The Bob McCown Podcast

Having trouble figuring out what kind of team the Toronto Raptors are? 

Doug Smith joins the show today to answer that, and many other questions about the Raptors, the In-Season tournament and what some of the other teams in the NBA are up to. 

The last few years have been tough for Chicago sports fans, and it seems like this year is no different.

George Ofman joins the show today to chat with John and Richard about Chicago’s bleak-looking baseball teams, the perpetually rebuilding Bears and Bulls, and the recent news surrounding Corey Perry and the Blackhawks.

In an effort to keep things at least a little bit positive, we also spend some time talking about George’s book, 'Tell Me a Story I Don’t Know,' available now.

Gregor Chisholm from the Toronto Star is joining the show today to discuss baseball with John and Dave.

With household names like Shohei Ohtani still unsigned by an MLB team this offseason and the Winter Meetings in Nashville fast approaching, Gregor provides insight into the progress of player signings. He also shares his observations on the roster rebuilds happening in many organizations in the AL East.

When are we getting another World Cup Of Hockey? What did we learn from the General Manager Meetings? How is the NHL planning to fix fans' distaste towards the shootout?

Bill Daly comes on the show to answer all of those questions and more on today's show as we end the week with some hockey talk with one of the people who is in charge of it all.

It’s Thanksgiving weekend for our neighbours to the South, and with multiple ties to the States here at The Bob McCown Podcast it wouldn’t feel right to ignore it.

A Canadian citizen as of 2017, Michael Farber joins the show today to talk with John and fellow American born Richard Deitsch to give us his perspective on covering the sporting culture here in Canada, the evolution of our sport coverage and of course, celebrating American Thanksgiving in The Great White North.

If we could, we would make MLB’s Free Agency Process A LOT faster… but we can’t… so we won’t. What we can do, however, is bring on one of baseball’s most informed reporters, Jon Paul Morosi onto the show to talk about it. So we did!

J.P. Morosi joins us today to try to convince John and Richard why the Toronto Blue Jays have a legitimate chance at signing superstar pitcher, SHohei Ohtani. We then focus the rest of our time on what the heck the Toronto Blue Jays are going to do this summer if they can’t miraculously sign the Japanese phenom.

On a rare night with no NHL games scheduled, John, Eric, and Scott take the opportunity to look back on everything that's gone on in the NHL up until this point.

With the NHL games in Sweden in the rearview mirror, the three take a look at what this could mean for international play in the future. They explore potential formats for a future World Cup before delving into the surprisingly good Vancouver Canucks, the surprisingly bad Edmonton Oilers, and everything else in between on today's NHL-centered show.

With 1,598 NHL games as a Head Coach under his belt, Ken Hitchcock's 849 wins place him at 4th on the list of winningest coaches in NHL history. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last week as a member of the class of 2023. Today, Ken joins the show to talk with John and Dave about the honour, along with other topics making headlines in the hockey world.

"Cultural icon” doesn’t fit the description of many athletes, but it’s safe to say it fits the bill when describing the Hall of Fame catcher for the Yankees, Yogi Berra.

With “Yogi-isms” like “it ain’t over till it’s over,” “In baseball, you don’t know nothin’,” and “a nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore,” it’s easy to remember Yogi as the character you saw instead of the person he was.

Lindsay Berra, executive producer of the critically acclaimed documentary on her grandfather’s life, “It Ain’t Over,” comes on the show today to talk to John and Dave about the film, shares the other side of Yogi that isn’t talked about, and tells us why Yogi Berra should still be at the forefront of the conversation about the greatest baseball players to ever play the game.

And then quickly before we go, Bob Irving stops by the show to give us a preview of the 110th Grey Cup in Hamilton this weekend between the Montreal Alouettes and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The New England Patriots are bad and Bill Belichick’s future as the teams head coach is.. questionable. While that in it’s self isn’t surprising, it isn’t a reality Boston sports fans are used to so we had to bring our expert on all things N.E. sports into the mix as Matt and John welcome Mr. Bob Ryan to today’s show.

