SPORTS Episodes

219
April 18, 2024

Sean Skahan, Hockey S&C Coach

Elite Hockey Stength & Conditioning Coach Sean Skahan talks about his son Will’s expectations at the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, his 19 years of NHL S&C coaching with the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild [as well as with the elite college hockey programs at U Minnesota/U North Dakota/Boston College/Boston U], meeting Cuba Gooding Jr and the Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger, the importance of getting Paul Kariya to buy into training as a team rather than as individuals, getting his name on the Stan...
215
April 4, 2024

Macho Man Randy Savage biographer Jon Finkel

Author Jon Finkel talks about his new biography on the Macho Man Randy Savage! He shares the transformation from Randy Poffo>>Randy Savage>>Macho Man, the influence of his wrestling father Angelo and brother Leapin’ Lanny, his real-life marriage [and divorce] with Miss Elizabeth, his up and down relationships with Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon, the ongoing power of his Slim Jim meat stick endorsement, and visiting the site of Randy Savage's untimely death in Seminole, Florida.


MACHO MAN: THE U...
214
April 1, 2024

Chris Kontos, NHL/Olympian

NHL sniper Chris Kontos talks about his crazy hot 1989 playoff scoring run for Gretzky’s LA Kings, scoring FOUR goals in Tampa Bay Lightning’s inaugural game in 1992, winning an Olympic Silver Medal for Canada at the 1994 Lillehammer games, meeting Sylvester Stallone at the Fabulous Forum, his man-crush on Ron Duguay, and his amazing international hockey experiences playing in Finland/Sweden/Italy/Germany/Switzerland!


For everything Chris Kontos, please go to https://www.chriskontos.com/
TORO...
207
March 4, 2024

Don McDougall, Birth of the Blue Jays

Former Labatt Brewing Company President Don McDougall shares the story of the birth of our Toronto Blue Jays, co-starring Paul Godfrey, Paul Beeston, Peter Bavasi, Pat Gillick, Herb Solway, Ted Rogers, Howard Webster, Page Wadsworth, Sydney Cooper, Charles Bronfman, Neil MacCarl, Bob McCown, Ray Kroc, Sid Oland and featuring a cameo by Alan Eagleson!


TORONTO LEGENDS is hosted by Andrew Applebaum at andrew.applebaum@gmail.com
All episodes available at https://www.torontolegends.ca/episodes/


...
203
Feb. 19, 2024

The Holy Grail of Hockey Cards with Jason Simonds

Heritage Auction’s Consignment Director Jason Simonds shares the incredible story behind the discovery of the Holy Grail/White Whale/Loch Ness Monster/Bigfoot of hockey cards...a full case of 16 unopened/sealed boxes of 1979/1980 O Pee Chee NHL hockey cards, which may [or may not] contain an estimated 27 Wayne Gretzky rookie cards. The expected value when the auction process is completed is somewhere around $3 MILLION US dollars!!! And that doesn’t even take into account all those sticks of chew...
200
Feb. 8, 2024

Damien Cox, Media Triple Threat

Journalist/Broadcaster/Author Damien Cox talks about starting out from The Toronto Star’s Scarborough bureau [the Toronto Zoo beat], co-hosting Prime Time Sports with the Bobcat Bob McCown [otherwise known as The Cutting Edge...with listeners!], his afternoon show on The FAN and subsequent books with Gord Stellick, his stint on Hockey Night in Canada during the Strombo Years, his thoughts on the major players [Darryl/Lanny/Borje/Inge/Captain Video/Palmy/Tiger/Harold] involved in his new book on ...
199
Feb. 5, 2024

Brian Ehrenworth, Sports Memorabilia

Frameworth Sports Marketing President Brian Ehrenworth talks about his transformational business pivot experienced on The Madison’s patio as a result of beer + hockey sticks + ’The Killer’ Doug Gilmour, signing Mike Weir two weeks before he won the 2003 Masters, his industry-changing autograph exclusivity deal signed with a 15 year old Sidney Crosby [originally only done to save his Mike Weir deal!], his development of the Wayne Gretzky fantasy camps [and hitching a ride on The Great One’s priva...
197
Jan. 29, 2024

Laurie Boschman, Hockey Ministries International

1000+ game NHL centreman Laurie Boschman talks about his 30 years working with Hockey Ministries International, getting the call [on a rotary phone!] from Harold Ballard that the Maple Leafs had drafted him 9th overall in 1979, checking into his hotel behind Andre the Giant and worrying that HE was attending the same training camp, the surreal experience of his first Maple Leafs’ training camp with Sittler/Salming/McDonald/Palmateer/Tiger Williams, as a rookie learning from ‘that old fossil’ Lea...
193
Jan. 15, 2024

