John Fraser, Co-Host of 3Down Green Cast | Good Sports EP8 - Good Sports | YXE Local Sports

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Whatever makes you happy, what gets you out of bed,
whatever kicks the cop website, you'll join it instead of
victorious day dream, that's glory of fame.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
By we all have the same team.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
That is the name of the game. Thank you as always,
Sean Carpinka and welcome Good Sports Episode eight, Ryan Flair
to here with you at the dufferin Avenue Media Network
Mothership excited for another great episode celebrating local sports, and

(00:48):
we really are celebrating sasagten sports today. My guest on
the show this week. Oh, he's a good friend and
he's a real mens. I don't think he's Jewish, but
you know what, honorera I guess today John Fraser. Johnny Fraser,
a good friend, fellow sportscaster and all around good guy
hopping in here into the studio. We're gonna have a

(01:09):
little fun today and maybe share some picks of ours
for some of our favorite local sports icons and maybe
some other stuff as well. So stick around. It gonna
be a little fun almost like not quite a game
show format, but maybe maybe a little bit of game
show elements to it. We're gonna have some fun and
what's gonna be the first of a kind of a

(01:30):
recurring series with various other local sports media types and
people who've been around it for a while here in Saskatoon.
So please you stick around for that. Always a great
chat with my friend John Fraser. So we're gonna cover
a whole bunch of different topics and hope you can
stick around for that. But of course, if you're gonna
follow the show, you want to do that on the

(01:51):
duffern Avenue Media Network YouTube channel, please like and subscribe,
and of course share that as widely as possible. You know,
you're out at going into the lake or going to
the regional park for the weekend. When you're going through
the gate there, you know that kid that's taking your
two bucks, say hey, by the way, here's a tip
for you, and then when they're waiting for the cash,
you say, no, it's actually the tip is follow good sports.

(02:13):
Follow the different Avenue Media Network on YouTube, and maybe
they'll initially be a little sour, but then they'll be like,
you know what, if they went out of their way
to tell me about it, then I should check it out.
So anyways, share it, share it all the way, all
the way around the world, and let's get this good
Sports Train rolling with even more momentum that it already has.
I want to thank everyone who has been hopping on
the train here the last couple of months. It's been

(02:34):
a lot of fun, and we're gonna keep on having
lots of fun. You can follow the show on Instagram.
Catch up some highlights from the show on Instagram at
Good Sports three oh six. You can also follow me
at Ryan F Sports Guy. There's a little bit of
show content, but also some of the other things that
I get up to in my wide world of sports.

(02:54):
I have a hands in a few different pies here,
So maybe you'll see some Rattler highlights, maybe you'll see
some swat highlights. Maybe you'll just see some stuff from
my own personal life. But hey, this past weekend I
was ranting about the phrase one headed catch. You can
follow me on Instagram to find out what my thoughts
are on that. You know. It' suffice to say we
use it too liberally, that phrase. Anyways, That's enough about

(03:17):
my socials. Good Sports three six again is the Instagram
that's where you get the best clips from the show.
All right, before we get to our guest this week,
and a good one, he is, of course, we want
to get to what's going on and what is going

(03:45):
on this week, Well, there's always a lot going on.
We're going to go with the Saskatchewan Rush and some
news out of rush Land. Some big news for Rush fans,
very positive news and really not surprising news giving the
season the Rush just had, and that is that Derek
Keenan has signed a two year contract extension the Rush

(04:05):
General manager and co head coach. To your new two
year extension. The second year for the twenty twenty six
twenty seven year is an option year and it will
this coming season. The twenty five to twenty six season
will actually be Keenan's sixteenth with the franchise. And he
has done so many great things with the Rush. And

(04:26):
of course he has won both the NLL Coach of
the Year Award, the Less Bartley Award and the NLLGM
Year of the Year Award four separate times. He actually
won them both in the same year three times and
then separately once each. In fact, this past season he
won his fourth GM of the Year award. And really
he's a legend. He's the winning his coach in NLL history.

(04:49):
He's one of the biggest coaching and management names in
the history of the league, and he can kind of
write his own tickets, so really I would expect it
was primarily up to him whether he extended his contract
or not. I don't have the intimate details, obviously of
the negotiations, but given his stature with the not just

(05:12):
the organization but within the league, and of course given
that the Rush just made a run right to the
NLL Finals last season, should come as no surprise that
Derek Keenan gets a two year contract extension. So congratulations
to Jammer. Great to see that. Taking care of of course,
the NLL Draft is coming up just around the corner
in August or parton me in September. Free agency opens

(05:34):
in August, so you want to have your GM situation
covered before you get to those important pieces of off
season business. So all tied up a nice little bow,
and Derek Keenan can go right back to work tweaking
the team, tweaking the roster, and trying to fine tune
things so that they can turn that NLL Finals appearance
into a championship victory this coming season. So that's what's

(05:56):
going on with Derek Keenan and the Rush. Let's stay
with lacrosse. What's going on with the Junior a Saskatch
one swat while unfortunately, despite some close calls, they wrapped
up another regular season without a win on the Ledger,
finishing anh to fifteen campaign with a couple of defeats
in Edmonton. They lost fourteen to ten and thirteen to

(06:18):
six against the Edmonton Minors. So yes, they do finish
oh and fifteen, and that losing streak stretches back still
to May of twenty twenty two. They do have two
default wins during that time, but of course those weren't
games where they actually won on the scoreboard, so we
really don't count those. And we're talking about this losing skid,

(06:38):
but there's been a lot of futility. But as I've
said throughout this these last few weeks, throughout this season,
there's been some really positive signs from the team. They
look a lot more competitive this year than they have
for the last couple of years. And now whether that
translates and they take that next step next season into
some wins remains to be seen. But a lot of

(07:00):
citing young players that actually did a lot of the
heavy lifting for them this year that they still have
several years of junior eligibility left, so that's promising, and
they still have some playoff games coming up as well
before I give you the schedule on those, just to
tie a bow on the regular season, the Rush or
part of me the Swat, that would be the lacrosse
team we're talking about right now. The Swat were led

(07:20):
in scoring during the regular season by their captain Hawk
and Stem. He had a team high thirty three points
in the fifteen games this season, eleven goals twenty two assists.
They're leading s gooal scorer. One of those young players
that I just touched on James Mahoosier, who really was
kind of started the year between the Junior B and
Junior A squads, but he's pretty much full time on

(07:41):
the Junior A team now. He finished the season with
twelve goals and he's still got I think four at
least three years if not four more years of junior
eligibility left. So he's one of several players in that
age category that are going to kind of get to
grow and develop together with the Junior a's over the
next two three years. Some really encouraging prospects looking forward,

(08:03):
but there is still as I mentioned is a playoff
action to come, and who knows, maybe they snapped that
losing skid in the playoffs. Wouldn't that be something. They're
going into a semi final series against the Junior A Raiders,
who did not finish the season undefeated. Even though they
started off very, very hot. They did drop a couple
games in the last few weeks, but they still finished

(08:25):
the year at thirteen and two, first place in the
Rocky Mountain lacrossleagu Junior eight Division. So they will take
on the last place that of being the fourth place Swat.
I'm unclear on whether it's the best of five or
best of seven, so apology's there, but I do know
that the Swatter hosting games one and two of that series,
and those will be this coming weekend. The dates, of course,

(08:47):
are July twelfth and thirteenth. It'll be a Saturday night
game at Gordy Haugkinsman Arena game one of that series
seven pm, and then July thirteenth at one pm for
Game two, and then the scene will shift back to
Calgary for I believe the duration of that series, whether
it's five or seven, if it goes if it goes

(09:09):
beyond four or five games, though the Swat are able
to win one or two. You might see another game
back here, but we'll be TBD on that for now.
We know of just the two games again, seven o'clock Saturday,
one o'clock Sunday against the Junior Raiders. Get out to
cartiolk Kinsman Arena, pack the bar and give them some love.
It's been a tough year obviously, but you just never
know what might happen in the playoffs. Maybe you could

(09:29):
pull off an upset or two. They've been in some
very close games this year, including against those Raiders, so
we'll see what they can do in the playoffs. That's
what's going on with the Saskatchewan Swat. Let's shift our
focus to baseball and what's going on with the saskszoon Berries.
They just continue to blitz the Western Canadian Baseball League
as of recording twenty six, twenty seven and four. Excuse me.

(09:53):
After a victory over Regina on Monday night, just an
insane season the Barris are having. They had an eleven
game winning streak, the longest so far this season. That
was snapped back on Saturday against Regina. Then they just
bounce right back and get back in the win column.
They've yet to lose back to back games this season,

(10:14):
which isn't a huge shock given they've only lost four
times all year. They've already opened up a six and
a half game lead over second place Medicine Hat in
the East Division, and so it's just been a really
impressive season. Continuing for the Berries, They've got a bunch
of road games coming up. They've actually played a lot
of home games over the first half of the year,
but they're gonna have a stretch coming up here of

(10:36):
eight straight on the road, and they will have a
couple at home this weekend. The first will head out
to Wayburn to take on the Beavers this Thursday and Friday,
July tenth and eleventh. Then they are back at next
Gen Patch at Karens Field for a weekend series against
the Swift Current fifty sevens July twelfth and thirteenth, six
o'clock on the twelfth, one o'clock on the thirteenth. The

(10:59):
Beavers in the fifty seven are the two worst teams
in the league, so the Berry is likely just going
to keep on pilot up those victories and then after
that series against Swift Current, that's when they kick off
the eight straight road games. It begins Monday in medicine hat.
So Barry's just roll and roll and rolling. Although with

(11:20):
all those road games coming up in the second half,
there's not as many home games left as you might
think to catch them. So check the schedule Sastoon Berries
Baseball dot com and get yourself some tickets to some
Barris ball. It's a great time out at the park
and they've got a tremendous wagon of a team, so
you know, support the Berries. That's what's going on in
the wcb L. Let's shift our focus to the ice. Now,

(11:43):
what's going on with the Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team. Well,
they're losing a couple of key players to the NCAA. Now,
this was likely going to happen after the rules changed
for Western Hockey League players and players who have previously
played in the West Stern Hockey League. Used to be
that if you played in the WHL or in any

