Episodes

Former Global/CFTO/Sportsnet broadcaster Gerry ‘Dobber’ Dobson talks about his active retirement, 18 years covering Premier League + TFC soccer, being a ‘day-oner’ at Sportsnet, covering 6 Olympic Games and why Calgary 1988/Barcelona 1992 were his most memorable, starting out from a farm outside Barrie doing grades 1-8 in a one-room country schoolhouse, his continuing admiration for the annual Robbie International Soccer Tournament [as BNL sang: ‘held at Birchmount Stadium, home of the Robbie’],...

Postmedia/Toronto Sun journalist Steve Simmons talks about Ironman Phil Kessel’s never-ending Hot Dog story, why Raghib ‘The Rocket’ Ismail was a real pill, expanding his Sunday Notes column from 600 to 2200 words, paring down his 9,000+ columns to select the best mix of 89 for his book A Lucky Life, leveraging Cliff Fletcher’s real estate transactions to score the front page of the Calgary Herald, American blowhard Keith Olbermann calling him ‘the worst person in the world’ [not once but twice!...

Author/Card Collector/Sportsnet’s Ken Reid talks about his instant chemistry with co-anchor Evanka Osmak [Country Mouse & City Mouse], how 70,000 sportscards doesn’t take up nearly as much storage space as you would think [T&P to his understanding wife!], chasing his sportscard ‘white whales’ [1950s Gordie Howe & Mickey Mantle], Kirk Muller breaking the tension of working rinkside for HNIC at the Bell Centre, his appreciation for Troy Gamble while chasing down the first card of every Nova Scotia...

Vancouverite Courtney Watkins takes the big leap to Hogtown to open her 3rd retail location of Mine & Yours! Courtney talks about leaving for Los Angeles at 17, the emotional experience of working at the beck & call of Ms. Paula Abdul, how she saw first-hand that it’s NOT so great to be famous, why she did NOT have a passion for owning/operating a sawmill, implementing her business strategy of Brick/Click/Pop, the environmental dangers of ‘fast fashion,’ the success that grew from seeking fun & ...

The Hockey News Publisher & Hockey Stick/Equipment Mogul Graeme Roustan does NOT talk about his possible interest in purchasing the Ottawa Senators, but DOES talk about living in Los Angeles with roommates Pat Brisson [now CAA’s Super Agent] & Lucky Luc Robitaille [greatest left winger & best 171st draft pick in NHL history], being an oh-so-close finalist in the competition to purchase his hometown Montreal Canadiens, how close his group actually came to getting an arena built in Markham [to wel...

Rivalry Co-Founder & CEO Steven Salz talks about sports vs casino gambling, operating at the intersection of E-Sports & Entertainment, moving content from a 'transactional' to an 'entertainment' focus, the unbelievable magnitude & growth of E-Sports worldwide, appealing to his predominantly Millennial & Gen Z customer base, why ‘skins’ were the original currency for betting on gaming, lessons learned from Red Bull’s marketing, why you will NOT find any Kardashians endorsing Rivalry, the transiti...

Longtime Hockey Commentator & Author Scott Morrison talks about writing his upcoming book 'Draft Day' with pickleball devotee Doug MacLean, serving as a protégé of the late great George ‘The Baron’ Gross at The Toronto Sun, why Harold Ballard called him ‘Whiskers,’ why the 1972 Summit Series is still so fascinating 50+ years later, why Rick Vaive’s #22 should ABSOLUTELY be raised to the Scotiabank Arena rafters, why Nelson Millman remains his trusted Vice-Chair for the annual Conn Smythe Sports ...

Literary Agent & Published Poet Brian Wood shares stories from representing diverse authors including Peter Mansbridge, Stu [The Grim Reaper] Grimson, Terry David Mulligan, Bob [Bobby Margarita] McKenzie, Tie Domi, Ellen Roseman, Steve Simmons, John Shannon, Colleen Jones, Scott Morrison, Justin Davis and Al Strachan. Brian talks about his three published poetry collections, and how they complement rather than replace his ‘day job’ as a literary agent. He also explains the economics of the book ...