The three start their discussion with the Patriots and their glaring problems ranging from their roster construction to  front office personnel issues before shifting over to the NBA, the In-Season Tournament and more. 

Live (when recording) from Stockholm, Sweden, it's Mike Zeisberger joining John and Matt to talk some hockey.

Mike Zeisberger is in Sweden, and so are the Maple Leafs, Senators, Red Wings, and Wild for the NHL’s Global Games. Naturally, we’ve got to talk about it.

We focus on the two Canadian teams currently in Stockholm as we try to answer two questions everyone is at least wondering: Have the Toronto Maple Leafs gotten over their start-of-the-season 'hump,' and what on earth are the Ottawa Senators going to do? We take a look at both teams and their rosters before focusing on some other teams who didn’t have the privilege of traveling to Europe.

Ten games have come and gone for the Toronto Raptors, and as they sit at .500 to start the season, Mat Devlin and Paul Jones come on the show to discuss expectations for the rest of the year, Pascal Siakam’s improved play, the In-Season tournament, and more.

It’s going to be another long off-season for the Toronto Blue Jays as we get Rob Longley on the show to talk about the recent GM meetings, MLB Free Agency & the the Jays have their rights set on as they try to re-vamp their roster for next year.

4147 days after getting selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 7th round of the NHL Entry Draft, Matt Tomkins got his first NHL win playing goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning and he comes on the show today as the perfect guest to cap off our un-official “Goalie Week” on the Bob McCown Podcast. 

From Goalies to a broadcasting legend - John & Daren continue their Hall Of Fame themed week with another good one. 

Foster Hewitt Memorial Award Recipient and member of the Canadian Association Of Broadcasters Hall Of Fame, Dick Irvin, stops by the show today to talk about the Hockey Hall Of Fame’s Class of 2023, share memories from his time in Hockey and of course, unload some stories about some of the greatest teams, stories and moments the NHL has ever seen.

It’s the week of the Net-Minder for the Hockey Hall of Fame as well as the podcast! The Executive Directive Of The NHL Alumni Association and former NHL Goalie, Glenn Healy, joins John and Daren on the show today. 

As always, you’ve got to let Glenn do what Glenn does best… and that’s talk. Amidst the discussions about the handful of goalies soon to be inducted into the promised land and other hockey news, Glenn sprinkles in some stories of his own, letting us look through the eyes of an NHL Net-Minder and see what it’s like to go through the things a professional at that position goes through on a daily basis. 

After winning over 300 NHL games, two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Award, and much more, Mike Vernon will finally be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He comes on the show today to talk about it with John and Daren.

The three cover most of Mike’s glory days from Junior to the pros as they reflect on the Hall of Famer’s decades-long hockey career. Mike tells us about his unconventional first taste of NHL Hockey, looks back on his time spent in Calgary, and even gets Daren to look into the case of his missing Sharks helmet in a rare conversation with a hockey legend."

The Colour Analyst for the Chicago Blackhawks, Darren Pang, is on today to start the week off with some much needed hockey talk with Millard and Shannon.

We try to give some love to some of the less frequently talked about teams in the NHL today as we delve into the Anaheim Ducks and their win over the red hot Vegas Golden Knights over the weekend. We also dig into the New Jersey Devils and their promising future and talk about Connor Bedard, the Chicago Blackhawks and get Daren’s first impression on them both as we get settled into another NHL season.

When you want to know what’s going on in the National Football League you call Trey Wingo.

Trey talks to John and Richard about Mike McDaniels’ departure from Vegas, the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Miami Dolphins in Germany, the concerning play from the Buffalo Bills, and more on today's show as the three attempt to cover all of the storylines in the league as we approach the halfway mark of the regular season.

On November 13th, the legendary Mark Mulvoy will be recognized with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award as a Hockey Hall of Fame 'Media Honouree.' His plaque will be displayed in the Great Hall at the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside past award recipients, and his name will be forever etched into the history of hockey.

From his start at the Boston Globe to his tenure at Sports Illustrated, we talk with Mark about his legendary career in sports journalism as he shares some of his fondest memories from his days covering hockey.