(12:04):
of the three CHL leagues, that rendered you ineligible to
play in the or in the NC DOUBLEA. That's no
longer the case, and so it's a bit of a
wild West now in terms of recruiting and players going
here and there. Of course, with the legal rulings down
south about name and likeness imaging or name and image
likeness and the ability for college athletes to actually make

(12:27):
money while they're competing in nc double A, that has
opened up the doors for a lot of opportunities, and
so some players are decided to see what's what's available
to them down south, and so the Huskies. This was
confirmed Trevor Wong and Land and Koser, first year who
Wong just played his first year with the Huskies last year,
of course, former captain of Sasatoon Blades, and Land and

(12:50):
Koser a former Prince albert Raider who had played a
season and a half with the Huskies. They're both headed
down to join the University of Nebraska Omaha program in
the National Collegiate Hockey Conference that includes such schools as Denver, Minnesota, Duluth,
Saint Cloud, North Dakota. I believe there's a few others

(13:12):
and they're not the only Canada West players who are
jumping over out of U Sports and into NCAA. The
huskies biggest rival, the Alberta Golden Bears, they're losing some
big pieces as well, including Aiden Dela Gorejean Dire former
Saskatoon Blades captain himself. He is headed to Nebraska Omaha
along with his Alberta teammates Sean schagal Brett Hyland and

(13:36):
Mark Legois. Sam Huo of the UBC Thunderbirds, one of
the best players in the conference as well, he is
going to Nebraska Omaha. Somebody in Nebraska Omaha has some
serious connections in Canada West because they are plundering some
U Sports rosters and so all those players are headed
down to join the Mavericks, who have had some players

(13:58):
come out of that program to the NHL in the past.
Most notably, I would say Jake Gensel probably the most
well known graduate in Nebraska Omaha. Josh Archibald dan allis
the goaltender. All played in that program. So the Huskies
are going to look a little different. Trevor Wong Lennen
Kojer course big parts of their Canada West championship victory
this past season, so they will not be around this

(14:20):
upcoming season and we'll see how things play out. You know,
we had chance Per Truck on the show last week
and just his thoughts were some of it come kind
of similar to mine in terms of it's going to
take a little while to see really how the landscape
is going to fully shift, and if it does shift,
or if things kind of adjust to make up for

(14:41):
some of these changes and players moving from place to place.
There's been a lot of hand ringing about what's this
going to do to university hockey in Canada. But it's
not like there's a bunch of new teams in new
roster spots available. So there's still the same number of
players in the talletpool, is there. So it's just going
to bean opportunities for other players who are equally, if
not just as good or close to it to these

(15:03):
players who are leaving. So I don't have any real
worries that the quality of the hockey and U sports
is going to dip or anything like that. We're just
going to see some different players and maybe a few
more junior A guys getting into the mix as used
to be very very common, but over the last decade
or so, there's been more and more major junior hockey
players or coming to U sports. Now we might see

(15:23):
a little bit of a return to more of those
junior A guys who of course always had the option
of going to NCAA and still will continue to take
that opportunity, some of them will. But we've already seen
the Huskies announce some recruits coming into this season, some
players who have played in the SGHL. They already have
some on their team now, just like Chance Patruick who

(15:44):
was here last week, among others. So it's not like
it's an unknown quantity or commodity just going to take
on a little bit of a different look. But certainly
you can't overlook the fact that two very good players
are leaving the Huskies to go down south, so they're
going to have to find ways to make up for
those departures, Trevor Wong and land In Posure moving on

(16:04):
to the NCAA. Good luck to them down there. Hope
things work out the way they're hoping for them, and
they're both their hockey careers and whatever might come after
hockey as well. So that's what's going on with the
Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team, and finally what's going on
with the Saskatchewan Rattler as well. After splitting two games
two weeks ago, they split two games again this past week,
so some baby steps forward Unfortunately, they're starting to run

(16:26):
out of time to really get on a good roll
and get into the playoffs. But they're coming off of
definitely what had to be their most exciting victory of
the season last Saturday night against the Ottawa Blackjacks, erasing
an eleven point deficit in target time to beat the
Blackjacks ninety three to ninety for their fourth win of

(16:47):
the season. It was just a crazy, wild finish to
the game. Check out the highlights on CEBL plus or
on YouTube. In fact, there might even be some on
the Good Sports Instagram account if you check those out.
But just a terrific finish. The home fans got a
real treat in that kind of comeback. Now, that was

(17:08):
in stark contrast to the rattlers previous game, which was
last Thursday night against Montreal. In that game, they had
an eighteen point lead in the third quarter and ended
up losing eighty two to eighty and it was a
very frustrating night. So it just made the victory on
Saturday that much sweeter as they were able to rebound.
They had lost so many games by so few points

(17:29):
finally able to get one on their side of the
ledger They're actually now three and five in games decided
by four points or less this season. The record overall
is four and eleven. They have nine games left and
so they need to start racking some wins up here
to try to close the gap in the Western Conference. Unfortunately,
the teams they're chasing keep winning, so they have a

(17:52):
lot of ground to make up. They do have games
against both the Edmonton Stingers and the Calgary Surge coming
up on the horizon, so those are games that are
going to be the most important for them to win.
They're gonna need some help as well if they're gonna
have any chance of making a standings comeback to go
along with the game comeback they had on Saturday against Ottawa.

(18:12):
They will host the Winnipeg Sea Bears this Friday night
as they continue their four game homestand taking on Winnipeg
Friday night at Sastel Center. The return of Jalen Harris
to Saskatoon. Of course, he starred with the team for
the first half of last season before heading overseas, and
while he was with the Rattlers, he set the CEBL
single game scoring record with a forty five point game.

(18:34):
So he'll be back in Town, so well a few
other a couple other former Rattlers, Scotty Lindsay among them.
And oh, speaking of records, I should also mention going
back to that Saturday night win over the Blackjacks, two
different franchise records were set in that win. Jordan Bowden
hit nine three pointers in the win over Ottawa that

(18:55):
broke a record that was shared by both the aforementioned
Scotty Lindsay and DeVante Bandu, who's back with the team
as well this season. They had both had games of
eight threes. Bouten hit nine and as part of a
forty point performance, and so that was tremendous. And then
Nate Pierre Luis, who actually broke the single game franchise
record for assists in the loss to Montreal on Thursday

(19:19):
with thirteen dimes. He went one better in the win
over Ottawa with fourteen assists, including one on the winning
basket by Grant and Tissovich. So Nate Pierre Louis on
back to back games, setting a new franchise mark for
assists in a game. The fourteen assists, by the way
too shy of the league record for assists in a game,

(19:41):
and he is getting very close to actually breaking the
CEBL single season record for assists. Of course, there are
more games in the season this year, but he's going
to break that record before they get to game twenty,
so you won't need an asterisk on that record. The
record is won twenty six in a season, and I
believe he's up to one seventeen now after the fourteen

(20:02):
that he had in the win over Ottawa. He's had
double digitusists in five of his last six games. He's
just on an absolute heater and really it's his first
season playing as a true point guard, so it's pretty
remarkable numbers that Nate Pierre Louis is putting up. So
a couple of records that in that Ottawa victory. That
was really cool. And you know what, John Fraser, who's
gonna be here with me, He had a front row
seat for that game, just as I did, so we'll

(20:25):
talk a little bit about that as well when he
joins me here in a couple of minutes time. That's
what's going on with the Saskatchewan Ratlers. And of course
that was all that victory over Ottawa was all with
the backdrop of Michael Link Later day as the province
declared it officially the government. This is a legit document
they put out declaring it province wide. Michael Link later

(20:47):
day on July the fifth, and the Rattler's mounting a cool,
big comeback on his night. Of course, he's a former
rattler and we're hoping to have him on the show
future episode, maybe even as soon as next week. So
that was very cool and hopefully we'll have Mike in
here to talk about it pretty soon. But in the meantime,
that's what's going on this week. And uh now it's

(21:09):
time for our guest. Goods FU all right. As always,
we like to have a guest on the show, and
we're doing things a little bit differently this week. I
did mention, I did tease off the top who is
gonna be joining me? And yes he is a guest,
but not in the traditional sense. I'm not gonna sit
here in grillam about his background or his past, although
that might be very entertaining as well, and maybe we'll
do that on a future episode, but no, a good friend,

(21:31):
fellow broadcaster sometimes also a good man in the car
sales game. You want to get your car, Well, we'll
talk about that later, but He's the one and only
John Fraser. John heh, honey, welcome, It's welcome.

Speaker 2 (21:43):
I'm first off that Forna have.

Speaker 4 (21:45):
I love every time I get to come here, like
seeing what Gary's done with this place is just it's
always like I'm literally I've got my slides off and
then like I'm playing with my toes in the turf.

Speaker 2 (21:54):
This is this is fantastic. It is such a vibe.

Speaker 3 (21:55):
I call it the dream Factory, and it is a
little bit of a surreal, fat thing that you're sitting
here with me today because you know we were gonna
get together at some point do this, but it maybe
it happened in a little earlier than usual. That that's,
you know, behind the scenes silliness. But first of all
I got to know is that was that intro to
your satisfaction? I mean, of course I was like driving here,
I'm like, how do I sum up a life? How

(22:19):
how do I put it into words? But yes, we've
known each other for a long time and I was
gonna say this. I was about to ask you this
off air, but I'm gonna ask you now like this
because I was trying to remember if this is this
the first time we've ever actually done something together, like
do we maybe do one swat game?

Speaker 2 (22:35):
We might have done a swat game or two.

Speaker 3 (22:37):
I have this memory of you grabbing beers from the
beer garden, but that might but that may have been
brad Craft because he actually stepped into color with me
once or twice with the swat as well.

Speaker 2 (22:48):
Brad I know, had grabbed beers for us.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
Yeah. Yeah, so it's either the first or maybe this
second time ever in our decade plus of friendship. Yeah,
we've actually, i will say collaborated on a sort of product, right,
because we've often we've either worked at different companies doing
the same job or a similar job, or covering the
sport from different angles, or you are leaving broadcasting sort

(23:15):
of semi retired. Yeah, exactly right. So I just thought
that was kind of a kind of a trip as
I just kind of thought of that as I was
driving over here.

Speaker 4 (23:22):
And it is wild because if you were ever to
encapsulate like any of the conversations you and I've had
over a beer or a talkover to like that would
make such great content. So I'm like, I'm really excited
for this today. Yes, this is gonna be a ton
of fun, and I hope it's a reoccurring thing so
I can come visit the dream Factory mar I think.

