Matt & Nik are back with a deep dive on the 2000 Grey Cup win as that year’s unforgettable squad will enter the Wall Of Fame later this year. Jamie Taras and Sean Millington join the show for a look back on some of the best memories from the championship season, including an intense battle in the backfield with Millington and Robert Drummond. The fellas also preview special teams as 2024 training camp draws even closer.
0:00 – Intro
2:29 – 2024 Wall of Fame announcement
7:54 – Special teams preview
15:53 – Jamie Taras and Sean Millington interview
42:13 – 2000 BC Lions championship deep dive
50:09 – Go For It Or Punt
1:00:25 – Around the CFL
1:01:45 – Stanley Cup Playoffs talk
🔔 Subscribe to the BC Lions YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@OfficialBCLions
🏈 For more Lions content: https://www.bclions.com/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bclions_official/
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bclions
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BCLions
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BCLions
🎙️ 1st and now Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7vI8Nr58flThzkr4ez2jRU
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
first and now is your official BC Lions
podcast mid April sun is shining it’s
warm out Matt Baker alongside Nick
Kowalski and uh yeah Nikki uh in kind of
a golf mood right now well the weather
has been nice it’s been sunny I feel
like we always talk talk with the
weather off the top but like a Vancouver
thing always talk about the weather it’s
a life thing um and I also say that
because Tyler gamon our football
operations
associate uh has one of those miniature
putting things in his office now so it’s
like a long it’s like a long green and
you you have to punt it you have to punt
it we’ll do goph for it or punt later
you have to putt the ball it has to go
up a bit of a bit of an incline and to
get it in the hole so you can practice
your cutting in Tyler’s office a couple
weeks ago I think you might have been
away but he went away to the free agent
Camp I said just leave your office open
I want to practice my putting when
you’re gone and took me a few to syn one
but there you go and then we had uh one
of our sales guys Eric was out at the
Masters last week actually so shout out
to Eric that’s I haven’t heard about the
experience yet but I’m sure that’s a
bucket list item he’s checked off well I
uh I watched I saw his Instagram story
of all the merchandise he was bringing
home so we expect we’re on the list
right yeah for free yeah but I I do say
that uh a good friend of mine went to
Augusta a few times and he brought me
back a hat and a pin a pin flag a flag
that’s cool yeah and that’s that’s one
of the coolest souvenirs I’ve got
so well I always like how the waste
management has like the WM logo and then
uh country artist Morgan Wallen flipped
it so it says NW but in that Waste
Management logo that’s we’re talking
golf merch here off the rails a bit but
is that the last night we let the liquor
talk is it that that the song that’s
Morgan Wallen yeah you’re one of the
biggest country artists in the world
right now see I’m uh I’m up on my
country there you go so yeah what we’re
saying is it’s it’s an exciting time of
year now inside of a month until
training camp we’ve talked about the
Masters Stanley Cup playoffs this town
Vancouver going to be lit in a few days
as the kids say it’s one of the things
the kids say we’ll talk about Stanley
Cup playoffs and maybe a couple of
predictions before the end of this
podcast but it is a big one a special
one and we’re going to make the first
official announcement right now that um
September 13th Lions will host the
Toronto Argos that part we already knew
it’s going to be Legends night that part
we already knew uh we’re going to tell
you that it’s a the game is a
presentation of Lord Co Auto Parts and
part of the festivities celebrating our
70th season we’re going to announce uh
that the wall of fame will welcome the
2000 gray Cup champion BC Lions it was
the fourth championship in team history
we’re going to do a deep dive on the
gray cup win on the game specifically in
that season like we’ve been doing with
the other gray cups a bit later on but
we’re going to announce again that yes
we’re going to enshrine that team on the
wall of fame legendary team right they
they go under 500 in the regular season
and go on to win the gr cup uh some I
mean some legendary players on that team
too right you got Damon Allen under
Center at quarterback Sean Millington
and Robert Drummond as a one-two punch
in the back field Louis paglia’s final
season as a kicker and punter for the
team so going on top uh some Legends
getting some more well-earned uh
recognition this year and really looking
forward to that game against AOS yeah
and uh this is something I’ve been
excited about for a while uh that’s a
team that’s near and dear to my heart
all these teams were well starting in
’94 really the first one I remember and
we encourage you to go back and listen
to the previous episodes our most recent
one before this had a 1994 discussion
previous to that was 85 in 1964 doing
this as part of our 70th season honoring
the great Cup Championship team so this
one for me I uh I just I turned 16 so
just starting to drive uh you know just
starting you know it was in 11th grade I
think it was so was becoming more and
more of a DI hard was the games were
kind of becoming more life or death
maybe for lack of a better term you know
how it is when you’re a dieh hard fan
and and this was a team you mentioned
that they were 8 and 10 but really it
was a core group that had gone 13 and5
the year before and came up short on the
western final again we’re going to do
the Deep dive a bit later on in this
episode but it was a team that had
struggled in the regular season and uh
we’re going to talk to Jamie Terrace and
Shawn Millington about it but Jamie
Terrace will tell you I was just kind of
talking with him about that year
recently and he said there’s a lot of
guys who came in late in the season and
a lot of guys who actually debuted in
the playoffs that year cuz the long and
short of it was we weren’t a very good
team we were bringing guys in cutting
guys guys got injured so there’s a
couple guys we’ll talk about that didn’t
play in the regular season but were part
of the team for the playoffs so one
other nugget and I I don’t know how to
fact check this he might have to hit up
Steve Daniel for this but I bet this is
a fact that they must be the only great
Cup winning team to have two coaches in
one season who both had sub 500 records
in the regular season yeah and that
that’s that’s a big part of it uh Greg
M’s left midseason after a win I recall
I remember resigned right that team well
that’s that’s what they said we’ll we’ll
talk to Terrace about that but yeah I
think he he he left to go take a job in
the the XFL XFL 1.0 was just starting
right I think it was San Francisco
demons and uh Greg man’s no longer with
us the late great Greg mons wasn’t here
for the championship portion but um that
was a guy who
very charismatic leader charismatic
individual but it was Steve barado who
would take over and yeah that is an
interesting
nugget both guys under 500 cuz what were
they four and five when mons left I
think I have right in front of me three
and four and then barado goes five and
six yeah and then they they go on the
road twice and go three and0 in the
playoffs right yeah through Alberta yep
started in Edmonton went to Calgary the
heavily favored stamps and then um
stayed in Calgary took over the stamp
Peters locker room after the Western
final and uh and again we’ll get into it
the the Montreal aletes heavily favored
in that game too like very he they might
have been a double digit Underdog the
Lions well we’re we’re we’re again we’re
kind of spoiling a bit of what we’re
going to talk about but we’re getting
into we’re getting into my childhood a
bit now when I see Anthony calil roll it
out to the other side and I almost got
like those flashbacks to seeing Calo and
if you were not an alet fan and you saw
that guy coming on the field especially
with Ben cahun too is number one target
you got like chills in your body because
you knew that you were going to be in
for a long day and uh Montell definitely
gave a gave it their all to the very end