You know the drill when Gabby comes on… we never know what we’re going to talk about until it happens. 

John Gibbons joins us today for some baseball chat as we take a look at the worst rated World Series of all time, get John’s opinion on the abysmal Toronto Blue Jays and the issues they’re dealing with and pretty much anything else John wants to talk about on todays podcast. 

They have only played four games, but it’s clear that the Toronto Raptors have some issues… Doug Smith comes on the show to share his thoughts on the team, their new coach, the struggling roster and more with John and Richard.

Well... It was supposed to be a show dedicated to the World Series, but for some reason, the conversation with Rich Griffin kept on coming back to the Toronto Blue Jays.

From personnel changes to roster moves, Richard Griffin, John Shannon, and Richard Deitsch take a plunge into the pit of despair that is the Toronto Blue Jays' organization and try their best to predict what might happen this summer while looking back at everything that went wrong with the team during the regular season.

We break down the Alek Manoah situation, the team's apparent lack of chemistry, and more with the Jays, while also fitting in some discussion about what some are saying could be the lowest-rated World Series in Major League Baseball history between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers.

The NHL season has barely started, and there is already so much to talk about. Zeisberger and Jaffe join the show today to help us out.

After dedicating the first part of the show to trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with the Edmonton Oilers, the group branches out and attempts to cover all the other storylines that have arisen so far early in this NHL season.

Footy is on the mind today as we bring on James Sharman for the first half of the show to talk about the greatest Canadian soccer player to play the game… the legendary Christine Sinclair.

From the legacy she left behind to what she means for the future of Canada soccer, we pay our respects to a woman who helped shape the game in our country. 

Then we bring on the CEO Of Hamilton Sports Group, Chairman for both the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Forge FC and the founder of the CPL & CSB… Scott Mitchell. 

With a business card almost as long as the time we had with Scott, the three manage to fit in some good conversation on the CPL & their Final, The Grey Cup Festivities in Hamilton and of course… the issues surrounding Canada Soccer, the CSB & its players. 

The Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand comes on the show today to go behind the scenes with John and Paul today and geek out over the business end of Sports media. 

We take a look ahead and discuss where we think the money will be coming from when it comes to TV rights within professional sports, stack up where Canada is at compared to the US with sports streaming services and much more on a very fun episode with John Ourand.

Too much has happened… and is still happening in the NBA to only talk Raptors with Jack Armstrong today, so we  save our thoughts on Canada’s team for after the break.

To start the show with, we take a look at the rest of the NBA, setting expectations for the supposed contenders in the East and West. We also take a look at the teams who we think will surprise us come playoff time and much more before getting to the new look Toronto Raptors.

The Toronto Argonauts are the most successful franchise in Toronto Right now and no body is talking about them… why is that? That’s exactly what we talk to Steve Simmons about for the first half of todays show as we dig into the dwindling fanbase of the CFL and what we can do to fix it.

As the show’s title suggests, we take a stab at the NFL in the second part of the show as the three take a look at the Buffalo Bills and the rest of the pertinent storylines in the NFL before ending today’s episode with a brief chat about the Toronto Raptors.

It’s J.P Morosi today to end the week off with some baseball talk with Bob and John.

We spend the majority of time is spent today focussing on the MLB Playoffs as J.P. tries his best to convince John and Dave why they are as thrilling as he claims them to be before ending the show with a break down on the Kim Ng and Miami Marlins situation as well as a brief assessment on the “Unfulfilling” Toronto Blue Jays.

Sticking with New York based sports teams we head to the Big Apple Today to talk with Joe Micheletti about the New York Rangers.

Joe gives us an idea on how the Rangers have been handling new head coach Peter Laviolette’s system after having a tough training camp. Along with the Rangers we make sure to fit in some conversations about the rest of the NHL - specifically the leagues apparent issue with ending games in a shootout. 

We’ve got Mike Schopp from WGR550 in Buffalo on today and if you haven’t guessed it already… we’re talking’ Buffalo Sports. 

We start the show with some Sabres talk as we get Mike to help us set our expectations for this young hockey team. 