Speaker 3 (23:37):
I think it will be with a series of guests
and rotation of local sports persona from the media side,
because I like to value everyone's input on this. And yes,
people are wondering, like why are these guys just sitting
here yapping, because they haven't really I haven't explained why
job here. Yeah, he's not the latest signing of the Barriers.
Although that might be you're just your birthday, it's in

(24:00):
the wrong month, you're not quite just off, not quite
eligible in December instead of a January.

Speaker 2 (24:06):
I would still be very uneligible.

Speaker 3 (24:10):
On eligible. Way, maybe you could be the bat but
no no age limit on bat boys.

Speaker 2 (24:14):
No, no, there isn't.

Speaker 4 (24:15):
And I've actually I've approached the Barriers and like, if
you ever need a bat boy and they want to
put me in the Berry costume one day, but like
I'm fat, I'm hairy, I'm sweaty, I would ruin the
poor Berry costume.

Speaker 3 (24:27):
Yeah maybe maybe maybe you could get in the hot
dog costume on a Wednesday, Wien or Wednesday you don't
and do the glizzy sling shot.

Speaker 4 (24:34):
I am also deceptively fast for a fat guy, So
I feel like I could do the race.

Speaker 3 (24:40):
Your legs are close to the ground, you're gonna move,
that's right, and the gut gets going and it's just
pure inertia. Momentum is a scary thing. When you get moving,
Momentum is scary thing. I still haven't explained to people
while you're here. I love this, people come on. So uh,
I've been tossed around some ideas for how we can
kind of like exp Laura and celebrate sort of the

(25:01):
wide world of Saskatoon sports. And you know, I'm gonna
be perfectly honest. I've kind of stolen parts of this
from other podcasts that I enjoyed that have nothing to
do with sports, actually, mostly movie podcasts where you know,
a lot of people love to do drafts and these
these have become very popular, especially in covides, especially on
sports talk radio and COVID. There were a lot of

(25:23):
drafts because there was no sports, there's no content, so
it was like, you know, after you got it ran
on a sports draft. We were doing like the Halloween
Candy Draft and the like seventy sitcom draft, so all
this kind of stuff and all of it really exists
to just talk about things. Yeah, and you vamp off
of that exactly. So we're not quite doing a draft today.
But what I wanted to do was kind of put together.

(25:46):
We'll call it the Showcase. It's the working title, the
Saskatoon Sports Quarter Century Showcase.

Speaker 2 (25:52):
See, you're gonna get mad at me.

Speaker 4 (25:53):
I missed the double o's and I went Saskatchewan, but
we're still fairly close.

Speaker 3 (25:59):
That's okay, because you know we we Saskatoon is is
obviously the primary focus of this show, but also we
do celebrate the province and athletes and sports stories that
come from around the province, I mean Saskatoon. It just
makes it easier to guests on the show. That really
that's fair, but but you can you know what, And
also because I threw this at you as a bit

(26:19):
of a fastball, So.

Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yeah, last night, here's what we're gonna do.

Speaker 3 (26:24):
You have twenty four hours and by the way, I
know you work tomorrow, so I appreciate you jumping on this.

Speaker 2 (26:29):
Well, and I did.

Speaker 4 (26:30):
I did my own podcast last night and we did
the ask on Anything episode, which like part of the
fun is I have a couple more beers than I
normally would during the episode because I get asked like
silly off the wall questions and it just kind of
adds to it.

Speaker 2 (26:43):
So I had that had my own podcast three.

Speaker 3 (26:46):
That's what I probably should have mentioned most of the
three Down Green cast.

Speaker 2 (26:50):
I mean, the car thing makes me money and pays
the bills.

Speaker 3 (26:53):
You want, you want some, you want some rider hot takes,
you want some cfl hot.

Speaker 4 (26:56):
Takes most of the guy takes. Yeah, but close enough.
But yeah, So I threw it together. I went Saskatchewan,
although it is very Saskatoon focused because I do have
that regional bias from I think you and I had
figured out. I think it's at the Kinsman Dinner. Then
outside of Ray and.

Speaker 3 (27:16):
Less, Ray Morrison, Less last Roight.

Speaker 4 (27:18):
Yes, there's the Less bobblehead right over there. Right, handsome dude,
I've got.

Speaker 3 (27:22):
One of my I need a Ray Morrison bobblehead. He's
kind of a human bobblehead.

Speaker 2 (27:25):
That would be wonderful.

Speaker 4 (27:27):
I realized, like you and I are like the longest
tenured sports media guys in the city.

Speaker 3 (27:31):
We're kind of we kind of got some we got
some uh yeah, yeah, we got some silver on our.

Speaker 2 (27:35):
Backs, which is wild to think for sure.

Speaker 3 (27:38):
Yeah, and I was, you know the other thing that
I was realizing as I drove here, because without dosing
the mother ship, I will say that we are just
not too far of just a few blocks from the
place where we first met actually, which is Ron Adjison Field. Yes,
at a hilltops home with the Hilltops and where you
kind of like, let me know how the Hilltop's media
coverage kind of was organized, which is to say, yeah,

(28:00):
so so, but but anyways, I was just I was like,
pretty's pretty sure. I showed up a cover of practice
and you also did and back when you're working full
time in sports media and uh yeah, so since that's
Saskatoon for you, so it's not quite a draft. And
and I also thought about the concept of Mount Rushmore,

(28:20):
but for one, that's an American monument. Yes, it's also
limits you to just four and you know, there's so
much going on that I thought that was just a
little too restrictive. So what I've done is like like
again I'm calling we're called the showcase. I gotta find
another sort of more Saskatoon. I was like trying to
figure out how to work the bridges into it, but whatever,
that's just branding what we're doing.

Speaker 2 (28:40):
I think showed down because we're each gonna come with.

Speaker 3 (28:44):
Was this competitive? We're getting competitive?

Speaker 2 (28:45):
Oh, I didn't know we were gonna competit. I thought.

Speaker 4 (28:47):
I think I was expecting to be your Skip Bayless
to your steven A.

Speaker 2 (28:49):
Smith.

Speaker 3 (28:50):
Well, you said showdown, so I'm worried that we're gonna
come over the Dallas Cowboys.

Speaker 2 (28:55):
It's a good day.

Speaker 4 (28:56):
I've got a little beer in the cup, so I'm
in a It's all vibes right now.

Speaker 3 (29:00):
So so basically I said, let's pick some of the
best of Saskatoon sports, and you misread it. So Saskatchewan,
we'll googlegogle province wide over the last basically since the
year two thousand and I and I said, here are
six categories. And the one kind of rule outside of
the each one has to fit one of those categories
is that you can't repeat a team twice. So if

(29:24):
you as once I get to the categories, you understand.
But basically, if you pick a member of say the Rattlers,
in one category, then you can't pick the Rattlers anything
related to the Ratlers in any of the other categories.
That is basically the restriction we put on it, thought
about doing some other stuff, but you know what, I
think we're gonna do similar things like this down the
road with yourself and some other people as well. So

(29:46):
I think that's when I'll start to maybe get a
little bit more.

Speaker 2 (29:48):
Oh twist the screw.

Speaker 3 (29:50):
Yeah, and this one.

Speaker 4 (29:51):
You know what, I managed to not only fit your
flats rules, but I also managed to like they comply
even with my honorable mentions.

Speaker 3 (30:01):
There we go, oh wow, yeah, I did not do that.
Oh I did not.

Speaker 2 (30:04):
I totally did. I was like, I'm going to show off.

Speaker 4 (30:06):
I'm going to recognize as many as I can, and
away we go.

Speaker 2 (30:10):
In fact, I only have one sport crossover.

Speaker 3 (30:13):
Well that's good. I same here in my six I
well not know I honorab mentions, but in my in
my in my six I did. I only hit a
sport twice on one.

Speaker 4 (30:21):
Occasion, and one is one category that's not involving people.

Speaker 3 (30:26):
There we go to this, So I'm going to yes,
I'm going to list the categories now and then uh,
I think, so I'll start with that. So basically I
asked John and I did the same thing myself to
pick from the again from just from two thousand on,
because man, oh man, we could we could get really
into the weeds. And also it's hard to find information
for the further back you go and some of these

(30:47):
some of these things, and so to make it a
little bit easier on ourselves, and also just to set
a little bit of a recency parameters on it, because
let's be honest, most of the people who are watching
this won't really be familiar with many of the people
that would be before two thousand. Hopefully some of them
would be, but we'll keep it there. So I wanted
to pick one team, and that could be any team,
any sport, but only a specific year or season for

(31:09):
that team, So not like the body of work of
that team, but just one team the particular year. So
like a team that might win say a Kinsman a
Team of the Year award. Not that I necessarily use
that to pick mine, but just what you want to
understand and what you're doing is you're picking the team
but only from a specific year. So a team that
might be really good for many years, but what year
was their best year? That's the year you want to go.

(31:29):
So team obviously male athlete, female athlete. That's pretty self
explanatory coach.

Speaker 2 (31:36):
That one was the hardest.

Speaker 3 (31:37):
That one is a toughie. Although actually that's the one
I had first. That was my first pick right out
of the way for that a highlight or moment and
this going to pick there. So that was even though
we haven't shared our lists, I already knew what you
were going to have in that in that category, so
I left it alone for you. But again just to
expand on that. And even though we didn't l D

(32:00):
lead to the definition of these categories, it could be
you a highlight er. Moment can be an individual play,
but it could might also be like a performance by
an individual athlete during a game, like a record setting
performance a moment. That's why I said moment because maybe
you know, in the course of a game you might
set a record, but it takes multiple plays to do that.
I thought that would count too, because if we got
into just an individual play, then we're really digging, digging

(32:22):
deep for those. And then final final category was uniform
slash logo. Yes, so best Saskatoons sports uniform or logo,
any sort of look, any sort of imagery associated with
a team or an athlete, and that.

Speaker 2 (32:44):
I love that You've got so many of them here too.

Speaker 3 (32:46):
Well, you know what, you know what. You're going to
try to represent as much as we can, although again
I will renew the plea. I haven't done that in
a few weeks. But if you have stuff that you
think would look good on this set, we'll find room
for it. I'll find room for it if you. If
you have a regular viewer, you'll notice we do move
things around from time to time too, so nothing is
set in stone on this set.