of that game too so that’s that’s this
is sort of when I start to remember all
the CFL moments and Calo was that guy
for me at the start of my career my CFL
fandom that he was a scary dude first
year as a starter too right because the
aletes had Tracy ham previously and yeah
uh we’ll save it for the Deep dive but
very excited that to make that
announcement the 2000 gray Cup champions
heading to the wall of fame on September
the 13th and I’m looking forward to see
uh some guys I’m sure will invite a core
of them up here and uh we’ll do some
stuff some more content around that game
in September and right now uh coming up
shortly actually we’ll uh talk to a
couple of key figures on the team and
Jamie Terrace and Shawn Millington but
before we do that we want to uh we’re
going to start doing a bit of a
positional preview on the podcast we’ll
save the offense defense for closer to
cam loops May 88th 9th we’re heading up
there for firste Lions Camp but we’re
going to talk about special teams and
Nikki it’s a unit led by Mike Benavides
wasn’t the case heading into training
camp last year of course Mike came in at
the end of training camp in place of Don
yanowski but we’re going to see some
Benny ball up in cam loops I’m looking
forward to that aspect of it yeah and
you definitely notice the impact coach
Ben ai’s had he’s he’s a very Hands-On
coach you could tell when then they
broke down for specials drills and
practice last year and uh their results
seemed to pay dividends right I mean the
kicking game is is what it is with Shawn
White Stephen flintoff but the cover
unit last year you saw the emergence of
guys like Ryder vargon Patrice Renee
Adrien green stepped up to make a lot of
special teams tackles Isaiah messum
always a consistent figure yeah Josh
Woods right those are the consistent
guys but I think when you factor in Ben
A’s coaching it’s not a surprise that
guys like Varga and Renee really
elevated their game in that aspect so uh
he’s a he’s a a key piece to have back
as well as as well as the entire
coaching staff right but if we’re zoning
in on the specials having Ben aides for
his his 14th year total with the
organization is huge yeah and uh came
over of course with Wally buano ahead of
the 2003 season uh was head coach for a
three-year stint took a year off to do
television CFL on TSN panel but he’s a
coach at heart football guy at heart and
the kicking position another year where
we can say it is as stable as it’s ever
been Shawn White uh 38 years old going
to be 39 this season uh Western nominee
for most outstanding special teams
player and an Allstar great to have
Whitey back and uh that’s a position
we’re very very confident in will remain
stable for a couple years to come yeah
and then one of the cornerstones of this
franchise has been that stable kicking
right when it comes to Louis bagia then
into Paul mallum and then into Shawn
whiton what what are the what is the one
thing that Louie and Paul have that Sean
does not Hardware gray cup
where where where where would they have
that Hardware BC exactly sea Shawn was a
champion with the Edmonton football team
so that’s kind of the missing piece of
Sha’s career and I know he’s very
internally motivated by that finished
bus right another thing to watch with
sha this year is that he is on Pace to
reach both 500 field goals and 500 extra
points in his career this year if he
keeps the pace up that he’s been on you
he’ll hit both this year and that’s two
incredible accomplishments that set to
hit uh he’s coming off a West Division
nominee for the most outstanding special
teams player so like you said you just
checked that one off the box with Shawn
White ran into Paul mallum a couple
weeks ago by the way yeah in par moody
right you said out in Langley oh Langley
yes yeah yeah uh was a buddy’s 40th
birthday party and always good to catch
up with Paul mcallum of course was part
of the radio broadcast last year yeah on
the sidelines so yes uh Whitey you’re
right that gray cut part of it and then
those Milestones 500 fu goals and Pats
we’ll have Young Carter get those
Graphics ready for for when that happens
of course uh a major part of the
specialist unit is the Chemistry Between
the holder in this case it’s Stephan
flintoff but Flint entering year four
handling the main punting duties that
took over early in 2021 remember the
Lions had tried going the global route
with uh with Jake Ford and flintoft was
waiting in the wings and another big
year in store for Flint yeah and Shawn
White has said this countless times and
we’ll just Echo it that he Shawn says
that Flint is by far the best holder
he’s ever had in his entire career uh it
speaks to the chemistry they have and to
even kind of spoil a bit of the 2000
talk again uh at halftime uh Louis P it
was one for three in the great cup from
field goal attempts and uh the reporter
Steve barado was a halftime interview
for the Lions and he asked straight up
he straight up asked him he said uh are
you concerned about Louie and he goes no
concerned about the old leg Lou yeah and
he goes no no he’s like both of them
were bad holds it’s not really anything
to do with Lou hitting the ball right so
that just explains that when you see a
kicker miss a field goal it’s not always
because of the kicker it’s some there’s
a lot of things that go into it you got
to get the hold down you out all of that
I think barado says that in the
interview we had some problems with the
snap exact the set so uh and Flint to
will take Sean White’s word for it does
the best job at that that he can do so
it’s huge to have him back and you have
to rely again on the long snapping
portion of it some people might just
kind of brush that off but uh we’re
excited to have Riley picket heading
into his second season long snapping was
drafted as a defensive lineman and a
special teams player but this is a guy
who picked up a new position last year
and ran with it yeah and he’s come a
long way and that’s something sea white
will also say that he’s very impressed
by piet’s development his work ethic
he’s he’s training out in scatch onean
with uh the Riders Long Snapper all off
season and like you said picket was a he
was a fifth round pick in 2020 2 was a
defensive lineman and now he’s
Saskatchewan husky yeah now he’s a Long
Snapper and he’s going into year two
doing his his long snapping duties and
that chemistry between white picket and
Flint they’re they’re a fun Dynamic a
fun Trio to be around and um you know
they their work shows on the field and a
big highlight of last season was the
crazy comeback against the Ottawa red
blacks that comeback not possible if not
for one Terry Williams returning a
missed field goal all the way to the
house a miss a rare Miss from Lewis Ward
is is what kickstarted that crazy turn
of events and Terry Williams is a guy
who who plays with high motor high
motivation chip on his shoulder and I
I’m expecting a couple of big returns
from Terry this year yeah well he yeah
he finally got into the end zone like
you said on on that that Ottawa game he
had he had that one two-point convert uh
run back in the west or the West Final
in 2022 at Winnipeg first in history in
the playoffs right yeah this was his
first touchdown of the last season and
it came at the most important time but
yeah Terry’s back signed a two-year
extension really early into the new year
with the Lions so he’s back uh for his
uh third season here his second full
year coming up but it’s kick returner
and pun returner is one of those
positions where it’s not it’s not really
usually just one guy that takes every
single return so uh and it’s it’s also a
position where you do explore as many
options as possible in Camp right so a
guy like Lawrence Woods for example has
return history in Hamilton and he was
someone who was signed this off season
as a as a dep defensive back right so
he’s someone that I’m sure will get reps
in training camp uh taquon miselle did
some returning at times in the past and
who knows maybe now with William stanach
in the mix maybe myel can be more um
interchangeable yeah he can maybe be
more used as a as a returner that’s
something I’m sure the coaches will it’s
an Avenue they can explore in training
camp and and there’s always like we said
there’s always 10 or 20 guys that come
in from the states or from the draft or
wherever that can that uh that can
