he's got teammates who support him like crazy. He's a really good player. Like he's a great defender and a great base runner. Anybody who doesn't see that isn't watching closely, I know you guys see that. And I don't think he's ever going to be a 300 hitter. I don't think that's him. But his 260 is really powerful because there are walks in there allowed 260. Oh, wow. It's you know what? They need loud on this team. They they got a lot of quiet 260s and 240s and and but he's a really loud 260 with the power and the walks and you put the base running of the defense in and I know you guys both like analytics go look at baseball reference or fan graphs. I looked yesterday. He's top 10 in war in the major leagues in both. He's a heck of a player right now. And he's a heck of a person. I think what you know I hope close to this is sustainable. But you know if he can hit 30 homers and steal 15 bases and walk 70 or 80 times and play goal glove defense, that's a hell of a player. And I think they've got a really good player. It's still too soon to evaluate a trade and and whatever. This is the player they have. And right now he's actually been their best position player this season. And it's probably it's not even close. So I'm really happy for him because he's a great guy and he's a you know, he's a workaholic and he just does everything he can do to get better. And he's as good a teammate as there is in that room too. And I just hope he keeps it going. And he's a Packers fan, which I mean full disclosure here. Come on. What are we talking about? Like, the lead. Yeah. So you mentioned some some lineup changes or maybe you know, making this lineup a little more offensive oriented. I'm excited about what Addison Barger has in store. And yeah, for an 0 for 4 game, I thought there was a lot to like out of those bats and not the least of which is hitting a ball almost 400 feet to straight away center field. Like I I'm excited to see what he has in store. His natural position is third base. Like, do you think it's it's possible? And we're seeing more David Schneider against right-handed pitchers. Like, is it possible we get with no Kevin Kiermeyer? Yeah, that we get a few more lineups against righties with David Schneider and left field and that's in Barger third base. I think it's possible. I was a little surprised they put him in left field to be honest with you. So now, you know, the top four in the order are mainstays. Obviously, and either Chancellor Kirk are going to be in there and Bartia was going to be in there. So, second base, third base, left field are the mix and match right now. To answer your question, yes, you can have Bizio with second, Schneider in left and and Barger at third base. I think they did what they did because they wanted Clemente. Like Clemente was in the lineup two days ago and Schneider wasn't. So, if Clemente is in the lineup, who do you put in left field? You could put any of the three there actually Clemente, Bizio, and Barger. They're all kind of equally inexperienced in left field. Bizio's played a lot of right. Barger's played a lot of right. So, but yes, I think if Schneider is in the game, then he's then you put him in left field and you put Barger at third. I don't see why. I have a dog. It's the first time I've ever heard. It must have been somebody within a kilometer and a half of a car. So, yeah, I like why not put him in a more comfortable position if you can put him in a more comfortable position. So, but I think that has to do with Schneider being in the game. If Schneider is and it seems to me what they're doing first is basing their lineup, not on what position can you play. It's do we think you're a good match up against the other team starting pitcher. So, you put IKF and you put Clemente in that pool as well. And of the five of those guys, three of them are going to be in the game. So, yes, I agree with you. If Schneider's in the game, I think Barger should be a third. If Schneider is not in the game, I guess you put Barger in left and it becomes a little bit more comfortable to him every day. I mean, he has played right. Mark Butzinski told me because he came up as a shortstop and then became a third baseman. He's used to the left side of the field and that helps. You know, that first ball that was hit to him was as tricky a ball as can get hit like a slicing liner right over your head. And then he recovered and made a great catch up against the wall later in the game. He's young and athletic and works hard and and year to do whatever they ask him to do. But it is a lot to ask a kid to come to the majors for the first time in play position. They've never played. It's it's very unusual. So I hope they sort this out. You know, maybe he gets very comfortable very quickly, but you have Schneider's in the game. Schneider should be at last. Yeah, also just jarring for a guy who's a bit of a utility man to have played all over the diamond and never been there in his his professional life. Last one before we let you go. You are a wonderful play by play man. We lost maybe the greatest play by