Then it’s all football, with Mike catching us up to speed with everything Buffalo Bills.

He holds the record for most wins in league history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and is regarded as the greatest coach in NHL History… and he’s back on the show for a conversation with John and Dave.

All we had to do was say hello and Mr. Bowman was off as we take a look back on his career, get his opinion on the greatest hockey team to ever play and a whole lot more on today’s show with Scotty Bowman. 

Michael Farber joins us today as John and Dave throw pretty much whatever they want at him as we discuss various storylines within the NHL and Major League Baseball

We kick off the episode with a talking about the debut of Connor Bedard in Montreal & the fans’ reaction to the 1st overall pick. We then start a conversation about Carey Price and the legacy he has left in Montreal before shifting focus to the other Canadian teams in the NHL.

After the break, we get into some MLB talk as the Playoffs continue & get into a brief discussion about the ongoing conundrum that is the Toronto Blue Jays Organization. 

The title says it all, doesn’t it?

After the end of the year interviews provided fans with absolutely nothing, we bring Dave Hodge and Dave Perkins onto the show to let off some steam and talk about Major League Baseball’s most underachieving team...The Toronto Blue Jays.

The voices of the Toronto Raptors are here and they’re ready for the NBA Season. 

Matt Devlin and Paul Jones join us today with Canadian basketball on their minds - The foursome cover everything they can on todays show as they discuss the influx of Canadian talent hitting the hardcourt, potential NBA Franchise destinations North of the border and of course, set expectations for the Toronto Raptors  heading into the new season.

John is putting the team on his back for the first half of the show as he welcomes one of the freshest faces of the Calgary Flames to the show, Head Coach Ryan Huska. John talks to Ryan about his expectations for the Flames before we trade Ryan for our buddy Daren Millard to go over everything we missed in yesterday’s roundtable with the NHL Season Officially upon us.

The NHL Regular Season is fast approaching so naturally, we try to talk about all 32 teams in under an hour. 

Scott Burnside, Eric Duhatschek & Kevin Paul Dupont are on the show to get ready for the 106th annual NHL Season as we do our best to break down each and every team from the West and the East on todays podcast.

Stanley Cup Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, Art Ross & Memorial Trophy Winner, and now… guest on the Bob McCown Podcast. It’s Corey Perry joining us on this Thanksgiving Monday.

From reminiscing on his days in Anaheim to his fresh start in Chicago, we try to cover everything we can with 'The Worm'… including how he got his nickname… as we are honored to talk to a future hall of famer on today’s show.

It’s the end of the week and we haven’t spent much time on the Toronto Raptors yet… so Bruce Arthur takes some time away from Raptors training camp to fix that for us.

We talk the progression of Scottie Barnes , Pascal Siakam’s role with the team and more before setting expectations for their performance going into the NBA season.

Former NFL pro Damien Woody is on today for a mid week football discussion.

The three cover all of the developing storylines in the league today as we try to get caught up on the never ending content farm that is the National Football League

Baseball is approaching it's most exciting time of the year, the NFl has reached new heights of popularity and NBA Superstars are getting traded... but the NHL season starts next week so we have to talk to the one and only Kevin Weekes about it.

The three cover as much as they can today as we set expectations for the Stanley Cup Contenders, discuss the future of Connor Bedard and of course... take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Adnan Virk joined the show today to preview the MLB Playoffs and go over the Toronto Blue Jays’ chances against Minnesota in the Wild Card Series, and that’s what we did… until Mark Askin showed up.

Two old friends in Adnan & Virk for some reason needed The Bob McCown Podcast as a place to catch up and that’s pretty much what they do for the second half of the show as Adnan, Mark, John and Richard reflect on their careers working together while trying to fit some baseball talk when they can.

He's built an NHL team from the ground up, Coached in The Stanley Cup Final, Captivated millions of fans with his expert analysis on TV and has blown more draft picks than you could imagine.... It's Doug MacLean, and he's written a book. 