return football so that’s always a a
position to watch there you have it a
thorough breakdown of the Specialists
the Special Teams unit that’s one
constant you have to have solid special
teams and we’ve seen good teams uh have
Championship runs are ruined because of
bad special teams so just saw it
firsthand uh with my guys in the Super
Bowl so there you go uh have to love it
and we’ll do the defense in the next
episode and wrap it up with the offense
before we go to Cam Loop
but very much looking forward to seeing
how Mike Benavides and his special teams
um make the difference in the 20124
season Wall of Fame induction we
announced it at the start the 2000 gay
Cup champions are going in and we’ll
talk to a couple of key figures of that
team next year on First and
[Music]
no and as mentioned uh to kick off this
episode of first and now we’re very
excited to
uh welcome the 2000 great Cup champions
to our wall of fame well officially
we’ll do so on September 13th when we
play host of the Toronto Argonauts and
we’re going to bring in two members of
that team uh two great BC Lions whose
names are synonymous with gray cups in
fact I believe each of these gentlemen
both won two with the franchise Nick of
course we broke down the 94 win on our
previous episode of first and now but
Shawn Milling
former mop in the CFL as mentioned gray
Cup champion is with us as well as Jamie
Terrace needs no introduction offensive
lineman and current uh director of
Community Partnerships that was a very
long but well-deserved intro but
gentlemen welcome to the program thanks
a lot man appreciate being here thank
you
guys yeah the diesel of course yes um
Sean we we’ll start with you because uh
we don’t get a chance to talk to you
quite as much but um what goes through
your mind uh when you think of the 2000
Champions and they’re soon to be placed
on the wall of
fame wow it’s I guess the simplest
answer would be it was all about
Transitions and I believe if I’m not
mistaken that that was the first team
with a losing record in the CFL to win
the great cup and what was required in
order for us to go from a team that
was frankly in disarray and really
struggling to one that caught lightning
in the proverbial bottle at the right
time and managed to ride that all the
way to a
championship that that’s something that
it’s hard to overstate and I think it
was you know obviously Jamie you were
there and we it was it was a great time
that we both had a great enjoyment
of yeah and Jamie I guess expanding on
that I mean I know there was talk about
doing this uh in 2020 to commemorate the
20 year anniversary we know there was no
season and uh there were other
circumstances that went on but when it
when it came time to talk about this
amongst the wall of fame committee I I
have to assume it was a no-brainer right
absolutely I mean you’re right we were
we were wanting to induct the team and
in 2020 and then Co hit and and but Sean
hit it on the head I mean you think
about I think the the first team in the
history of the CFL to win the great cup
with a with a losing record I don’t know
if that’s happened since but uh that’s
an incredible accomplishment and just uh
my memory of all of that was exactly as
Sean was talking about we were we were a
team that was growing into itself there
were so many changes coaching changes
with uh coach Ms leaving the team and
then coach brto taking over and even
player changes there were players on our
great Cup team that had one you know one
game during the regular season are zero
games there’s one fellow I think Kelly
Snell had zero games in the regular
season and and his his first and only
game ever playing as a BC line was in
the great cup so there there were a lot
of new faces coming in as we tried to
build a team that could make a charge
for the
championship so Sean you talk about the
transitions that had to be made uh
throughout That season and often times
across professional sports when you see
a team that’s you know around the 500
Mark and you play him in the first round
of the playoffs it’s usually like free
free space in the Bingle card right easy
win but what was one or two things that
allowed that 2000 team to Prevail past
the regular season struggles and and go
on that three and0 run in the
playoffs I think at coach
barado gave us a belief in ourselves he
allowed the guys to do what they did
best and
because he was brought in Midway through
the season he didn’t come in with this
overarching well this is the way I do
things and everybody needs to tow the
line
and kind of crack the whip on people’s
sort of a mindset and I
think coach
Ms had a very different philosophy that
guys hadn’t really bought into and his
approach to that lack of buying was well
too bad and that doesn’t really Inspire
professional athletes I don’t not sure
who that inspires but I’ll just say that
it didn’t inspire me and while I still
argued with Coach barado about a few
things he at least took the the the
leash off a little bit in my opinion and
when it was working he kept doing it
right like I’m an Allstar running back
at that point like I’ve got a proven
track record and I’m barely seeing any
touches like that makes no sense to me
and I bitched about that with MS and I’m
like look you can call me selfish or
whatever you want to call me but it’s
only in the best interest of the team
that I have high output and I’m not t
it’s not like we’re getting it somewhere
else like you know if the if we were
cranking and the game we were winning
games then fine but I felt I had
something to contribute and I felt coach
BR allowed me to do that and I he did
that with a number of other individuals
as well which is some of the
contributing factors to us turning the
season around and then Jamie at the same
time though this was also a team that
had gone 13 and five the year prior uh
loaded with Superstar Talent like like
the two of you but there was also Damon
Allen at quarterback Louis pegley
obviously still in his prime at the end
of his career uh so at the same time
though right there was a lot of Talent
on that roster to install the belief
that you guys could do that uh win the
championship
oh yeah we had Alfred Action Jackson at
receiver Jimmy the jet Cunningham Robert
Drummond an outstanding uh tailback that
that was part of the dynamic duo with
Millie uh you know then you know Don
Blair who was a great Canadian receiver
out of the University of Calgary you
know then we picked up Jimmy Oliver who
uh was a Speedster later in the season
who really
helped yeah J and we you know we had a
we had a lot of talent uh and I think
that’s to speaks to to Sean’s point you
know um and actually Coach Campbell
mentioned this at the coaching clinic
this past weekend you know there every
team in the CFL has talent and a lot of
times it’s about the chemistry it’s
about the team believing believing in
themselves and believing in one another
and believing in in the coaching staff
and what we’re trying to accomplish and
I think that that was the difference you
know I remember on our great Cup ring we
put the word believe you know that was
uh that was it was Louis last year he
was going to retire we all kind of
rallied around that there was a lot of
people on that team that had never won a
great cup Joe powpow who everyone loved
you know he’d never won a great Cup
Championship either as a player or coach
and we had players that had played a
long time in the league that hadn’t won
and we I think as a team we started to
believe in each other and we rallied
behind those those stories of the of the
guys that we played with and and that
became our Mantra moving forward and we
caught a lot of teams by surprise I mean
when you’re eight and 10 nobody nobody
takes you seriously right and little bit
of Flash Forward to Montreal last year
they they gained momentum
and I think you know they caught a lot
of people by surprise and that’s I think
that’s what we did as well Sean getting
back to your situation that year and you
know every every running back every one
of those Alpha guys you want the rock
right that goes without saying but many
people might not remember this history I
do because I’m kind of a nerd for this
stuff you you left as a free agent after
1997 the team signs Robert Drummond as
your
replacement and then you end up after
Winnipeg I think you bounced to Edmonton
for a bit then came back here and then