Speaker 4 (33:03):
I've got a mesh team sass Field lacrosse jersey.

Speaker 2 (33:07):
That's what I'll wear next time?

Speaker 3 (33:09):
Is that like the Shawn Aston? You wear like Shawn
Aston in fifty First Dates? Are you that's exactly what
they were?

Speaker 2 (33:14):
Like?

Speaker 3 (33:14):
Death? Are you going like that?

Speaker 4 (33:16):
Okay, except except you're not gonna see uh it's it's
at least like covered enough that you won't see full
nippleer no.

Speaker 3 (33:22):
No pepperoni exposure. No okay, all right, all right, this
has already taken a turn from what the previous first
seven episodes have been. But that's good. That's what we're like,
all right. So I figured we could just go category
by category and we'll go alternate reveal and sort of
talk about why we chose our picks, and then we

(33:42):
can I think we'll save the honorable mentions maybe for
the end. We'll just go once again through whylend. Oh
you don't, mine's very much a blend. Okay, then then
you know what pick, Then you know what give. We'll
go out. We'll go honorable mentions as we go. Then
that's what. And I've only got a couple is this,
I'm making it up as we go. We can do
it how we want.

Speaker 2 (34:00):
I've got honorable mentions in.

Speaker 3 (34:03):
Yeah, I don't necessarily have some in every category.

Speaker 2 (34:04):
Yeah, neither do I. So that's cool.

Speaker 3 (34:06):
That's cool. And maybe once we get to the end,
if we if we had there's any one we didn't
mention them, maybe then we'll get the double honorable mentions time.
We'll see if we have. We just to do that,
all right. So I figured let's leave the male and
female athlete for last build up towards that. Okay, So
I think we should start with the team. Oh okay,
if you're good with that, why don't you start us
off with your pick for the Saskatoon or Saskatchewan team

(34:28):
of the first quarter century.

Speaker 4 (34:30):
And now again because we're talking about one season and
I screwed up and thought this was all Saskatchewan. I
had to go with the twenty thirteen Saskatchewan rough Riders, right, Like,
is there a more iconics? That season basically is why
they have a new barn. Right, they had been so
bad for so long, only that it's only their third

(34:51):
fourth Gray Cup championship, long drought, you're playing the Gray
Cup at home. They moved all the chips the middle
and they went right. I don't think there's a more
memorable one season for any team in Saskatchewan than that.

Speaker 3 (35:06):
It was. It happened so often that a team will
load up like that, Yes, and in a lot of sports,
but it's so rare that it actually pays off. Right
last year, right.

Speaker 4 (35:18):
They tried the same thing and to have that and
just with their I mean, in the regular season wasn't great.
I think that's almost what makes it memorable is the
regular season the were eleven and seven.

Speaker 2 (35:27):
They weren't playing great.

Speaker 4 (35:29):
Against BC in the semifinal, Darien Durant has the game
that basically put him into the plaza of honor. And
then you go out and you absolutely hammer Henry Bursa
the Hamilton Tiger Cats. On that one, I can't think
of a more memorable single season.

Speaker 3 (35:41):
Corey Chamberlain coming in and you know, people forget that
was his first head coaching job, Yes, in the CFL,
and I think to date his only. No, No, he
briefly was in out East as well, correct, No, I don't.

Speaker 4 (35:52):
I think the fact he was defensive coordinator went down
because he went down South after they let him go.

Speaker 3 (35:56):
That's right, that's right, And he was briefly back to the CFL,
but he's never been a head coach again. So like
talk about lightning in a bottle, yes, with Chamblain, well,
you know, and I just remember, and of course that
was all at the backdrop of what had happened the
previous not the previous year, but the two years prior
to that, right, with the losses in twenty ten and
twenty eleven. Painful getting losses in two differente different ways,

(36:18):
but very very painful. And of course, so I love
that pick. Obviously, it is a very pretty clear choice
when you are looking across.

Speaker 4 (36:28):
Them across the entire province, all sports. My honorable mention,
and the reason they fell to honorable mention is because
it was impossible to pick a single season. That's where
you're going here, the Hoskey women's basketball Oh okay, no,
that's not where I thought. Interesting sixteen U sports appearances,
three time champions, nine time Canada West champions. So their
record under least Lisa Tomidas.

Speaker 3 (36:50):
Okay, ten times, ten times, ten times, that's right.

Speaker 4 (36:53):
Okay, Sorry, the university's websites out of date. The record
since twenty fifteen under Lisa Timidas, who again, I feel
using that here and recognizing lt here makes her ineligible
for the coaching win on your list on my list
correct one hundred and fifty two and twenty four in
twenty fifteen, So like, how do you?

Speaker 3 (37:14):
That was My struggle was, like, how lay you pick
which one of those national championship team?

Speaker 2 (37:19):
That's exactly it? And to me, they have just said
to me.

Speaker 3 (37:22):
Those three would be they'd have to elevate them because
they won a national title. Those will be the three finalists.

Speaker 4 (37:26):
Exactly, But how do you how do you differentiate between them?
And it's just like it just seems like we take
it for granted here in Saskatoon and you go to
the pack, you're gonna see a women's basketball win yeah,
well I.

Speaker 3 (37:36):
Feel I'm gonna talk more about them in a little
bit fantastic But first you for my team, And this
is where I thought you were might be going with
your honorable mention. I was I when I started thinking, Okay,
how do I choose a team in this category? First
rule for me is they have to have won something
substantial at the end of their season. You can have

(37:58):
a great season, yes, but if you didn't come home
with something. Now it could be a national championship, it
could be in a case of like a Husky team,
it can be a Canada West championship, it can be
a bowl game, or we're talking about football, the Huskies
football team. But it has to be some kind of
substantive championship win of some sort to qualify in that category.
So that takes a lot of options off the table.

(38:22):
And so I actually went to the Hilltops Sasoon Hilltops
not surprising and because they obviously have had so much success.
So then it gets to a point of something you
just mentioned, which is how do you choose the Sophie's
choice which Hilltops team? So I went down, I broke
down some numbers.

Speaker 2 (38:39):
Oh I love this.

Speaker 3 (38:40):
When I was putting this together because the first thing, okay,
so they had to be a Canadian Bowl champion. In
the case of the Hilltops, PFC championship wasn't gonna cut it.
They won twenty two to twenty three Canadian Bowls, so okay,
So obviously we're all going back to two thousands, so
that shortens list. Then I went, okay, how many of
those Canadian Bowl championships were won without losing a game?
That's season undefeated Canadian Bowl champions. There are four Hilltop

(39:03):
teams that fit that category since two thousand. Those would
be two thousand and three, twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen, and
twenty twenty three. Yes, so now we're really getting into
the weeds here. So I looked at the results from
those four seasons and I ended up with the twenty
eighteen hill Tops wrung there. And the reason why was

(39:25):
just the sheer dominance of the scoreboard. In every single
game that season they outscored their opposition. This is just
in the eight game regular season, four hundred and two
to seventy before beating the Winnipeg Rifles fifty eight to
five in the PFC semi final, and then a very
close twenty eight to nine victory over the Edmonton Huskies

(39:47):
in the PFC Championship, which was their closest game all year,
a nineteen point win, and then they that put them
in the Canadian Bowl where they pounded Langley fifty eight
to twenty one right here in Saskatoon. They played Langley
again in twenty nineteen the next year, and it was
like eleven to six was in Langley was a crappy
weather game, it was all. They were undefeated that year too,

(40:08):
but it was a there were some closer games along
the way, just a couple other numbers that just made
my eyes pop. So they allowed at least ten points
only three times in those eleven games that season. They
scored less than forty points only three times that season.
They scored fifty or more points five times that season,

(40:29):
including in the National Championship game. So for those reasons,
and again that that PFC final Edmonton Hussey's twenty eight
to nine that was the only game in which they
scored less than thirty six points all season. So for
all those reasons, I had to go to twenty eighteen
Hilltops for my Team of the quarter century.

Speaker 4 (40:47):
And what's even more impressive, about that is, prior to
Scott Floor's air at the University of Saskatchewan, you know,
it was basically cook with the Hilltops for five years,
come to the Huskies for two.

Speaker 3 (40:58):
Yep.

Speaker 2 (40:58):
Right.

Speaker 4 (41:00):
I don't know if it's common knowledge, but you and
I can both vouch that they've changed.

Speaker 2 (41:04):
They want you.

Speaker 4 (41:05):
They want a full five years of eligibility for going
to join the program at the U ofs makes perfect sense.
You want a kid there for that entire time. So
the Hilltops, who would previously have these kids for five
years and they were men playing against boys in that year,
they lost a lot of guys who went to university

(41:26):
and they don't have that typical five year pipeline. So
the fact that they were able to go out find
that much talent with the university starting to dig in
a little bit earlier, take some of those top tier
Saskatchewan guys that may have played for the Hilltops before. Like,
it's just it is so impressive to me. I think
every win since the Scott Flory era started at the
Huskies with the Hilltops, it deserves an asterisk in a

(41:50):
good way.

Speaker 3 (41:51):
I've had four national championships since Scott Flora's firt season
twenty seventeen, so which is unbelievable. Yeah. Absolutely. And the
nice thing is too though, when you just mentioned that,
is the teams they get along a lot better than
they used to, even though that has changed. Yeah, there
used to be a lot of territorialism with those players,
and also because eligibility rules were a lot different back
in the in the in the heydays, so they don't
have to they're not fighting for the same players anymore.

(42:13):
But great. Yeah, team twenty eighteen Hilltops. So I love
the twenty thirteen Riders, especially because you know I didn't
I didn't enforce the sascantoine rule. So good, Okay, that's
my bad.

Speaker 2 (42:23):
That's all percent job time.

Speaker 3 (42:25):
This is a first time. So you were just so
excited that you did your eyes glazed over reading the text.

Speaker 2 (42:31):
How many times did I text you?

Speaker 4 (42:32):
I think I text you once last night and said,
oh my god, this is so much fun. I text
you again this morning and I'm like, oh my god,
I'm having so much fun setting this up.

Speaker 2 (42:39):
So that was part of it.