The author's new book, "Draft Day", comes out on October 3rd and he joins us today to talk about it... and does he ever. Doug gives us some sneak peaks from Draft Day as we get into all of the fun and bizarre things he got up to over the course of his career in a perfect episode to bring you into the weekend.

It's another two'fer today as we dedicate the first half of the show to Lou Lamoriello and his New York Islanders.

John and Dave make their best efforts to milk any informayion they can about the Islanders, their off-season growth and in-seaosn game plan for next year before sending it over to Doug Smith.

With the Damien Lillard now a Milwaukee Buck, Doug breaks down the trade with us. and gives us an idea just how close the Toronto Raptors were from getting Lillard to Canada.

They surprised us all last year and now it’s time to see if they can do it again. Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis is joining John & Dave today to talk about the NHL’s newest addition as they enter into their 3rd year in the NHL.

We briefly look back at everything that went right for the Kraken last year before focusing on the future - we get an idea from Ron about where he thinks the team needs to improve, who he’s expecting to make a jump in play and even get hisperspective on who he thinks the Kraken’s rival is

What do you want to know about the Winnipeg Jets before the NHL Regular Season Starts? If your answer was “everything”... this is the episode for you.

Rick Bowness joins John and co-host Dave Hodge today as we reflect a tiny bit on what’s happened over the summer with Rick’s team and get caught up with what the team is looking like as we approach the start of the season.

Meaningful baseball in September… what a feeling! There’s nothing better than when baseball games at this time of the year actually matter for the Blue Jays and we bring on Paul Beeston to talk about it!

There’s no point in trying to figure out what exactly Paul does with the Jays because not even Paul knows… but what he does know, probably more than anyone else is Jays baseball. We break down the ups and the downs from the season this year and look ahead at their chances to make the playoffs and IF they do, we set our expectations for how far they can go. 

Chances are, if you're a Canadian golf fan, you remember where you were when Nick Taylor sank that 72-foot putt to become the first Canadian in decades to win the Canadian Open.

John and Daren try to sap all the memories Nick has of that day on today's show as we grill him on everything from his preparation to what souvenirs he kept from the win. We get a unique look into the daily life of a pro golfer on today's episode before we chat with Bob to end the week on a high note.

Jim Nill joins Daren and John today as we get caught up with the Dallas Stars and find out what their GM has planned for the team this year.

We talk with Jim about his teams additions this off season and get an idea on his philosphy when it comes to managing a team, scouting and how he interacts with his players.

Just a day after hopping on board the Vancouver Cannucks' broadcast team, Ray joins Daren and John for some hockey talk.

We go over his new role in Vancouver before getting into the Mike Babcock situation and get Ray's thoughts on the matter. The conversation then turns into a discussion on coaching in the NHL today as we figure out what has changed in style and tactic for the position.

We end the show with a chat about the upcoming NHL season and what we should expect from last years Stanley Cup Contenders and teams who are expected to make a jump in perfermance.

Scott MacArthur and RIchard Griffin join John and Daren today as we try - key word being try - to figure out what kind of baseball team the Blue Jays are.... with only 12 games left in the season.

Having just swept their series with the Red Sox, the Blue Jays look good? There is no way to tell for sure but we sure do try! The four attempt to figure out the identity of these team as they compete for a playoff birth, taking a look at their offensive & defensive production, Alek Manoah's future with the team and much more.

Well… that didn’t take long did it?

Mike Babcock is gone before he could really even begin as Columbus’ Head Coach and we've got Garrioch & Harrington joining John and Daren to talk about it.

The foursome go over the very brief timeline of Babcock’s tenure with the Jackets. Not only do we try to figure out what the heck mike Babcock was thinking but also what was going on through the Blue Jacket’s minds for even hiring him on todays show before we close out the episode with an appearance from the Bobcat.

The title says it all folks.... John Gibbons is on to end the week with some baseball talk as just about everyone in Canada is asking the same thing - What is Happening To The Blue Jays.

We take a look at what has forced a team like this...who's paying their players as much money as they are... to consistently play below expectations for the first half of the show before getting into a more generalized chat about John's playing days, his opinion on the infamous home run jacket and catch up with Bob as we send you into your weekend.