play man in Bob Cole. You're a Canadian. You do the job. Your your thoughts on one of the all time great, Stan. I mean, you know, from how many years do I remember watching hockey night in Canada? And he was the voice like it. And I mean, he is I think is significant. The most significant play by play man, along with Foster Hewitt. I would say that this country has ever had, right? And Foster was just a generation earlier. You know, I watched I couldn't even count how many hockey games with with Bob Cole. And he was incredible. I mean, he just made every game sound like the most exciting game there ever was. I think whatever team you're rooted for, not not coming at this more from a Toronto perspective, obviously, but but he just had a unique, wonderful sound. And, you know, I think back to when the Leafs were in the playoffs, say like 92, 93, like those years, and Bob Cole is calling the games and the Leafs are the underdogs playing the Red Wings and then the Blues and then the Kings and he made everything sound incredibly exciting, you know, like when Wendell Clark would throw a check or or take a wrist shot or Gilmore would make a play or something like that. Everything sounded like the most exciting thing I've ever heard in my life. And he was fabulous. He was I only met him once and it was very brief, which is kind of crazy. But, you know, we were in different professional worlds and and but I, you know, all the highlight clips I've listened to like you guys have the last few days to like they they just take you back in time, right? And so much of my I don't know if it's childhood, but definitely teenage years and then into like 20s and 30s, obviously, we're spent watching him on TV and then he'll be missed. He was he was unbelievable. Yeah. Well said, Dan. It's a loss of the greatest ever call that sport for sure. Thanks for doing this and enjoy a very exciting series this weekend. It should be fun. Thanks, guys. See Dan, Dan Schulman given his remembrances of Bob Cole. That is surprising that Dan's only met him once in his professional life. Like, yeah, it isn't isn't though, right? Like it's like they're just calling different sports and different buildings and you would think at some point crossing paths, but like one guy's working all summer and all winter. One guy's working all winter. Like it's just and skipping the Breyer, you know, it's hard to hard to make time to meet Dan when you're skipping two Breyers. That's true. And everybody does a Bob Cole impression. Boy, do they? Does anyone do a Dan Schulman impression? I don't think so. People do map a scurgeon. Like, I love to give you a Santa Maria. Yeah. I think I think it's quite, you know, it's it's a it's a positive for Dan that he doesn't have like this catchphrase. I think it's cool if you got one, but like, if you're just so great and you're regarded as one of the best ever and it's not because you have some kitschy thing, like that's that's good. But yeah, I don't I've never in my life. And it's rare for somebody who's been part of our sports watching lives. Interesting. Yeah. For as long as Dan has, I don't I don't I don't think I've ever heard anyone do a Dan Schulman impression. No, it's like impersonations of his partner, right? Like Dickie V. We've all done that or like a block of course. Okay, we all have. Okay. Yeah, you're right. Among us. Among us. That says not. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, you're you're right. There is a there's something about that. I didn't want to like put him on the spot. And I know he's no longer connected. So I can say this now. It's like what I would give for an oh baby or an everything is happening tonight. Yeah, what I would give for that. I don't know. Yeah. I guess you're right. It's like a nose, a nice homage, but it's like you don't want to force it. Yeah. Yeah. It's his thing. Oh, baby. Well, let me tell you something. I'm I'm not fairly confident we get one tonight in Stanley Cup playoffs. I think somebody might work it in. You're right. That's that's probably true. I I think the most appropriate place might have been when we talked to Chris Hadfield on the launchpad and like two, one. Oh, baby. Yeah. And again, as we said, that is a place where not everything can happen. Only only between all the lights are going off. Everything is happening happening, but like in a good way. No. And hey, a lot of news and everything is happening. When Bob Cole said everything was happening, it was almost certainly disaster for at least half the people involved in that hockey game. Yeah, man, God, we're so lucky. Like we we really are like Bob Cole, Harry Neal, soundtrack of my life growing up solo job. We heard it at the beginning. My personal favorite is him sending the Soviets packing with their going home. And God, it's he's the best. We were so lucky. You're going home right now. I'm staying around today. Yeah, I know. Free work. Your favorite. All right. Back on Monday, another edition of the fan morning show, Ben and his friend Gunning Sportsnet five night event. Good morning. I love you, Ben.