Speaker 3 (42:41):
To be entirely fair, you got it. Yeah, you're really
wrapped up. I love it because that's what I was
hoping for in terms of enthusiasm. That's why I knew
you would be good to do this the first time
with of course, all right, let's move on, let's do
coach next. How about give me your and this one.
I know you had a few different options you were
mulling over. So who'd end up with?

Speaker 4 (42:56):
I did I actually because again of the team rule
of the only picking somebody once rule me considering my
honorable mention. You know, Lisa Toomidas is, I would have
had her right up there. But I gave a shout
out to the Hoskies. It's Sarge, right, it's everything. We
just get the hiltop his all time coaching record two

(43:16):
hundred and forty and thirty five.

Speaker 3 (43:19):
We got to give a cap tip to Darren Stanky
for those numbers.

Speaker 2 (43:21):
Or actually that was a CBC.

Speaker 3 (43:23):
Okay, there you go.

Speaker 2 (43:23):
It was it was his things.

Speaker 4 (43:24):
I thought for sure it is gonna be say no,
it was the CBC when he when he had the
all time wins records, right, and then I just had
to go back in math the last few seasons. So
I mean, what can't you say about Sarge? The hilltops
are Sarge. It's just it's incredible what he's done. Honestly,
like he getting the opportunity to be the Hilltops play
by play for a few years, getting to know Sarge

(43:45):
like away from.

Speaker 3 (43:46):
The field, like a very different guy.

Speaker 2 (43:49):
It's like one hundred out of one hundred human.

Speaker 4 (43:51):
His whole coaching stuff, that whole organization always has been
so my honorable mentions more football Brian Towers.

Speaker 3 (43:58):
Yeah, yeah, t you gotta be point was winning this
coach in U sports history. Bryan Glenn Constantine since passed him,
but still number two all.

Speaker 2 (44:05):
Time exactly, and BT was in my mix.

Speaker 4 (44:07):
But it's like he again, he retired, you know, kind
of halfway through the air we're looking.

Speaker 3 (44:11):
At and all the Vannets were pre two thousand.

Speaker 2 (44:13):
Yes as well.

Speaker 4 (44:15):
And I want to give a shout out to our
good friend who has passed Casey Garrett. Yes, I don't
think and I'm not this is not meant his disrespect
to anybody in the SWAT organization, but the fact that
Casey came here and legitimize it to the point that
we now have a junior A lacrosse team. I am

(44:36):
a firm believer that despite the best efforts by some
really good people, we don't get Junior A lacrosse without
Casey Garrett.

Speaker 3 (44:43):
I mean, you know, you can speak to it more
than I can. But obviously he you know, his timing
was coincided with their elevation to Junior A. They built
up a deeper talent pool of players. They waited until
the time was that they felt they could compete, Yes,
and then they did. They went in and they competed. Now,
the last few years have been a struggle. COVID did
not help. No, it set the program back pretty significantly.

(45:06):
It's really to see even though they went winless again
this year. There he's got some real interesting and good
players in the pipeline now. But I love that pick.
And yeah, Casey is a lacrosse lifer too.

Speaker 4 (45:17):
Yeah, like and he and he was he had to
give up plying because of the health issues that eventually
did him in. But I just I look at and again,
I mean, this is no disrespect to animaing in the
SWAT organization, current, past, you know, future. It's just Casey
brought something different and distinct credibility to the program that
the program has enjoyed since. And that's not just all

(45:40):
on Casey, but I think he was such a big
part of that.

Speaker 3 (45:43):
Well, I mean, you're talking about someone who comes from
a traditional lacrosse area and we didn't really have that.
So Randy Trobak, who runs that, who started the SWAP program,
and he was a player in his day as well,
but he can only do so much on his own.
And I think it's no coincidence that we're all so,
you know, and the locals in a lot of cases,
sometimes with parents or other people who have also been

(46:05):
involved in the coaching side. They've put a lot of
time and effort into it, but they don't have the
same level of experience coming in or haven't necessarily from
sort of higher level competitive lacrosse. And so you see
a bit of a similar peril now with Dylan Chand
who's coaching the SWAT, who's an import if you will,
from the West Coast, yes, and has decided to kind
of settle down here and really invest in helping to

(46:28):
really make the SWAP program, especially at the junior level,
very competitive. And you're starting to see the evidence of
that of his work now too. So I think now
that we have twenty plus years of lacrosse history in Saskatchewan,
we're gonna start seeing someplace the Zach Gould's the call
connor berg Law or colinberglofs connor berglscuse me too many
Burglows guys like that that are now assistant coaching and

(46:49):
coaching at the lower levels. Those guys are eventually going
to be head coaches that are going to some of them,
and they'll be very good ones too, but it takes
time the build it.

Speaker 4 (46:57):
They played some WLA right like, which for anybody doesn't
know that senior lacrosse, it's basically professional lacrosse in the summers.
And you're right, and that all started and you and
I both know this from being in the sports beat.
The Swats moved to Junior A. The pieces were in
place long before the Rush came here. The Rush was
a bonus.

Speaker 3 (47:16):
Yeah, so that helped build up some numbers. And it's
certainly old ages for sure. Great pick, great honorable mentions.
My coach pick is one who already cited and it
is Lisa to Midas. It was the first one I
first proposed this idea. I was like, I know who
my coach is gonna be like instantly, Yeah, And some
of that is recency or familiarity bias, picked one or both,

(47:39):
because yes, I I obviously got the privilege of traveling
with the team and calling their most recent national championship
win just this past March. But you know, I've I've
gotten to know Lisa in a professional capacity over the
last ten years, and just the excellence, as you briefly
mentioned outlined is it's hard to top coming here pretty much.

(47:59):
I think eight ninety nine, I think it was her
first season, and the Husky women's basketball program was not
good for a long time before she came in. And
she laughs now because she said she thought, you know,
she was coming pretty much right out of school or
shortly she'd just been out of playing U sports or
back then cis CIAU basketball, not that long before she

(48:22):
came here, and she initially was like, I'll be here
for two three years and whenever, and then I'll get
a job back closer home. She's from Ontario, but she's
been here ever since, and she's built a program that,
as you mentioned, has now won ten Canada West titles,
and that's just in the last twenty years. First one
was in two thousand and six, and now three national
championships twenty sixteen, twenty twenty, very fortunately because it literally

(48:45):
was one less than a week before everything stopped. That
was like the last Huskies Ben's hockey team had their
national championship tournament kind ntil midway through the following week,
and then just this year as well. So I mean again,
you've win national championship and even multip national championships, You're
rocketing right to the top of that list, and especially

(49:06):
with a program that didn't do anything anywhere near the
sort before she was here, even at the conference level.
And so for that and in those ten Canawis championships
three times they've gone back to back. So it's just ridiculous.
She's the winningest coach. She just became the winningest coach
in U sports or cand West excuse me, Cana West
women's basketball history this past season. And she's just gonna keep,

(49:28):
Like it's crazy to think because she's been here for
so long, but she's still got like so much of
her career in front of her. She wants to and
of course she's coached the Canadian national team in two Olympics.

Speaker 2 (49:38):
She got Germany to the Olympics.

Speaker 3 (49:39):
She did for the first time ever and they just
had their best ever finish at EuroBasket just a few
weeks ago. So yeah, again, it just continues to go
up and up. I wonder if we might see here
on a WNBA bench one day. If she wants to.
I'm sure she can. It's just a question she wants to.

Speaker 4 (49:54):
Well, And I think too, I think that comes down to,
you know, you don't want to leave a good gig.
And I like the strides of the WNBA taken in,
you know, really growing as a league and everything like that,
and maybe now is the time, you know, she takes
the gym. They're expanding pretty aggressively to absolutely, so you
got teams popping up everywhere, you know, and you're the
Toronto Tempo. You have to at least make a make
a pitch to her if I'm to find the Toronto

(50:16):
Tempo and I'm looking for the best coach at least
to start with in Canada, right. I've said this many
times on the air, and I'll say it again. I
don't it's not just basketball, such as women's basketball. I
think she's one of the best coaches, if not one
of the best coach in Canada almost throughout all the sports.
You just the track record is there, and so if
I'm the Toronto Tempo. If I'm not sniffing or at
least kicking the tires sniffing around, that sounds very inhuman,

(50:38):
But you know what I'm saying, I would be I
would be reaching out.

Speaker 3 (50:42):
I would be at least seeing if she had any interest.

Speaker 4 (50:45):
You just wanted to work in some car references to
make me feel more comfortable exactly what it is?

Speaker 3 (50:49):
All right, So great coach picks. Let's carry on here,
let's go let's do let's do you know, let's do
that next, Let's do highlight first. Let's let's do highlight
next here. And I don't think we were we're not
gonna put the video in here, but I mean I
knew right away when I include this category what you're
gonna pick.

Speaker 2 (51:04):
So a chance to go ahead? Cornwall scores simple as that, right, like.

Speaker 4 (51:10):
How not quite how you said it on the day,
But no, because when I said it on the day,
asked out, I did because I got caught between breasts.
And I don't think I've told the story on my
own podcast where so bold makes a save And.

Speaker 3 (51:21):
Let's just set the table just for those who aren't
know what we're talking about here, Why don't you.

Speaker 4 (51:25):
Just Saskatchewan Rush twenty sixteen in the final, they're going
to go back to back their first year in Saskatchewan.
The game is tied against the Buffalo band it's ten
ten late fourth quarter, like we're talking under a minute left.
Buffalo at this point actually has the ball.

Speaker 3 (51:38):
Heavily favored Buffalo Banets if I recall correctly.

Speaker 2 (51:41):
Where there was more of a coin toss back then,
because we actually ramps.

Speaker 3 (51:43):
Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 4 (51:44):
So all those guys that are on the Buffalo Bannits
that beat the Rush this year, a lot of them
that was some of their first finals experience, like a
guy like Dane Smith. Right, so they've got the ball,
we're under a minute left and you're thinking, oh no,
like this is like everybody's tense.

Speaker 2 (51:56):
You can like feel the tension in the air.

Speaker 3 (51:58):
And this was game two, correct, Yes, we's back in
the mini game era too, right.

Speaker 4 (52:03):
No, it was a true three games, but they had
one game one on the road in Buffaloes, which again
we somehow it took an hour to get to a
Dave and Busters that was ten miles away.