Peter Mansbridge joins the show today to scratch a couple of his itches - sports and polotics. 

We start with some baseball talk with the Toronto Blue Jays in a tough stretch of poor play. We take a look at whats going wrong with the team before getting into the frustrations the Blue Jans fans face year in and year out... eventually broadening the conversation to Toronto sports fans in general.

In the second half of the show, we talk to Peter about todays political climate and find out if theres any part of him that wishes he still was a news anchor.

Reflecting On Week 1 Of The 2023 NFL Season With BOOGER MCFARLAND

Feel like you missed something in the football world last weekend? Booger McFarland is here to fill you in.

We bring the ESPN Football analyst onto the show today to go over all of the storylines in the NFL emerging this season, and boy… there are a lot. 

From Aaron Rogers taking only 4 snaps in NY to whether the Detroit Lions are the real deal… we talk about it all with Booger today for a little mid week NFL update. 

Paul Jones and and Doug Smith Join Deitsch & Shannon and today we take a look back at what we watched in Jakarta & Manila with Canada beating the United States for the bronze medal at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

We then take a look ahead at the Olympic Games this summer in Paris and wonder how good team Canada could be if they had a full roster, while saving some time for some discussions about the fluctuating popularity of International Basketball and why NBA Players aren't particularily keen on participating.

Music and sports… both universal languages in their own right and today we try to speak them at the same time. 

It should be no secret by now that our interim co-host Dave Hodge has a love affair with music and after weeks and weeks of not so subtle hints we finally indulge him. Jim cuddy, lead singer of Blue Rodeo joins the show today.

The two subjects could very well be a perfect pair as we talk to Jim about how and why sports and music have blended so well over the years. The three search for the parallels between the two, as John & Dave pick Jim’s brain on life as a musician and let him do the same about their dedication to sport. 

With both sports producing enough content to talk about for days, we have another Baseball/Basketball double header today with Dave Hodge in the co-pilot’s seat next to John.

With the Atlanta Braves the only team to hit 90 wins so far this season, we bring on an old friend in Alex Anthopoulos to catch bring us up to speed on what he and his team are up to. We go over squad’s roster and what Alex considers when it comes to constructing it. We also dig into specifics about their pitching staff, their health and availability.

Then it’s Doug Smith to end the show as we get a preview of Team Canada’s semi-final matchup against Serbia in the FIBA World Cup.

Wondering what Brian Burke has been up to? Wonder no further as the man himself hops onto our Labour Day show to give us an update on his role within the Professional Women's Hockey League Players Association and get a run down on what is to come with the newest professional sports league in North America.

Ron MacLean showed up on time for today’s podcast but the same cannot be said for a certain unnamed part time co-host….

It’s just John and Mr. MacLean for the first half of the show with Daren having better things to do… Wasting no time at all, the two talk about Ron’s summer dealing with the onslaught of rumours and speculation about his job. We then get an update on Ron’s relationship with Don Cherry, caught up on his summer and even have the podcast fact checked by Ron before we have to let Daren back in from the Dog House…. 

With all intended parties present, John and Daren get Ron’s perspective on some of the stories shared in past episodes and hear some of his own as we get a rare look into how Ron MacLean views the game of hockey and the way it's presented.

No Guest? No problem. 

A select number of people know exactly how integral John was for the growth of the game of hockey on television but luckily, one of them is Daren Millard. With no guest on today’s show Daren knows just what to ask and what to say to get information out of Shannon as we take a look at how it started and where it’s going when it comes to how people watch hockey on TV. 

If you’ve ever watched Hockey Night and Canada and have asked yourself… “why did they do that?” You’ll probably get the answer today.

We get to cross all the “Armstrong’s” off of our our Current NHL GM Wishlist in just a week with Bill on the Show. We take a look into his career before getting into his team though, as we find out what made him switch from coach to General Manager, who has influenced him on the way and what kind of GM he wants to be.