all of a sudden you’re sharing the back
field with Drummond but how much did you
guys feed off of each other as
well oh I think it was very competitive
I I would say
so yeah I guess that’s one way to put it
and I I think Drummond resented me in
the back field cuz like who is this guy
and why am I splitting reps with him and
I felt like hey I can do as good or
better a job
so I’m feel content to stack up my
performance against anybody Robert or
otherwise so you know and I I get it
from the coaching perspective like
you’re trying to keep two guy you know
alpha male guys happy and how do we
operate but in the end it did it did
benefit both of us I think and it did
benefit the team ultimately and I think
we both both understood that so while of
course I want the ball more and would be
happy to take drums reps and he would be
happy to take
mine I think by having a little bit of
different you know it’s kind of more
Rumble and Flash type of a an approach
it made it difficult for teams because
you couldn’t really game plan
effectively like you know it’s a version
of choose your poison and one way you’re
going to die so it didn’t really matter
is it going to be the knife or the gun
you’re going down either choice you made
and I think that was what helped it to
be so
successful and then uh flashing forward
to the playoffs we’ll we’ll get into the
game itself here uh in short order but
um Jamie or both of you guys can can
comment on this as
well giving Calgary a taste of the own
medicine previously 99 gray Cup in
Vancouver they come in here win the
Western final take over the locker room
uh we do it back right right to them and
you know with Wall-E being there at the
time and that rivalry was huge just the
whole thing of taking over Calgary’s
locker room after that Western final how
cool is that well it was a bitter I mean
a bitter taste in 99 because the great
cup was here I remember that and and I
think all we had to do was get a field
goal to win that game to advance the
great cup and and uh we ended up uh
fumbling the ball yeah fumbling the ball
and that was the end of it it wasn’t Dam
it wasn’t Damon’s fault I remember I
remember the play exactly where where
you know they the actually Calgary ran a
weird defense and and someone came free
and uh you know Damon got hit from from
both sides you know and so there you you
you you you remember those things right
you lost it in your own home and and
that’s you know whatever at the pro
level whatever you can use as motivation
to uh to give you the edge and and that
was something we talked about in that
and we did talk about taking over
Calgary’s locker room because they were
really our arch nemesis had such a great
program and they had a I want to say I’m
going to use the word arrogance they had
an arrogance about them more than a even
more than a confidence and we and we
really we really we despised them in
that sense we really wanted to beat them
and they’ done they’ done such a great
job of trouncing us for so many years
that that I think that all of that
impetus uh came into the West final when
we beat them pretty
handily and then Jamie getting into the
actual game uh we were talking right
before we started recording that you
were just watching some of the
highlights from from the 2000 gray cup
uh and it was a game that although it
was a 28 26 score it was a game that the
lions at least in the first half came
out kind of firing on all cylinders and
Sean too yourself having 60 plus rushing
yards in that first quarter right you
guys started off hot yeah I I actually
felt a little challenged in that game
and I felt
the the issu is that we were going away
from the running game instead of like
doubling down like it was working like
we don’t sometimes I feel we would get
too clever for our own good it’s like
everybody knows it’s going to happen so
we have to do something different not if
they can’t stop it like that’s always
been my problem with you know Pro Sports
we get clever and think oh well yeah
everybody in the stadium knows that the
ball’s going to be run up the middle
right now yeah but they can’t stop it so
run the ball at the middle you don’t
need to throw it out I mean that’s how
teams lose games games we won games
because of people making those sorts of
miscalculations so we started off the
game on fire and I felt like we just
kept rolling doing what we were doing
everything would have been fine but we
started to second guess ourselves and
let them get a little bit of momentum
and instead of punching them in the
mouth and keep punching them in the
mouth yeah it’s not going to be a 10 y
every single time but slowly they’re
going to get ground down which had
happened all year and then all we start
getting away from Mar game plan and they
start getting a bit of confidence and
next thing you know you’re you’re in a
shootout which I didn’t think it needed
to come down to that we could have
rolled them right from Jump Street and
just cruised at the end of the game to
yeah we’re winning and we’re gonna keep
winning and you guys aren’t G to score
any points so too bad Jamie uh you love
the attitude of it of a running back and
that’s what you know we ended up with
over 200 I think it was around 260 yards
of rushing in that game so John still
wants to run the ball more but he’s
right why why go away from what’s
working and the old lineman always wants
to run the ball so you know with with
athletes like Millington and Drummond
and don’t forget Damon Allen like you
know that he was I think late late in
his 30s late into his 30s and he could
he was as smooth as ever and you know
smooth such a smooth Runner such an
incredible athlete and and so between
the three of them running the ball you
know any defense is going to is going to
you know have fits trying to figure out
how to solve that so it was that was we
you know time of possession everything
else I think that was our secret going
down the stretch there in terms of
grinding teams down one of the most uh
important plays of that game you guys
were both on the sideline is after uh
after Montreal scores to make it 28 26
they go for two points and uh don’t
succeed in that uh attempt but you guys
W what are you guys’ memories from
watching that play on the sideline and
the twoo and I guess the nerves probably
going through your guys head we’ll start
with you Sean
it’s it’s a scenario where you’re just
kind of nashing your teeth because you
never don’t want to you don’t want to
not be on the field when the game is
being decided and to sit there kind of
especially as an offense like defenses
are often in that position but as an
offense to be sitting there on the
sideline and watching them being in a
position to like take the game at that
point and you’re like damn are we going
to get like our chance to get back in
and do something about this it was
pretty stressful and yeah a lot of
elation when they don’t make it and it’s
like our turn to can I can we put the
can we put the cap on this
deal yeah and it’s funny because I did
Uh I rewatched that because there was
always there was a lot of complaining uh
from the aletes about how uh Chuck leevy
at the time had you know had interfered
with h Haskins on the two-point play
that would have tied the game up but you
know watching in the rules of the time
watching it back he jammed him within
five yards and the guy fell down you
know it was it was a legal defensive
play and uh you know of course when you
lose you’re always looking for uh
reasons why but uh you know that same as
Sean you’re sitting there you’re biting
your tongue and they struck so fast like
they didn’t have a lot of time but I
think I don’t know if was kahon or
something had the big
long long catch and run right yeah yeah
and it was like oh all of a sudden
they’re scored and they’re two points
away and we’re like how did this happen
like like you said Nick we’re dominating
this game like we could actually go into
overtime here right this is crazy
there’s no chance this should be
happening fortunately the defense held
tough and we were able to win the game
in in regulation time yeah I wasn’t
feeling good to be frank I felt if we
went into overtime our chances of being
successful were going to significantly
diminish like the time to seal the deal
was right now and I like Jamie said the
defense managed to stiffen up and you
know deny them but when I saw kahoun