Chris Dingman, 2x Stanley Cup Champion

Former NHLer & two-time Stanley Cup champion Chris Dingman talks about the WHL bus rides during his 4 years playing Junior in Brandon MB, getting drafted 19th overall by the Calgary Flames, his first NHL game lining up against Stevie Y and the Red Wings, winning his first Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001, winning his second Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, his interactions with Tortorella/Belak/Bourque/Bowman/St Louis/Forsberg/Patrick Roy/Andreychuk/Sakic/Lecavalier, his overseas...
191
Jan. 8, 2024

Mike Vanderjagt, Kicker

Legendary NFL/CFL Kicker Mike Vanderjagt talks about whether he or Donovan Bailey ‘owns’ the Town of Oakville, his WVU college kicking debut [9yd punt in front of 76,000 fans televised on ESPN], his Arena Football League experience with the Minnesota Fighting Pike [actually a Walleye in the logo!], his back-2-back Grey Cup championships with the Flutie/Clemons Argonauts [and how he lost & recovered the actual Grey Cup!], his 9 NFL seasons finishing as the most accurate kicker in history, why you...
186
Dec. 21, 2023

Norm O’Reilly, Business the NHL Way

Author Dr Norm O’Reilly talks about why the NHL makes a fantastic business case study, transferring lessons learned from the ice to the boardroom, why love him or loathe him Gary Bettman is a strong 'in control' leader, the future of NHL expansion both domestically & globally, why the Arizona franchise experiment is unlikely to die, how the NHL successfully led all major sports leagues into the Las Vegas market, the star power achieved with the book’s foreward written by Gary Bettman and its aft...
182
Dec. 4, 2023

Randi Druzin, Author

Author Randi Druzin talks about her new book Behind the Mask: A Revealing Look at Twelve of the Greatest Goalies in Hockey History, sharing interesting stories about Mike 'The Popcorn Kid' Palmateer, Henrik Lundqvist, Carey Price, Grant Fuhr, Vladislav Tretiak, Marc-André Fleury, Roberto Luongo, Tony Esposito, Gerry Cheevers, Rogie Vachon, Ed Giacomin and Roger Crozier. She also concurs that the greatest piece of goaltender artwork is Ken Danby’s ‘At The Crease’!


For more on Randi, please vis...
179
Nov. 24, 2023

Brian Stemmle, Olympic Skier/Broadcaster

CBC Sports ski analyst Brian Stemmle talks about his experiences representing Canada at FOUR Winter Olympic Games, choosing to follow his dream of becoming Steve Podborski instead of Darryl Sittler, his FIRST race also being Steve Podborski’s LAST race as the Crazy Canucks era came to an end, why he didn’t want the doctors to cut him out of his racing suit after his horrible 1989 crash at Kitzbuhel, very nearly losing his $20,000 winner’s cheque in temporarily lost luggage, his celebrity encount...
178
Nov. 21, 2023

Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons, Toronto Argonauts

Toronto Argonauts Legend #31 Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons flashes that megawatt smile and talks about the upcoming 7th Annual Christmas with the Clemons event at Roy Thompson Hall, why Doug Flutie was the BEST football player he ever played with, how he took on a mentoring role with Raghib ‘The Rocket’ Ismail, his connections to the Blue Jays through the Mayor of Dunedin [his hometown], his love for ‘The Giz’ Henry ‘Gizmo’ Williams, why his photo opp with the late NBAer 7’6” Manute Bol was subtitle...
177
Nov. 16, 2023

Dave Mendonca, YouTuber/Podcaster

YouTuber & Podcaster Dave Mendonca talks about the talented team he came up the ranks with at The Score Television Network [Sid Seixeiro, Tim Micallef, Adnan Virk, Simon Bennett, Greg Sansone, Elliotte Friedman, James Sharman, Cabbie Richards], asking Jerome 'JYD' Williams & Matt Devlin to write the forewards to his book on the Toronto Raptors, his possibly illegally recorded phone interview with Beyonce, seizing the day to force himself into the frame with Liv Tyler & Ed Norton during filming o...
175
Nov. 9, 2023

Nick Kypreos, Entrepreneur

Broadcaster/Stanley Cup Champion/Entrepreneur Nick Kypreos talks about his spectacular cameo alongside Kobe Bryant/Sandra Oh/Robert Wuhl in HBO’s Arli$$, his outstanding relationship with Doug MacLean, repping the Greek community while playing for his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, winning a Stanley Cup with the NY Rangers, winning a Calder Cup with 'the NY Yankees of the AHL' the Hershey Bears, the fortuitous bounce of almost but not quite getting fired after his first year at Sportsnet, and how...
172
Oct. 30, 2023