After the break, we dig into Bill’s expectations for the Coyotes this season. We go over their roster and get some insight on some of their new additions made this summer. We also hear how Bill and the organization has dealt with all of the noise directed at the Coyotes and how it has impacted the team.

Having done next to no press during his offseason, we don’t know why he chose to come on today either… but when the head coach of the Florida Panthers comes a knockin’ we aren’t going to stop him!

Paul Maurice gives us his perspective of the 2023 NHL Playoffs today, answering every question Daren and John could possibly have about their improbable run to the cup and eventual loss.

We get to spend some time looking forward too and Paul gives us an idea of what we should expect from the Panthers next year.

It's Iron Mike Kennan on the show today to fill John and Richard in on how the heck he became the coach of Team Italy for the 2026 Olympic Games.   The three get into the process it took to get hired by the Italians and then learn about what the job entails. Mike gives us a breakdown on how he has been recruiting his players as we get into the eligibility requirements, skill level and other factors they are considering while making decisions.   Mike also gives us a solid landscape of the hockey culture in Italy before we branch off and talk about his other experiences coaching international hockey and then his time in the NHL.

Sports Writer and 9 Time New York Times Bestselling Author Jeff Pearlman makes his debut on the show as he joins John and his old colleague Richard Deitsch today.

With season two of the HBO series "Winning Time" currently streaming there's no better time to talk to the man behind "Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980's" The book that inspired the hit show.

We Talk to Jeff about the work he put into the book, his writing process and break down his experience consulting for the TV production, giving us an inside look at how sports TV and movies are made, before having a conversation about his newest book about the life of the late rapper Tupac Shakur.

After our first show with Mark a couple weeks ago we knew we had to bring him back and that’s exactly what we’re doing. 

Former Maple Leafs Producer Mark Askin is on with John and Paul today as they reflect on the life and career of the great Bobby Baun and reminisce on their experience growing up enjoying and working with the game of hockey on television.

James Sharman joins Paul Jones and John Shannon today for a much needed update on all that’s been going on in the soccer world this summer.

We talk to James about his work trip to Portugal, what he was getting up to and his impression on the soccer culture in the country before shifting gears to the Premier League, the movement of top tier players and the insane transfer money being tossed around.

We then spend some time digging into the impact Lionel Messi has had on North American Soccer and get James’ thoughts on the ongoing women’s World Cup.

Dave Hodge is with Shannon today as we bring on former NHL agent of the stars and now the newest CEO of Hockey Operations for the Edmonton Oilers, Jeff Jackson.

We get it all from Jeff today, finding out how the opportunity came about, what the transition of roles has been like, and where he is at with the Edmonton Oilers in terms of familiarity with the team.

We also address the Oilers' recent playoff woes, their inconsistent goaltending, and get an idea of whether Connor McDavid has any plans to be an Oiler for life on today's show.

Bill Shaikin from the LA Times fills us in on everything that went down during MLB's trade deadline yesterday. We talk winners and losers, buyers and sellers and set expectations for teams as we near playoff baseball.

John Gibbons is on the show today and as always, the three bounce from subject to subject in another classic Gabby interview.

The three cover the Blue Jays and their quest for the playoffs, Shohei Ohtani’s future as an Angel and pretty much whatever else the former Jays manager wants to talk about today.

Two for the price of one today as we welcome Canadian Soccer Star and CBC Broadcaster, Andi Petrillo to the show, followed by The Athletic’s NFL columnist Jim Trotter.

We speak with Andi first as we get set for the start of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia. John, Andi and Richard discuss the tough road ahead of the Canadian team and go over some of the tournament favourites.

We then get a chance to talk some American Football with Mr. Trotter as we get into the value of a running back and more storylines going on right now in the NFL

When you are a sports podcaster at an event with hundreds of former NHL players ready to tell stories, you've got to get some content right? Our very own John Shannon set himself up on the 10th hole at Coppinwood Golf Course and haggled enough players to make a three part series for our NHL alumni special with this being the 2nd one in the trilogy.   Today, enjoy conversations with the likes of Kris Versteeg, Rich Sutter, Brad May and Mike Gartner as John picks the brains of some hockey legends.