they like I’m like what is happening
right now this is crazy like like did
canot everybody in the stadium know that
we’re going to Ben cahun like double
team that guy do something right like
you get that kind of level of anxiety
talking and you you kind of stress out a
little bit so I was very happy to see
you know that play not work out and
obviously that allowed us to close it
out and and win the
game here’s a brilliant nugget about uh
uh the 2000 team never trailed in the
playoffs wow yeah led the LED wall
to–all grup as close as it was in
Edmonton in the semifinal uh I think
there was a Shawn Fleming field goal to
tie it at the end he missed it and we
won by two and then uh the Western Final
in Calgary Jamie you and I were talking
about this before we started uh that
game was never really in doubt from Eric
Carter I think had a pick six in the
first half so that something to be proud
of never
trailing yeah yeah go ahead Sean sorry
yeah wow I didn’t I didn’t realize that
it’s funny you find out these things
about games or your career that you
didn’t really appreciate at the time
because obviously I’m not sitting here
pouring over the stats like you guys
have the opportunity to do so that’s a
very cool like little feather in your
cap to realize that there was you always
knew that there was something special
about the team but that adds another
element of wow these this group of guys
had something unique that no other team
was replicating and we were blessed to
play in a situation where we were able
to put it together in such a commanding
fashion that allowed us to just have
that sense of Destiny about the whole
situation and you know Sean and I are
both offensive players so we can talk a
lot about the offense but you also have
to acknowledge the defense because at
the end of the day they’re a huge part
of that right getting us the ball back
and hold and holding the other team to
few or little points and you know we had
some great Defenders there Carl You Know
Carl kid was on that team uh you know
Herman Smith and Dave Benfield coming
off the edge Mike Fletcher was an
outstanding so we had so many great
players and and U and it was the right
moment to come together as a team and
and uh and play our best
football and Jamie we were talking about
this too but when we’re talking about a
guy like Damon Allen under Center when
when he was on his game he was as
Unstoppable as they come in the CFL
right but I was I was thinking toward
the past couple years now we even saw
that kind of same aspect with a guy like
Nathan roor in 20122 where when he was
on it it was lights up by halftime so
but you were saying that there there was
differences in in the the parallels
between Nathan and Damon that you saw
throughout your time with the Lions
right yeah like when D when Damon was on
no no one was GNA beat Damon Allen like
you know you know you know Marcus coming
from that family of athletes with Marcus
being his brother and as an athlete he
was incredible I I tell the story when
he came into Edmonton um because I had a
good buddy named Blake Marshall who was
a fullback that Sean would know and and
he and they were talking about him being
this the next you know uh the next
superstar in Edmonton and he came in he
was 155 pounds dripping wet they’re like
what but the athleticism we call him
sweet nine I mean he was unbelievable
sometimes we’d miss our block and we go
oh no and D would just make the guy look
foolish and and run for 20 yards and he
I would say the difference where
Nathan’s skill again not playing with
Nathan but in watching him in processing
the game reading the game and making
quick decisions Damon was more of an was
more of an athlete using his incredible
athletic ability to uhh find Space to
throw the ball to run the ball and uh
you know and when and when he was on his
game the you know you weren’t no one
could beat Damon Allen when he was on
his game when he was in the zone he was
incredible well I’ll say what Jamie’s
far too gentlemanly of a of a man to say
and I’ll tell Damon this to his face I
felt like Jam’s 100% correct I’ll start
with that and say that you know when
Damon was on fire you he was a very
challenging opponent and somebody that
would be very difficult to contain the
challenge for Damon was that there were
too many times when he wasn’t on fire
and I felt that he I’ll just put it this
way I remember we won against Edmonton
with Damon at the helm from from that
exact dynamic because he decides to
throw the out instead of driving it up
the middle and you know burying us
basically and that allowed us to
intercept the ball and come back and
beat them in the last seconds of the
game that they had handedly in hand at
that point so you’re talking about 94
Sean yeah Charles Gordon yeah yeah yeah
right so I mean love Damon he’s a great
guy I’m not you know but I’m going to
call a spade a spade like this is you
know this is one of those things and
when I when I look at somebody like
Nathan you know or even VA like VA has
his kind of up and down obviously I’m
not in the locker room I have no idea
what anybody you know what play calls
Etc but I observe a a fluctuation in the
level of play that to me I always worked
very hard to remove that from my game
like I
prided myself on not fumbling the ball
because that’s my job you hand me the
ball like I’m not supposed to let go of
it right so it’s not acceptable to drop
the ball and if you know for my way of
looking at things when you see that you
have deficiencies in your game it’s your
job to get rid of those deficiencies not
just say well it’s fine because I did
something great on some other
day very well said um we got to do more
of this uh as the event gets closer we
could we could do stories all day but
Jamie before we’re done here uh anything
uh you want to add in terms of the
ceremony itself I I’d imagine there’ll
be a few key figures at least extended
the invitation well the first challenge
is going to be tracking all these guys
down right yeah but but which which will
be fun and I’m gonna uh enlist the help
of the rest of the guys from the team as
well in terms of finding some like I
like I mentioned some of them were here
for that for one game like a Kelly Snell
and never played for us again and so and
there was a several several fellows like
that so it’ll be interesting to try and
track the group down but you know I
think the the fun of it will be coming
back and and and sharing the memories
and the camaraderie and of course we’ll
have an awesome celebration this being
our 70th year bringing the 2000 great
Cup team so it it’ll it’ll add to the
excitement uh of everything that’s going
on this year with the hosting the great
cup and everything else so it’s going to
be a wonderful celebration of that team
and really look forward to reconnecting
with all of those characters that were
part of that team well mark your
calendars down again September the 13th
uh very well earned you gentlemen are
both in individually uh Shawn inducted
to the wall of fame in 2011 and Mr
Terrace in 2018 along with Eric Carter
that’s who you went in uh Jamie just
digging up in our archives forgot about
that uh ashame to say I forgot that you
two went in together but now that I look
at it uh that was a very special night
as well so it’s going to be a great
night and uh we thank you both for
taking the time here awesome thanks for
having us Billy I look forward to seeing
you in person and celebrating the the
victory together and our our induction
together exactly it’s gonna be a good
one thanks Jamie appreciate appreciate
you Nick Matt thanks for having us our
pleasure thanks
guys outstanding discussion with Jamie
Terrace and Shawn Millington as we will
enshrine the 2000 gay Cup champions onto
the wall of fame again September 13th
Legends night presented by Lord Co Auto
Parts lions and Argonauts maybe fitting
Toronto Argonauts the oldest franchise
in North America and it should be fun 70
years of BC Lions football and we could
have kept those guys for hours but you
know it’s it’s 2024 people have shorter
attention spans
maybe less is more but some great
stories particularly Millington talking
about the relationship with Robert
Drummond not always Rosie but two
competitive guys two alpha males and um
you know Jamie Terrace has talked in
other conversations about how guys like