Speaker 2 (52:14):
Yeah, that was a whole other story that night.

Speaker 4 (52:16):
That is that's for good Sports after Dark if you will,
Gooder Sports.

Speaker 2 (52:23):
But they so.

Speaker 4 (52:24):
Yeah, it's ten ten and it's been a back and
forth battle the whole game, like nobody really had taken over.
And Dane Smith has the ball near the restraining line
and you're thinking, oh no, like Dane Smith, the probably
who is still the best player in the world and
that time was much more of a goal scorer. I
mean's he's a more rounded player now. And he shoots
an Aaron Bold makes a save and as you know,

(52:45):
as a play by play announcer, you have to find
your moments to breathe. So Bold makes the save and
I'm like Bold, Bold gets.

Speaker 2 (52:51):
An arm on it or something, and I go.

Speaker 4 (52:54):
And then Cornwall comes in and the loose balls on top,
and Cornwall knocks Dane Smith down. I go, knocks the
big man down, like okay, this is where I can
take breath. Then the loose balls in front of Jeff Cornwall.
I'm in between breaths and the call goes loose ball
in front of Jeff Cornwall, and all I'm thinking to
myself as Jeff Cornwall is now in on a breakaway

(53:15):
on Anthony Cosmo, don't screw this up. Don't screw this up.
Don't screw this up. Don't screw this up. And Cornwall
makes a move and he scores and I hit my
which was kind of my staple and elongated scars. Well,
I have no breath left, but I have just had
the most exciting play I've seen in live sports in

(53:35):
my life.

Speaker 3 (53:36):
Ten what is eleven seconds left?

Speaker 2 (53:38):
Twelve seconds left?

Speaker 3 (53:39):
Twelve?

Speaker 4 (53:40):
Yeah, So I actually I got dizzy for a second
and I had to lay down on the counter like
on like.

Speaker 3 (53:50):
It's not a lot of room.

Speaker 2 (53:51):
No, no, there's not a lot of room. And I'm like,
I'm like holding myself up.

Speaker 4 (53:55):
And if you listen on the broadcast, of course, you
know the importance of letting the moment breathe. Yes, and
then the moment breathes a little too long, and you
can hear Casey come in with Jeff Cornwall the unlikeliest
here because I'm still like just coming too, Like I'm like,
I sip a water, catch my breath.

Speaker 3 (54:11):
And I'm like that's a good color guy. Though, oh yeah, oh.

Speaker 4 (54:14):
Yeah, no, Casey knew when to step in, and uh yeah,
I think I think in Saskatoon you will not find
a more memorable single moment than that.

Speaker 3 (54:25):
If I, if I didn't obviously know you were going
to pick it, I probably would have picked it as well,
because it's obviously an iconic goal, but it just the
timing of it and everything obviously so late in the
game in a tie game. The first season for the Rush.

Speaker 2 (54:39):
In Saskatoon, and they'd caught fire, which had sort.

Speaker 3 (54:42):
Of mid season, had started to sell games out, and
people had fallen in love with the team, and now
here they are cementing that that newfound love with just
one of the most electrifying winning goals you'll ever see
in any game with goals, and.

Speaker 2 (54:57):
In the building too.

Speaker 3 (54:58):
Right. Oh yeah, well, actually, you know, I have to
recall because I was working at Global at the time,
and I can't I'd have to look back because I
may have been at the station cutting highlights while Jack Haskins.

Speaker 2 (55:09):
Oh yes, it might have been Jack Wood.

Speaker 3 (55:11):
Was at the was at the arena. Because when I
started at Global, I was the second on the on
the hierarchy, on the on the pecking order Jack and
Jack Hassen's a great guy, a great person to work with,
but he was obviously he had the privilege of being
able to go to the That's what you do when
you're the haun show. You go to that stuff and
you leave the new guy back to make sure the
highlights get into the late show in times, so I

(55:32):
don't think I was actually in the building for that.
I was definitely in the building for the two of
the extra Man Empty Net screw up the next year
or two years later, years later in twenty eighteen, but
I wasn't in the building for that. So no, I
think I experienced it. I may have even been experiencing
it through through the through your call, but again that's
lost to the fog of time and maybe a little

(55:54):
bit of marijuana that'll do it.

Speaker 4 (55:56):
No, it was twenty seventeen, was the was the screw up,
And then because I was back, I was on the
broadcast for twenty seventeen. I was back of the broadcast
a sideline twenty eighteen. But the reason I asked is
I have like I've you're a music guy. I've been
in so many concerts Distastel Center. They haven't like Nickels
that the loudest.

Speaker 2 (56:11):
It is the loudest ever been.

Speaker 3 (56:12):
Yeah, well like like and maybe tool might have been louder,
but that's about it.

Speaker 4 (56:16):
Oh, No, I was that tool wasn't okay, I was again,
and I was not, and I was driving the Memories.

Speaker 2 (56:21):
I was not driving that night, so I can tell
your tool was not loud.

Speaker 3 (56:24):
Fair enough? Fair enough? Uh it was. It was dan loud,
that's for sure. And it's just and also just to
see that building when it's full, which doesn't happen often
enough for local teams. I agree, it's great when the
World Juniors are here, but you know, folks, you can
you can also buy tickets when when the local teams
are playing too. Rattlers yuh anyways, because man twenty two

(56:49):
thousand and some got real loud the other night too,
But uh, either way, we've talked. I talked about that
and what's going on already, so I don't need to
revisit that that game. But that was a great game
you got. You and I both got to experience that
one in person as well. But what am I love it?
I love it again. I knew you're gonna pick it,
but I knew it had to be in this showcase
for sure. My highlight slash moment did not happen here,
but obviously involved the local team, and it is the

(57:11):
Adam mackart thirteen yard touchdown run to win the Utech
Bowl in twenty twenty one for the Saskatchewan Huskies, punching
their ticket to their first Vanie Cup appearance in fifteen
years now. They ultimately came up just a bit short
in that Vanier, but this was a game against the
Montreal Cindeban in Montreal in frigid temperatures that were messing

(57:36):
with the bra like all the wiring for the broadcast
was getting frozen, like it was cutting in and out.
We were getting French half the time.

Speaker 2 (57:42):
It was like two thousand and seven van Ye Cup.

Speaker 3 (57:44):
It was crazy. But the backdrop of this not only
did this touchdown essentially win the game because it came
with five seconds left the Huskies trailing, but their offense
had not done anything all game long. This was a
defensive battle because of the elements, partly credit to Montreal's defense,
but the Huskies, who had had an incredible year offensively

(58:06):
they put up massive numbers that year, they just weren't
able to get anything going. They had two hundred ninety
nine total yards in that game. That Adam Mackhart run
captain eighty three yard drive, so that was over a
quarter of their total offense for the game. And it's funny.
I had a chance to chat with the quarterback of
the Huskies that year, Mason Nias, just back in March.

(58:26):
He was in Vancouver for the women's basketball National Championship,
and we were talking and telling stories and reminiscing all things,
and I started waxing poetic about that Mackhart run and
he got jokingly got a little chapped because he's like, yeah,
but I made a bunch of passes to get us
down the field to set that up. No one ever

(58:47):
remembers that, right, the seventeen yard hookup with Colton Closster,
the sixteen yard of de Sam Baker or whatever. But
the point is it was a ten play, eighty three
yard drive when they had done nothing offensively all game long,
just over two yards offense before they picked up the
ball with basically they had and they were down They
were down three. No, I think they were down four.
They were ten six. It was ten six. They ended

(59:09):
up getting an extra point late that are on the
kickoff or something to make it a four point win,
because they won the game fourteen to ten. But if yeah,
I believe it was ten to six at the time,
so they couldn't kick a field goal to tie it.
They need to score and then to have the stones
to call a running play in that situation, and it
was blocked so well, I mean, Adam Mackhart should have
won the heck fright in the year before, didn't. He

(59:30):
got absolutely jobbed on that. But he had had another
great year in twenty one. And but I mean, like
I could almost remember that touchdown the way that was blocked.
It was the lanes were so open, but it was
again just so incredible. It was again to win a game.
Just there was five seconds left to win the utech
pool for all those reasons.

Speaker 2 (59:52):
At what age could you have run through those holes?

Speaker 3 (59:54):
Though?

Speaker 2 (59:55):
Like are we talking?

Speaker 3 (59:55):
Akay, let's let's keep people guessing. Let's just leave it.
People don't know what kind of getaway sticks I have
at forty three? We know who knows I did. I
have a couple of honorable mentions in my list as well,
and these are more on the moments than the individual highlights,
and these are all fairly recent, but with some things
that came to mind this past season that National championship

(01:00:17):
Huskies team Logan Reider with a national U Sports record,
eleven three pointers in a game, forty points which is
a Huskies record in a win over Thompson Rivers. It
was like an eighty point win though so and it
was on the road, so it wasn't nearly as spectacular, no,
but an incredible moment that reserves recognition. Savannah Sutherland just
a few weeks ago, breaking the ncublea and the her

(01:00:39):
own Canadian record in the four under mere hurls at
the NCUBA Championships, and then in her final race as
a member of the Michigan Wolverines. Look out for her
on the podium in La I'm gonna say because she
was seventh in Paris in her first ever Olympics. And
then Nolan Meyer setting the Sasine Blades career goaltending wins record.
I thought it was a pretty cool moment as well.
I remember watching him win his first game as a

(01:01:02):
Blade on the road in Portland.

Speaker 4 (01:01:04):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:01:05):
You know, as I was cutting highlights of this, you
got thrown into the mix as a sixteen year old
on a US Division road trip and just and those
were and the rest was history. And and late his
career he caps that off with with a home win
to to get that record. So I thought those were
all worthy of mentioned too. I'm sure there's some other
great ones who you haven't even thought about.

Speaker 2 (01:01:22):
No, unfortunately, because my mind I didn't even think. My
mind was like, yeah, the cornwall.

Speaker 3 (01:01:27):
And the archiving of these types of things, especially at
the local level, is not great, not great. So some
good picks though, I love those. All right, let's go
to best uniform slash logo. What you got.

Speaker 2 (01:01:39):
Can't go wrong with the blades, like I've got the blades.

Speaker 3 (01:01:42):
Because which which blades? All over which which blades.

Speaker 2 (01:01:44):
You're talking about? I'm actually going to give them credit
for the entire twenty five years. Oh wow, because.