Hey Landsberg!! Ex-TSN’s Michael Landsberg shares stories from his 37 year SportsDesk/Off The Record career [Gene Simmons, Thea Andrews, Mark Tewksbury, Stéphane Richer, Vince McMahon, Meat Loaf, Claude Lemieux, Darren McCarty, Dan Hill, Manny Pacquiao, Rick Vaive, Dikembe Mutombo, Jeff Marek, Caroline Cameron, George Cope] and his ongoing mental health advocacy via SickNotWeak.com!

SickNotWeak's online community is here to reach and help that lonely person. Together we can end the stigma that ...

Strange Advance founder Drew Arnott talks about touring for the 40th anniversary of their debut album Worlds Away, why Steven Tyler did NOT like the band name, bigtime encouragement & friendship from Bryan Adams, having the late Bruce Fairbairn [Loverboy, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, AC/DC] produce their first album, Scott Litt mixing their 2nd album before moving on to work with a small band called REM, memories from the Juno Awards, shooting their first video for MTV before MuchMusic even l...

Sports Broadcaster/Author/Podcaster John Shannon talks about 'Team Baby Blue'/Hockey Night in Canada [that themesong, those blazers!], who Dave Hodge telephoned FIRST immediately after his irreverent on-air ‘pen flip’ in 1987, separating Don Cherry ‘the person’ from ‘the performer,’ pivoting from behind the camera to in front of the camera, podcasting with his longtime sidekick Bob McCown, why he is a ‘radio-holic,’ the definitive answer as to whether the rest of Canada really hates the Toronto ...

Professional Guitarist/TCDSB Teacher/Author Sean Kelly shares a lifetime of surreal moments:

Inspired by Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider...eventually collaborates with Dee Snider!

First concert ever attended growing up in North Bay was Helix + Honeymoon Suite...eventually plays in both bands!

Loved Corey Hart...eventually plays Corey Hart’s songs [note for note] live in front of him at his Canadian Walk of Fame induction!

Named his band Crash Kelly after his hockey playing maverick Uncle Orville...

Retiring [not retired] Professor Ken Wong from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University talks about his early immersion in the family business [Wong Wing grew from egg rolls in 1948 Montreal’s Chinatown to Canada’s largest processor of Chinese food], sharing the mantle of ‘media’s marketing go-to guy’ with Alan Middleton, the ‘friendly rivalry’ between Western and Queen’s [yep, he couldn’t resist and snuck a dig in there!], the importance of the numerous business school rankings ['be #...

Former Toronto Maple Leafs Captain Rick Vaive talks about being the first Maple Leaf in franchise history to score 50 goals in a season [and doing it 3 seasons in a row], playing his first pro season in the WHA with the Birmingham [Alabama!] Bulls for John Brophy, those horrific Vancouver Canucks 'halloween' uniforms, how he found out he got traded from Vancouver to Toronto, his love for the souvlaki at John Anderson Hamburgers, how he was informed he was now the Captain of the Toronto Maple Lea...

Former Hockey Pro & Author Justin Davis walks us through a hockey journey that involved being drafted by the Washington Capitals, multiple championships at multiple levels of hockey, playing overseas, disturbing accounts of hazing rituals, suffering multiple concussions [one of which saw him hospitalized with brain bleed], and ongoing battles with mental health/depression/anxiety. How did he end up putting his memoir together, and what has the feedback been from his kids, his parents, his high s...

Sportsnet anchor/host Jesse Fuchs talks about growing up in Scarborough, playing hockey for Birchmount Park Collegiate [Anthony Stewart made the team...Wayne Simmonds did NOT!], interning at TSN for Michael Landsberg, working on his penmanship & video tape editing skills at The Score with Tim Micallef/Sid Seixeiro/Steve Kouleas/Cabbie Richards/Simon Bennett, transitioning from the family-owned Score to the Rogers corporate mothership, getting distracted by Auston Matthews’ quads, explaining to D...