Dawn Blair were stepping up in the
middle of the season to to call meetings
to figure stuff out and yeah looking
forward to this one yeah definitely not
an 8 and 10 roster when you look at all
the talent they had on that team and uh
Millington talking about his
relationship with Robert Drummond it’s
really this healthy competition right
and I think I think going for fast
forwarding to the modern day aspect of
everything is you look at our receiver
room these past couple years where
there’s I mean any of these guys is
capable of going for 1,000 yards and uh
they they’re definitely close and we’re
not not saying that they they draw each
other over getting the ball or anything
like that but it’s a healthy competition
in that room too right you want to be
the guy that’s making every play you
want you want when the the games on the
line you want to get the ball right but
it’s it’s healthy to have that
competition and Rick Campbell says this
a lot too that it’s it’s a good problem
to have when you have talent on all
sides of the ball and all positions and
uh you have to make those tough
decisions yeah and it all worked out in
the end and uh we can get to a couple
key points here in our rewatch I know
you mentioned on the last episode that
this was the gray cup for the lions that
you knew the least amount about right
going in so I’m interested to uh hear
what you learned what you took in but
one quick thing off the top and I’ve
rewatched this a few times and I always
chuckle Chris cuthber and Chris Walby
were the play-by-play and and color Duo
Steve Armitage on the sidelines Love
Steve Armitage as a
broadcaster uh van based in Vancouver
for all those years but uh I I laugh
though Chris cuthber early on says we’re
excited to introduce our yellow virtual
first down marker think about that for a
second now nowadays you can’t watch a
football telecast without that yep right
and they’re introducing this new great
technology to kick off uh the gray cup
telecast on CBC just laugh at that
because just that’s become such a staple
of our football viewing CFL NFL college
what have you so yeah it was brand new
at the time the broadcast of the of the
200 in great cup 2 it was cuffer and
Walby on on the play-by-play in color
but then they they had uh they had Glenn
suder and pin block Clemens and like
this this booth in the back of the end
zone yeah doing like in-game analysis
there was a a very controversial play
toward the end of the game where there
was it was originally ruled a calv
fumble and it turned into uh a forward
pass but then it became intentional
grounding and they did this big review
over it and both coaches are I right and
they brought in pinball to explain and
Glenn suder to explain why it’s now
grounding and and all of that so that
was cool to see too Glenn sudor more
early broadcasting days and a lot of
what I had jotted down here we’ve we’ve
kicked around already uh with the round
table we just did but yeah you can’t
understate the two-headed backfield of
Millington and Drummond uh this defense
had some names that might not resonate
right away but these guys played key
roles Mike Fletcher with a big
interception the first Montreal pass by
Calo is a Mike Fletcher interception and
long return to set them up and sets up
the first points of the game Herman
Smith and Allstar coming off the edge uh
Eric Carter Wall of Fame in ducke
himself back in 2018 like we discussed
so um we pay a lot and we give a lot of
credence to Damon Allen and the running
backs and the receivers but uh these
this defense had a couple of key game
Breakers who Shawn brightley in this win
well this is another stat I think we
have to maybe fact check with Steve
Daniel but is it has to be so the Lions
won the great Cup in 1994 and then the
next grade cup was obviously here in
2000 both of the first passes the
opposition through intercepted that that
Cal throw he didn’t he didn’t see Mike
Fletcher he was throwing a curler out
and uh Mike Fletcher just kind of came
on an angle and picked it off it was
pretty bad read by Calo and maybe had
some nerves going on there but um yeah
the defense stepped up big too they got
a couple sacks toward the end of the
game uh caner Noah caner yep toward the
end of the game had a couple big plays
he was involved in that intentional
grounding play two I believe and yeah
they stepped up there was another to
start the second half of that game
Montreal came came down driving and then
it was uh it was Eric Carter picking off
uh calville took a wideside go ball and
Eric Carter was just a jump ball and
Eric Carter got in front of it and
picked it off and that was a big play
that stopped the alette early momentum
in the second half yeah again the Lions
never trailed in this game came close uh
to giving it up in the end and never
trailed in the two playoff wins and
situational football is key special
teams we’ve talked about the importance
Lou pagle a couple is in the first half
and again we hit on it Steve Armitage
asking barado at halftime was their
concern but when it mattered the most he
did it um Louie kicked the field goal to
put them up 2820 before Montreal’s
comeback attempt came up short so at the
end of the day he kicks the eventual
winning points yeah and then uh back in
in our first gr cup deep dive we I uh
one player that released out to me was
Bob Swift that I had no idea about right
this year’s addition of that is is
definitely Donnie Blair he’s all dripped
out with the tint advisor and he came
through he was a he was a nice player
for them he had five catches for 66
yards right in the first half um I ended
up just Googling his name because I
didn’t know who he was and first photo
that pops up is him uh at his Calgary
dno days where he went first overall in
the CFL draft and just looks like uh
looks like he’d be a fun guy to be
around and and yeah like um Jamie said
that when when times were tough it was
Donnie Blair in his first season with
the BC Lions that called that that uh
that uh infamous players only meeting
right that teams often have when they’re
trying to get through something and uh
so Blair was someone who did it on the
field and off the field too that season
yeah vanet cup uh first overall pick you
mentioned by Edmonton and came over to
BC after a couple of years with the
green and gold and yep one of those
unsung hero contributors and yeah the
tint ADV visor kind of just added a
whole new level of swagger for Donnie
Blair so uh yeah quite the Deep dive
here anything else out to you before we
go for it or punt you have a long lost
relative uh aloette kicker and punter
named Terry Baker Terry Baker yeah any
relation not that I’m aware of yeah and
here’s here’s I’ll I’ll put you on the
he but he was a veteran Terry like he
was Ottawa Rough Riders yeah he was he
was a kicker for a long time gave me a
little chuckle when he in the kicker
rolls out and it says Baker on the back
I’m like oh is this Papa Baker out here
yeah um who was a halftime show there
halftime shows this gr cop I I do know
this one it was The Guess Who that’s a
good half show yeah yeah well pure pure
Taste of canadi canadiana right there
are still some people who are just
adamant it must be Canadian I don’t
agree with that but uh the guest who at
that time was awesome yeah that whether
they’re Canadian or not yeah and then I
want to shout out ala Jackson too
obviously the number one receiver over
1100 yards for the lions in that season
but he’s the guy who IES that game on
the onside kick and just a jump ball and
crazy vertical from Alfred Jackson who
was only I think he was only like 6′ one
so it’s not like he was tiring over guys
like CTO does on our outside kicks but
it was it was the vertical that got Al
for that ball knocked it out of bounds
right yeah he catches it he caugh he
catches it yeah made the play right in
front of the BC line sideline that is
that would have been the kagi stamp
Peter’s home sideline so that’s that’s
something that came through my mind too
is is if we ever go to a gr cup one day
and it’s not in BC Place you sometimes
you have to take over the the sideline
that you’re not usually on that’s that’s
got to be a bit of a mental change too
right cuz usually the opposition will be
on the east side of the field right cuz
then you have the sun coming in your
face I believe that’s why it’s done that
way but BC was on the homeid line on the