Speaker 3 (01:01:49):
I even the blue on blue and the white. Really, yes,
I didn't hate that.

Speaker 4 (01:01:53):
I thought like it was very like looking back at
it now that people have embraced the retro feel and
race the old logos, right like there was that time
in the two thousands, late nineties, early two thousands, that's like, oh,
we have to be modern, we have to be sleek,
we have to be whatever the trend is right. And
to me, that logo has aged better than a lot
of them, you know, the.

Speaker 3 (01:02:12):
Space better than like the Swift Currents from that time exactly,
a team that were almost the exact same color scheme exactly.
There were like four or five teams on the WHL
around that time that were like dark blue, light blue, silver,
right gray.

Speaker 2 (01:02:24):
And I and so like when I first.

Speaker 4 (01:02:26):
Moved to the city, that was the Skateloader and I
didn't hate it. The SB in there was was kind
of cool. Like the jerseys were good.

Speaker 3 (01:02:32):
And then it is a good logo design and I'll give
it that right, It.

Speaker 4 (01:02:35):
Just it it doesn't look as good now as we
all gone back to embracing it.

Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
How can go wrong with pac Man?

Speaker 3 (01:02:41):
Yeah? The pac Man and even the Bulldozer was it
was unique. I didn't like the red in that look,
but it was it was. There was only lot, not
a much red.

Speaker 4 (01:02:48):
So and they had like perhaps the most memorable jersey ever,
the denim jersey.

Speaker 2 (01:02:55):
Yeah, you can't like that was like they literally had.

Speaker 4 (01:02:58):
It wasn't actual, but it looked like Denham And how
can you go wrong with that? Everybody in Saskatoon to
this day you bring up the denim jersey, they remember it.

Speaker 3 (01:03:09):
I a mutual friend of ours Brendan Purdy of Global Regina,
formerly of Global Saskatoon. He is a huge stand for
the Dozer. He loves the Doser. And part of that
I think is your age, right, like what is the
uniform when you're a kid, when you speuch with your
local kid for the blades, it's great, Like we got
the Doser shirt here and you can't really see it
very well here, but it is the Dozer shirt on

(01:03:30):
the set.

Speaker 2 (01:03:31):
Look at the back like, how can you go? How
could you go?

Speaker 3 (01:03:34):
Pretty great? I did have the pac Man, the classic,
the blue version, especially as an honorable mention for mine,
So I like that. I like that a lot, and
I like that we sort of have It's not universal inside,
there's kind of two uniform streams in Saskatoon, yes, but
I like we kind of have the Pittsburgh style, like
there is some there's some continuity between teams on the

(01:03:57):
blue and gold right your hilltops, your blades, and there's
a couple other teams that have adopted that as well.
So I like that. I like that as well. Good pick,
great pick mine. I went a little out here, but
this will go right to I'm sure to get into
your wheelhouse going with the team Clyder.

Speaker 2 (01:04:12):
Pants, Yes, out of be Yeager wrong.

Speaker 3 (01:04:19):
With Rylan Kleider and his curling team from the Asasine
Nutant Curling Club, who we're hoping will still be pretent
potentially down the road. Maybe maybe maybe in the Briar
Championship Mix one of these days. Although there's a lot
of good curlers in this province. But they've been to
what one or two now, I think just one one,
that's right. They're still quite young, so I and they

(01:04:42):
have kind of retired the pants in the last couple
of years, which is which is.

Speaker 2 (01:04:46):
I've seen them wear them.

Speaker 4 (01:04:47):
They practice on Mondays before Men's League at the Nutty,
and I have seen them wear them there.

Speaker 3 (01:04:52):
Yeah, so maybe maybe they could dust them on, maybe
dust them off for getting back out. Maybe that'll be
the key to success. Maybe they can get get there.
You know, they were pretty good in their first Brier,
so I like the what the future may hold for
them and guys and they're great dudes, and just like
I loved seeing because I mean, obviously we know it
was Norway, the Norwegians who kind of started this like
let's wear kookie pants. Yes, the sort of like basically

(01:05:15):
like doing like taking a John Daily approach to the
curling ice having fun. Yeah, Like, why not, right, and
especially because like you're you're, you're, especially at the higher levels,
you're gonna have sponsor logos and stuff all over your
your jackets, uh more predominantly, So why not have fun
with the pants, and especially for a young team from

(01:05:35):
you know, the humble Prairies, to just go like, we're
gonna get a little flashy with it. And we're soft
spoken guys, we're we're we're you know, gentlemanly on the ice,
but we're gonna have a little bit of this is
cocky bravado with our look. And I like that. I
like that, especially at their age, to just say to
lean into something like that. I really appreciate that about them.

(01:05:56):
So deem Kleider pants is what I chose from my
and not mentioned blades plappin as a classic honorable mention. Also,
I just love this This berry is blue. It's amazing.
And the Berries logo, like their main logo, I think,
also is just great.

Speaker 2 (01:06:11):
It's just so new.

Speaker 4 (01:06:12):
It's probably oh it's a toss up between the new
Rush logo and the Berries for my favorite current Saskatoons.

Speaker 3 (01:06:18):
Now, Now, did do you know because I don't know this,
and you may or may not. Did the same person
design both those logos, because I've noticed this in a
lot of new logo designs in the last two or
three years. They all have similar It almost looks like
one artist created them all, and I think it's probably
whatever software people are using now, and that's to design
these with these sort of block lines and sort of

(01:06:38):
thicker But what I like about the Berri's logo is
that it incorporates a lot of different details, but it's
still very simple my philosophy with logos, and this is
maybe why the Dozer one didn't ring quite as well
with the blades, as I think a child should be
able to draw a reasonable facts simile of the logo
and to be recognizable to make a good logo.

Speaker 4 (01:06:58):
Well, and that's why I like the Rattler's logo. You know,
the snake is fairly.

Speaker 3 (01:07:02):
And it's the same thing. Same with the thicker linescause
we got to hear on the hat there. Yeah, like
so with any of them, yeah there there. It's a
nice trend in logo design. I just hope it doesn't
homogenize too much, like I even saw like Utah now
that they've become the Mammoth in the NHL. Their new
logo has the same look to it, like in terms
of the line, the lines and stuff like, it looks

(01:07:23):
like it came out of the same software. So I
just hope we don't go down a road where like
all logos are kind of coming from this same kind
of base point.

Speaker 4 (01:07:32):
But I wonder if it's not because of ease of
like putting on a merchant stuff.

Speaker 3 (01:07:36):
It is and you can make more varieties.

Speaker 4 (01:07:38):
And I mean like and speaking of the like the
berries like they are out they like with every kid,
every adult, there's more berries March then seeing.

Speaker 3 (01:07:46):
A lot I've seen a lot of. Yeah, I had
one other honorable mention and so I just said the
berries blues plus their logo and then also like you
mentioned the rush. I uh, they've had so many different
alternates over the years. I did. I honed in on
one and that was the farmer addition. I just really
love seeing the color combo with the little bit of
the yellow trim the white. It just was a different

(01:08:07):
it kind of it just it looked sharp. I thought
it just looked really sharp. The one issue I have
with their current look is it's just there's so much green,
and it's my favorite color, but there's just so much
of it. It just when there's and then the turf
and then everything, it's just it's a lot of green.
Back then, the they did they had a different turf,
and this was a green that was a little bit

(01:08:28):
more like this sass lacrosse jacket that I've got here.
Actually that was kind of the shady green. Those Rush
jerseys where I thought it looked really sharp. They had
some really good alternates over the years. Yeah, but those
are the one. That's the one that I that I
just remember and I go back to, uh time and
time again.

Speaker 4 (01:08:42):
So I love seeing those. I love seeing they literally
only more than once they did. But there was a
whole bunch of people still weare them. And the Christmas
sweater jerseys I still have one.

Speaker 3 (01:08:50):
Of those are good too. Yeah, those are good. In fact,
there was a bench a bench clearing, but a line
brawl and in those two made them.

Speaker 4 (01:08:57):
Jumping up and down in the booth, yelling goalie fight,
goalie fight, goalie fight?

Speaker 3 (01:09:02):
Uh oh which one? Oh no, it's a different fight,
I call it. Yeah. With Dick Bleach and the Vancouver
all right, let's go with our female athlete because that's
fort Now we got our athletes. These are the big
two categories here. These are the toughest obviously because we're
going through all the sports. There's so many different sports,
and how do you we before we get into our picks.

(01:09:22):
I just like I've been a part of awards selection committee,
uh for the Huskies a couple of times. I don't
know if you've ever had the opportunity.

Speaker 4 (01:09:31):
Yes, I was.

Speaker 3 (01:09:31):
Yeah, so it's called salute when they do their annual
Huskies Awards. And even that, when you're talking about seven
different sports, yeah, fifteen teams, it gets you're sitting around
this table and and and there's you know, some athletes,
some coaches, some media types, all kind of contributing to
these decisions. But you're trying to evaluate from one sport

(01:09:52):
to the other and trying to compare apples to oranges
and trying to figure out what supersedes what, and it
becomes so hard and it becomes very difficult. So what
all this to say that I think there are so
many different people that could be chosen here that would
be very worthy choices. So please, I mean, hey, if
you have thoughts and comments you want to get in,
please in the comments on YouTube, throw in your contributions,
because we're gonna do I'm gonna have other people in

(01:10:12):
this chair, and I'm gonna get their picks too. I'm
good down the line, Well, you've already made your picks,
I'm gonna get I'm gonna other luminaries and then we're
gonna compile a composite list and eventually and then we'll
do the draft. Eventually, I'm gonna come up with just
sort of that drafts gonna be a different section gives
first draft though, But all right, your your your message noted,
I'll say it's not noted in the minutes. But yeah,

(01:10:37):
So all this is to say is, you know, it's
very tough to pick just one for over twenty twenty
five year span. But with all that being said, who
is your female athlete of the quarter century?

Speaker 4 (01:10:49):
I simply, and again this is Saskatoon adjacent the Greater
Saskatoon metropolitan area, if you will, Yep, with all that thought,
I'm like, Okay, who's won at the highest level?

Speaker 3 (01:11:01):
Yep?

Speaker 4 (01:11:02):
Who has done the most at a level that nobody
can reach for athletes? And I will say, like kudos
on the women of this province, the female athletes.