Gaming News Canada Editor/Parleh Media Group partner Steve McAllister delivers a primer on the past/present/future of sports gambling in Ontario, speculates on the gambling prospects for niche sports such as table tennis, cricket, jai-alai & pickleball, talks about moving from Prescott to Ryerson/Toronto to Kincardine, following in his Dad’s footsteps [skates?] as a hockey referee, interesting career stops at The Canadian Press, The Globe and Mail, Yahoo Canada, the NHL Players’ Association & Te...

Ex-NHL Goaltender Curtis McElhinney talks about playing in Toronto [lots of Instagram messages] and in Tampa Bay [scootered from the beach to the arena], his TWO Stanley Cup rings, his Save of the Season on Sid the Kid to get the Maple Leafs into the 2017 playoffs, meeting celebrity fans [like rapper Yung Gravy], packing up & moving 35 times over a 16 year professional career, arriving at the backup goalie's peaceful acceptance that there is only ONE net, and the biggest mind-blow of all time: a...

Author/Journalist/Wrestling Historian Greg Oliver talks about his memoir on Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons [“tried to watch a video compilation of all his umpire ejections...couldn’t get through them all!”], his biography of Billy Van [Hilarious House of Frightenstein & Bizarre with John Byner...classics!], and his Sports Illustrated online piece about Canadian wrestling icon Rocky Johnson’s unacknowledged children [the half-siblings of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson]!


OLIVERBOOKS: The home of aut...

Four-time Canadian Screen Award winning Producer Stuart Coxe talks about cutting his teeth at CBC’s The National & The Journal, Peter Mansbridge’s calm & consistent presence during 9/11, launching Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank, why Mark Burnett’s track record proves he is the ‘Wizard of Oz,’ working on the late Gord Downie’s ‘Secret Path’ project, first meeting Gord while giving a tour of Robert Scully’s VENTURE set, working with Kevin O’Leary [“your tears add no value”]/Evan Solomon/Robert Herjav...

700+ NHL game enforcer The Grim Reaper Stu Grimson talks about catching a scout’s eye in a Kamloops street brawl, being ‘a player so NICE that I got drafted TWICE’ [first by Detroit and then by Calgary], the liberation he ironically felt after suffering a horrible beatdown at the hands of the Oilers’ Dave Brown, his appearance on The Simpsons as an Instructor at Top Goon Academy, the Disneyland benefits of playing for The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim [owned by Disney], post-NHL career being back on a...

Legendary heavy metal bassist Rudy Sarzo talks about rejoining Quiet Riot [his 3rd stint!], playing with Ozzy Osbourne/Whitesnake/Dio, and his friendships with the late Randy Rhodes/Kevin DuBrow/Frankie Banali. Rudy shares memories of the stellar ping pong table & overwhelming portrait of Queen Elizabeth at Maple Leaf Gardens, the controversy behind the scenes of the 1990 KISS/Whitesnake concert at the CNE Grandstand [KISS without pyro?!?!?], his admiration for Paul Stanley and KISS, his ‘sister...

Comedy hypnotist/motivational speaker/author The Incredible Boris Cherniak talks about his journey from Moscow to Toronto, running out of material early in his first professional show [at age 17!], being Facebook Friends with The Amazing Kreskin, enjoying conversations with a surprisingly chatty Teller backstage after a Penn & Teller show in Las Vegas, appearing on The Howie Mandel Show on the exact same NBC Burbank studio stage as The Tonight Show’s Johnny Carson once did, working on people wit...

Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Travis Snider joins the podcast from Kirkland WA [home of Costco!] to talk about the life of a [baseball] retiree at 35, learning perseverance over adversity, his love for Cito Gaston & Alex Anthopolous, literally being pulled off the field mid-game in Seattle and being traded to Pittsburgh [‘that was awkward!’], the difference between 4A vs Triple A ballplayers, maximizing his energy, fire & drive until the wheels came off, serving as the 'pacecar' for off-se...