west side of the stadium yeah yeah that
would be different it’ be something of
course we haven’t experienced yet but
being in a stadium uh and being on the
home side if that was the situation the
sunshine aspect of it and know it’s dark
for the great cup you know what I mean
don’t have to deal with the white horse
running behind the bench either if
you’re on the home side you got keep
your head up for that yeah you do
absolutely it’s
dangerous you said it yeah can be you’re
in the line of fire man it’s uh yeah
adds to the game experience in Calgary I
enjoy that part of it yeah you got avoid
death on the the sideline yeah yeah 2000
the fourth championship of the Lions the
first great Cup champs of this current
century and um yeah we we encourage you
to listen back to our previous deep
Dives we’ll do 2006 in a couple of weeks
uh that team one of my favorite Lions
teams ever and it was a championship
that uh was much needed at an in an era
where they’d come up short a couple
times so there you go all right we’re
going to go for it or or we’re going to
punt now uh Nick you want to go for it
first yeah I feel like I got to talk
about the hip-hop the all the rap beef
that’s going on right now so are you are
you aware of everything right now I’m
not I I I I do I do enjoy listening to
hipop from time to time it’s one of my
favorite genres but no I don’t know
what’s going on here fill me in well do
we have 20 minutes no no I’m kidding it
is it is lengthy but kind of the Kohl’s
notes is that this all might be a
publicity stunt I’m kind of thinking 3D
chess here in terms of the different
record labels trying to boost uh the
hype but yeah rap beeve is alive right
now and it kind of it’s kind of everyone
is kind of teaming up on Drake right now
okay I read something about Drake yeah
Drake in future I I’ll do as really cool
as note style but Dr and future are no
longer buddies Future Has Gone on to do
two collaboration albums with Metro
boomman who also is uh upset with Drake
Over uh some Grammy nominations last
year and then Jay Cole is kind of flip
sides uh who else is involved ASAP
Rocky’s getting involved in it Rick Ross
is really involved and uh Kendrick Lamar
obviously just dropped a diss track on
that Metro boomman album and it’s it’s
really good music for one but it’s also
really just entertaining to keep up with
right now and pop culture is going crazy
with it and uh those guys are coming to
Vancouver too Metroid booming and uh and
future for their for their tour and and
it lines up with our schedule tickets
yeah they’re going on sale next week or
I think this week actually and it’s It
lines up right after we go to Montreal
so we’ll be available September and for
all those listening that uh that uh are
looking to sign CFL contracts or
interested in this league that’s the
beauty of living in Vancouver is you get
these uh these A-list uh concerts coming
in whereas other cities you’re not
guaranteed that so that’s why I’m going
for all all this this week love it yeah
it’s I I like a little uh a little music
Wars I I like it it’s it all could be
for publicity but this yeah and then the
Drake uh Drake disc leaked over the
weekend leaked in quotations I think
that was on purpose or intentional and
it’s uh he did not hold back so yeah
it’s it’s fascinating stuff right now
yeah apparently I like Drake I I enjoy
his stuff I’m see I’m kind of playing
both sides I love Kendrick Lamar is
probably my greatest rapper of all time
but I also appreciate break while he’s
more like kind of like the catchy more
top 50 kind of or top 40 kind of guy but
you had an honorary mention here too
yeah oh yeah we’re going to talk about
Chris cuber right we we obviously
watched him on the 2000 great cup I want
to go cuer but then I want to talk about
this rap stuff too but sure uh honorary
mention yeah Chris C Legend NHL playoffs
are coming up so we’ll be hearing his
voice a lot more uh iconic call on the
on the Damon Allen Neil to win the game
and one of the legends of the CFL
broadcasting world yeah 94 Calgary in
the snow he called that mcmanis to fluty
and and his path is interesting because
he eventually leaves the CBC to go to
CTV TSN so the next gray cup deep dive
we do I believe it’s actually Mark Lee
on the call okay with CBC with Chris
cuthber yes or sorry with uh Chris Walby
uh Cuthbert member it coincided with the
Olympics in 2010 and calling the gold
medal game for CTV and um NHL on TSN as
well as the CFL on TSN so yeah miss him
uh the only thing I I I always love
Chris cuber but he’s always doing Maple
Leaf games now so um don’t enjoy
watching it too much when the Leaf’s win
so he’s calling a bunch of Pastor not
goals next week right yeah oh I I have
high hopes for Toronto we we’ll get into
that in a second but I’m sticking with
music I’m going for Nickelback that’s
one of those hot debates people love or
hate Nickelback I love Nickelback I seen
them in concert a few times saw them at
the gray Cup in
2011 I’ve seen them uh saw them as part
of a festival years ago at what was then
GM Place now known as Rogers Arena I
took my D I remember I was just in Vegas
with my dad I took my dad a few years
ago for his 60th to Vegas and him and I
went and saw Nickelback at the old Hard
Rock there so uh outstanding live and
and I see they’re at this Festival on
Friday yeah they’re they’re the
headliner later at night maybe at BC
Place yeah it’s going to be going to be
popping out there so yeah love
Nickelback not sure where you understand
but oh I’m I’m a nickak lover too I
think people don’t I I think I’ve voiced
this take before I think people don’t
really not like Nickelback they just
think it’s popular not to they like yeah
Nickelback and they have an issue with
Chad Krueger or something I don’t know
but it’s one of those things where you
don’t actually believe it you just do it
because it’s popular that’s my take with
nickel it’s Anthem Rock how can you go
wrong they’re so good yeah classic
Canadian all of that okay what are you
punting I’m punting you you’re familiar
with Jack Edwards right absolutely so he
the Boston Bruins long time t with
nesson uh he announced his retirement
this will be his last regular season I I
believe all the local broadcasts get the
first round of the playoffs right and
then it goes on it’s different in the
states right I mean it’s it’s all
national in Canada but yeah so Ness will
be carrying the first round between
Boston in Toronto and then after that
Jack Edwards is calling it a career y he
gets a lot of hate though and I’m
punting all the people celebrating that
he’s gone because I mean he’s a local
broadcaster for starters keyword local
local local broadcasters are homers all
of them they they kind of have to be
they’re around the team 24/7 right they
they’re invested in the team they they
don’t have to be non-biased they’re not
a national broadcaster so they can be
biased and Jack Edwards is definitely
that and yeah he has cross a few lines
at times’s apologize for those mishaps
he’s had yeah but he’s pure
entertainment there’s so many iconic
calls you remember from Burns games that
have Jack Edward’s voice attached to
them and then my whole thing is it’s
better than the latter it’s better than
not having a a commentator that’s so
Bland and can’t remember any of their
iconic calls you know I think um I think
a lot of people’s issue with Jack
Edwards and and I don’t love this not
about him specifically but a lot of what
he does is
self-indulgent like I the best
broadcasters in my opinion are like a
Chris Cuthbert someone who doesn’t make
it about them right fair enough yeah
that’s what I mean come on like just but
in the case of people hating on Jack
Edwards you’re right uh he has crossed
the line a couple times maybe he was was
he celebrating opponents in injuries or
something the pat maroon thing comes to
mind yeah it was unall for so that’s
yeah that’s crossing a line let’s be
honest especially in this day and age a
lot of times it’s fans of a rival team
who hate these broadcasters so I’m
guessing there’s some kanuck fans who
don’t like them right Montreal Montreal
Toronto so but yeah Jack Edwards if
you’re a DieHard Bruins fan that’s
that’s the soundtrack of your fandom so
we all have those I mean uh Lions fans
love the MOJ and Julie obviously JP
McConnell Rick ball before him if you’re
a hockey fan in Vancouver of a certain