Jean-Jacques Taylor on Deion Sanders

Journalist/Author Jean-Jacques Taylor talks about his new book providing an all-access insider's look at Deion Sanders, how Deion went from PRIME TIME to COACH PRIME, how Deion meets his college athletes at THEIR level [dominating IG, a DJ in the locker room] while still keeping it Old School, Deion’s surprisingly calm & quiet favourite pastime of fishing, why Deion never pays attention to ‘they,’ why all Deion’s meetings start as soon as he shows up [and why even his sons are not exempt from pu...
171
Oct. 26, 2023

Gerry McNamara, Discovering Borje & Drafting Wendel

Former Toronto Maple Leafs GM [and goalie!] Gerry McNamara talks about Brandon Walsh/Jason Priestley playing him in the upcoming Borje Salming bio-pic, Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan personally reaching out to bring him back into the Maple Leafs alumni family, the first time he hit that Maple Leaf Gardens ice [replacing Johnny Bower!], the day he got hired as a Maple Leafs Special Assignment Scout, the incredible story behind his Xmas 1972 trip to Sweden where he discovered Borje Salming...
169
Oct. 19, 2023

Bill Manning, MLSE

MLSE’s Bill Manning talks about his leadership of the Toronto Argonauts & Toronto FC, working alongside Brendan Shanahan [Maple Leafs] and Masai Ujiri [Raptors], growing up with 2 of the Baldwin brothers in Massapequa on Long Island [did you know Alec was actually called Xander as a child?], what culture change Pinball Clemons told him was needed with the Argos [‘too many silos, need more bridges’], sharing memories of Argo greats Condredge Holloway/Terry Greer/Rocket Ismail/Terry Metcalf, how h...
165
Oct. 5, 2023

Bruny Surin, Olympic Gold Medallist

Go Get It! 1996 Olympic Gold Medallist Sprinter & Canada’s Chef de Mission for the Paris 2024 Olympics Bruny Surin talks about why ‘the me I see is the me I will be,’ coming to Quebec from Haiti as a 7 year old, his infatuation with Carl Lewis [and eventual visit to his Houston mansion], being linked together forever in Canadian sports history as brothers with Donovan Bailey/Robert Esmie/Glenroy Gilbert/Carlton Chambers, why he no longer accepts unsolicited sprinting challenges from the general ...
163
Sept. 28, 2023

Jim Lang, The Region 105.9

The Region 105.9’s Morning Man Jim Lang talks about the power of hyper-local radio, the awe–inspiring signage he encountered while visiting Lee Eckley at CHUM-FM [‘through these doors walk the finest radio talent in Canada’], his Humber College internship with an absolutely all-star broadcasting team at Q107 [John Derringer, Gene Valaitis, Jane Hawtin, Andy Frost, John Gallagher, Jimmy James, Bob Mackowycz Sr, Steve Anthony], enjoying his one & only LIVE Stanley Cup parade while working in Montr...
160
Sept. 18, 2023

Doug MacLean, Coach/GM/Executive/Broadcaster/Author

NHL Coach/GM/Executive/Broadcaster and now Author Doug MacLean introduces his new book DRAFT DAY: How Hockey Teams Pick Winners or Get Left Behind and shares stories from a lifetime in hockey including his first pro head coaching job with the Baltimore Skipjacks, his first NHL head coaching job with the Florida Panthers, starting the Columbus Blue Jackets from scratch, why you need at least 10 of your own draft picks on the team to win a Stanley Cup, and the difficulties of the ‘GM Conundrum.’

...
159
Sept. 14, 2023

James Sharman, Footy & Pie Enthusiast

Room 442 & Footy Prime the Podcast host James Sharman talks about his UK accent drawing more girls than fights as a 16 year old being plopped into a Mississauga high school, being a pre-launch pre-day oner at Headline Sports [and its eventual morphing into The Score], tagging along with Elliotte Friedman to interview the great Pele, the importance of TFC’s birth in 2006, the mentorship of Sportsnet’s Gerry Dobson, the differences between British and North American play-by-play commentary, John H...
158
Sept. 11, 2023

Harley Redlick, Sharp Edge Picks

Sports betting industry expert Harley Redlick provides an outstanding primer on the Ontario sports gambling industry [as it moved from black to grey to white market], shares his ’10 Commandments of Successful Sports Betting,’ explains why the NFL is King when it comes to sports wagering, suggests that the consumer/operator/regulator relationships serve as a ‘Betting Business Bermuda Triangle,’ and asserts why the Connor McDavid sportsbook ads are obviously targeted at children [“No adult is taki...