ilk you like Jim Robson Hall of Fame
radio broadcaster for the Canucks for
for a lot of years so uh yeah you’re the
broadcasting world has changed where a
lot of these local guys you have to be a
cheerleader right that’s just the nature
of it these broadcasters work for the
team and not necessarily the network so
yeah that’s a good one that’s that’s a
very good topic I like that and um I saw
John Sterling the longtime Yankees radio
voice uh has an abruptly retired like
two weeks into the baseball season so
that’s another one who’s had a bunch of
signature calls
and yeah all the best to Jack Edwards uh
in uh in his post
broadcasting uh life and one thing is
for certain whoever takes that job has
some shoes to fill that’s got to bring
the energy right tough act to follow all
right I’m sticking with the hockey theme
here I’m punting the NHL playoff form I
don’t you I know you don’t agree with
this just go back to 1 through eight I
understand why they went to this current
one they wanted to promote and increase
divisional rivalries but we’re recording
this before the matchups are set so we
could get Oilers Kings for a third
straight Year we’re getting Leafs and
Bruins in the first round again I’d
rather the Leafs and Bruins met later
but I guess Boston screwed up by losing
to Ottawa the other night right that
dropped them to second in in the
Atlantic so if it was 1 through eight it
would look like this in the west right
now the Canucks would play Vegas not bad
you’d have Colorado play Edmonton four
and five can’t beat that your Nashville
Predators would be playing your Winnipeg
Jets I wish yeah the Eastern matchups
would be the same though oddly enough so
maybe that kind of kills my argument to
an extent but go back to 1 through eight
stop overthinking it stop having these
wildcard teams cross over based on
standings just keep it simple and maybe
add an NBA Style playin tournament while
you’re I’m down for that I know Elliott
fredman’s been a big uh advocate for
that too to add like that one game play
in especially in a game like hockey
right teams like Detroit and Pittsburgh
who’ve been on a roll they they come up
just short yeah the argument to that is
you have 82 games to fix that but uh I
agree with you on the play can you
imagine like a one game play in where it
goes to overtime and it’s like the home
team wins that’d be a crazy situation
saw it was Sacramento last night that
was a really cool win for them in the
NBA play Pittsburgh and Detroit yeah
you’d have St Louis Minnesota maybe
going at it and maybe the counter
argument is St Louis and Minnesota have
been eliminated for at least a week so
maybe they don’t deserve a shot but yeah
it’s the opposite in the Eastern
Conference so I don’t I don’t I don’t
mind the playoff fer right now I like
how you we’ve only gotten LA or uh sorry
Boston and Toronto these past couple of
times times because of this setup too
right and that just that’s the whole
kind of purpose of it is you create your
divisional rivalries and it’s back what
they used to do back in I believe around
the 80s right range if I’m not mistaken
uh and same thing with Emon La I think
those have been great series these past
two years and if we get it again uh the
hatred is only going to get Amplified
and I don’t know it’s I’m I’m getting
excited for the playoffs now too I know
we we’re going to throw in some quick
predictions at the end but it’s uh it’s
an exciting time of the year and we got
we got the conu in the playoffs too well
let’s uh before we do playoffs yeah
let’s quickly promote some other great
content Vicky Hall Hall of Fame writers
went in as in the football reporters of
Canada Wing last last November I believe
it was before the great Cup in Hamilton
so she’s now writing for cfl.ca she W
wrote about William stanback’s
Redemption story we’re calling it this
was a great article I read it so Vicky
if you’re listening great job playing
with a chip on his shoulder the
adversity of losing his parents so we’ve
chronicled that as well so um next
podcast we record will be just after the
CFL draft and The Scouting Bureau
rankings are up there and uh it’s
getting exciting uh Lions will pick six
in the first round eight picks in total
yeah drafts coming up yeah April 30th is
the draft so if you want to check out
the top prospects that the Lions can
potentially snag in this upcoming year’s
draft those are out in
cfl.ca and then uh yeah the the
standback article I got we got to meet
will last week when he was out here for
our content shoot and getting in some
some work and he’s a big dude he’s he’s
a Bruiser like I would not want to
tackle him and got to have one like that
yeah and he’s going to be a motivated do
this year as as we read about in the
article and um exciting to have him it’s
kind of kicking in now that we got we
got William stanach on our team this
year it’s exciting gonna be all right
hockey wise uh very quickly uh something
tells me I’m high on the Dallas Stars I
saw them play the Canucks was at that
game a few weeks ago it was a battle for
first in the conference
and um they’re just very deep if they’re
goal tending with AER holds up they’re
going to be tough to beat uh some some
good veterans on defense there too so I
like the Dallas Stars I think the kanuck
ceiling is a first round win um they
survive again it’s not set in stone yet
so it could be Nashville but um yeah
then having to go up against Edmonton or
a Vegas in round two not so sure this
team’s ready yet but they’ve been
proving me wrong all year Maple Leafs
are going to reach the Conference Final
I’m on the maple leaf they’re going to
lose to Carolina I do I do like the
Bruins but I’m I think Toronto is going
to take him this year I think Toronto
has can get to the cup yeah I’m not too
scared of Florida there’s you can
legitimately say seven or eight teams
have a chance to win the Stanley Cup
yeah that’s what makes it exciting
there’s going to be some damn good teams
out in the first round oh for sure yeah
and you got to like car out of Winnipeg
in the first round like that’s going to
be an insane Series yeah and Winnipeg is
home ice in that too but I think I I’m I
think Colorado is my pick out of the
West okay right now I just McKinnon’s on
another level right now the go tiing
kind of scares me with gorv but yeah
Dallas is the chalk pick Dallas has like
30 guys that can they can dress I know
that’s the easy one to do but I just
just watching them up close uh yeah
that’s that’s a team I would not want to
try to be beating four times in seven
quick uh so yeah put me on the spot here
I’m going to go Toronto and Colorado in
the Cup Final okay Dallas Carolina make
our friends in Raley very happy I think
I think mine will be a little more
entertaining but yeah it’s fair Dallas
Carolina that’d be a gross one but hey
they’re good teams hey if uh I yeah I
mean Carolina can run it and gun it if
they want to they won’t
but remember that Florida Series last
year that’s getting on the cuber note I
remember where I don’t think you were
there outside in cam loops but I I got
uh I got home for the evening and we’re
getting into the TRU STS and I was
walking by like the outside patio area
there and I think it was I think it was
David Mackey and Andrew Pearson are just
sitting there and we started talking for
a bit and Carolina and Florida were in
game one and that whole series was like
conford final yeah and that whole series
was like every game was like two to one
in that game right yeah and it was in
like it was later so it was like third
or the third or fourth overtime already
right and uh we’re like okay we’re going
to go up and watch the rest of this game
go up to our rooms before we go to bed
and right when we were going up to our
rooms Matthew to Chuck scored like
immediately into the start of I think it
was right at the start of the fourth
yeah but that was another Chris cuer you
have the Leafs in the Cup Final so that
means we’ll be in Toronto for that yeah
week one so there you go still be going
on yeah I’m Toronto Colorado go hang out
in Maple Leaf Square why
not all right uh this has been a very uh
well-rounded episode I love doing it as
always and be sure to subscribe rate
leave a review we’ll be back in 2 weeks
to talk about 2006 gray cup deep dive
and recap the CFL draft perhaps get one
of our draft picks on you never know so
Nikki keep shooting
[Applause]
[Music]