Speaker 2 (01:11:11):
So many good choices, there's no wrong choices. But I did.

Speaker 3 (01:11:14):
I went with Brian Tison eaton Tyson. I think it's Tyson,
but I've heard it was Tison. I think you're right.

Speaker 4 (01:11:20):
Actually yes, because I remember Venise Ferguson making sure I
got it right and actually contacting her and between her
and and least I made sure I had it right.

Speaker 3 (01:11:27):
So very very good pick.

Speaker 4 (01:11:29):
Olympic Bronz two World sailvers, World Indoor gold and silver,
Common with gold, Pan Am bronze.

Speaker 3 (01:11:36):
And I believe she's been the sask Sport Female Athlete
of the Year five, if not six times, Yes, including
four times in a row. Yes, like which is wild
for an athlete that usually that's on the Olympic cycle.
Right to win the provincial Female Athlete the Year award
four straight years just arazy.

Speaker 4 (01:11:55):
You're used to hearing about it during you know, the
the cycles. But like what she has done in her
consistent success at the global level, I found it hard
to not pick her.

Speaker 3 (01:12:08):
In the heptathlon for those who aren't familiar, Oh good
heptathlete was Brion decent? Has she won that provincial award
a couple of times before she got married, and then
she married Ashton Eaton, who was an American track athlete,
so Eaton and then won it four more times.

Speaker 2 (01:12:22):
Yeah, that's right. So she had like two different errors.

Speaker 3 (01:12:25):
She was like MJ.

Speaker 2 (01:12:27):
She had her teasent era and Teason Eaton era.

Speaker 3 (01:12:29):
That's right, Bulls and Wizards, except in this case the
second one was better.

Speaker 2 (01:12:33):
The first two bulls eras.

Speaker 3 (01:12:34):
Oh, it was like Jordan twenty three, Jordan forty five
post baseball, Yeah, got it right, and from Humboldt for
those who don't know. So that's definitely Metropos. Definitely close
enough to for this show because I do we talk
sastuone a lot about I've did fashion this as a
sort of central sask sports celebration as well, so we're

(01:12:55):
good with that. I love the pick. I definitely considered her.
I was staying very much right within the city with
mine because I definitely did consider her. I also, like you,
I was looking at that world stage because we've got
a lot of athletes. And then also just as an aside,
you know, the other challenge that is like individual sport

(01:13:17):
athletes and individual sports was the team sports. There was
a whole other fly in the ointment. You and I
are very familiar with this because we've deliberated on Kinsman
Athletes of the Year awards for many years now, and
so every year when we get together to pick those,
that always comes up as like, how do you weigh
their individual accomplishments of someone who plays on it in
team sport, because I certainly gave Emily Clark some serious

(01:13:39):
consideration well on the on the ice, but I ended up,
and also because I wanted to make sure we had
some parasport.

Speaker 2 (01:13:47):
Representation, and that was my runner.

Speaker 3 (01:13:50):
Up on on this show, and that was Shelby Newkirk,
Paris swimmer two time Sassport Athlete of the Year twenty
eighteen and just twenty twenty four, also won a bronze
medal in Paris at the Paralympics last year. Twice has
won a gold at the Para Swimming World Championships in
twenty two and twenty three. She's twice been swimming Canada's

(01:14:12):
Female Para Swimmer of the Year back twenty seventeen and
twenty eighteen. Both those years she broke world records in
the backstroke in her class. If you're not familiar with parasports.
There's a lot of classifications, and that also speaks to
because she has changed classifications over that time because her condition,
which is called dystonia, is a degenerative condition, and so

(01:14:34):
over the course of her swimming career, she's had to reclassify.
And that requires, like you get evaluated and they watch
you swim and they put you into a category so
that when you're racing, you're racing against other athletes whose
disability is around the same level. But it just like,
I mean the fact that despite her condition essentially worsening
over time, she's she's had her most success almost as

(01:14:58):
that's gone.

Speaker 4 (01:15:00):
And I know you and I are good friends with
Nicole Becker of Passport. Yeah, and she said she's still
getting better.

Speaker 3 (01:15:06):
Yeah, she's still quite young. Yeah. I mean next Paralympics
in La I would love to see what she's gonna
do there. And just you know, it doesn't factor into
the choice. But she's just an all around great person.
You know, I've gotten to know her a little bit
over the years as well. Yeah, and just the tremendous human,
great family. And so again I don't want to make

(01:15:28):
sure it's true It's true, it's hard to I find it.
It is very hard to be an elite athlete without
having some decent character. I think because of the dedication
that it's required to get to that level requires some
level of character. Now you can argue all that's all
internally driven, but there are external factors that will lead

(01:15:49):
you to have the ability to do that. And a
lot of that has to do with who's around you
in the first place, and how you've been kind of
raised and what your values are and so yeah, there
are some a holes in the elite sports h circles
for sure, but they're in the minority. But again, I
did want to make sure we got some parasport in
here today.

Speaker 2 (01:16:09):
You and deep with that. I like this.

Speaker 3 (01:16:10):
So Shelby Nukirk is my Female Athlete of the quarter century.
A couple of honorable mentions I mentioned Emily Clark already
another hockey player, Cameron Driaver from the Husky's recent grad
National Player of the Year, a Goalie the Year in
U sports, and then also going back to the Olympics side,
Kelsey Hendry pole vaulter who was a three time national

(01:16:30):
champion in the university level and also competed in the
Olympics in Beijing. Unfortunately did not qualify for the London
Games in twenty twelve, but still just getting to an
Olympic Games it is incredible, and especially out of Saskatchewan
we've had We've had some pretty good pole vaulters come
through Husky Athletics over the years. So Kelsey Hendry, she

(01:16:52):
was probably my second choice. But but Shelby Newkirk, I
think is my pick going back to parasport. Yeah, cycling
another multi time UH sask Sport winner as well. Uh
And that was actually just the tible on it when
I was making my athlete picks. They had to have
one a sask Sport of the Year award. When I

(01:17:15):
was decided just my own personal parameters that I was
trying to narrow the window to try to figure out
how I was going to figure this all out, and
so all of those Cameron Driaver hasn't won it, but
all the other people I mentioned have won that award
in the past. Driver is a name that came into
my head this afternoon.

Speaker 2 (01:17:31):
Which is usually like one that we kind of do
with the Kinsman end of the year.

Speaker 3 (01:17:35):
That's it's again when you're trying to weigh different things
you got to look at like accolades, and it just
really ends up a lot of it ends up coming
down to that, because how do you define someone's athleticism
versus someone from another sport. That's so difficult to wrap
your head earlier. Right, So okay, one more to go,
male athlete. I didn't mean to leave it last, like
it's the most important which is the order? This is

(01:17:57):
or wrote?

Speaker 4 (01:17:58):
It's actually the order what you sent the tax that's true,
so I can vouch you that.

Speaker 2 (01:18:02):
So it's just that's the order it came down in.

Speaker 4 (01:18:04):
But mine again, this is going back to Saskatchewan one,
and I'm with you.

Speaker 2 (01:18:13):
I try not to.

Speaker 4 (01:18:14):
I wanted to recognize somebody that's been an individual, but it's.

Speaker 2 (01:18:19):
Really hard to look past what Patrick Marlowe did for
twenty five years. Show okay, okay, way off the board.
I know.

Speaker 3 (01:18:28):
I mean again that I was expecting Saskatoons. So maybe
that's it's off the board.

Speaker 2 (01:18:32):
Ana, right, Saskatchewan's Patrick Marlowe.

Speaker 3 (01:18:35):
Thennoid form mana roid.

Speaker 2 (01:18:36):
Because we keep going to elite.

Speaker 4 (01:18:39):
Hey, we go to best in the world, to Olympic
gold mounts. Right, there aren't a lot of I think
he might be the only male Saskatchewan athlete in the
last twenty five years to win an Olympic gold.

Speaker 3 (01:18:50):
Good good, A good question.

Speaker 4 (01:18:52):
He's got two from two thousand until retiring in twenty
twenty one, five hundred and fifteen goals, five hundred and
sixty five assists. He is third all time or Saskatchewan
born players Gordi Howe, Brian Stratchet.

Speaker 3 (01:19:06):
Wow. So, I mean, obviously, if you stop and think
about it, how long he played, Yeah, it makes a
lot of sense.

Speaker 4 (01:19:11):
But like it just and I was thinking the same thing,
and I'm like, I I I wanted to stay away
from pro, but I'm like, I know, you're gonna have
somebody to stack up with it. But again, that's basically
for twenty one out of the twenty five years he
was active to Olympic golds doesn't have a Stanley Cup.
But you don't hold that against the guy because he's
in a team sport. YEP scored five hundred NHL goals.

Speaker 3 (01:19:31):
Yeah, yeah, you know what, And I don't know, there's
no reason to go away from pro either. I mean,
they're athletes just like everyone else, right, just some sports
have the benefit of having professional leagues and others. Don't
you you're an Olympian, you're you know, that's a different
stage or a hundred percent interesting. I mean, yeah, I
was certainly for multiple reasons, it was not expected that pick.
But I cannot be grudge of that pick whatsoever. I

(01:19:52):
like it. I like it, and yeah, I mean it's
a great resume, the longevity, the hell the health allowing
him to to do what he did. But he was
just such a great player. Yeah, and for what he did,
like really like a very he did it very unspectacularly,
and that it's pretty crazy what he was able to
do because he's not a guy that you would watch
and go like, this is a superstar, right right.

Speaker 4 (01:20:13):
And that's why that's why I don't think you think, Okay,
who's the most dominant male Saskatchewan athlete of a quarter century?

Speaker 2 (01:20:20):
You don't think Patrick Marlowe.

Speaker 4 (01:20:21):
And then you look into the numbers, you look into
the five hundred and fifteen goals from from two thousand
until now, like like it's kind of like I was
even looking at for females that I was looking at
Hailey Wickenheiser obviously, but it's the longevity wasn't quite there
for Haley. And again he was at the highest level
of hockey out of a province that is known for

(01:20:43):
hockey for that long, and has an Olympic gold medal
around his neck. And I again I'm YouTube correct me
if I'm wrong, because I'm the first to admit when
I'm wrong. I think the only Saskatchewan male athlete with
Olympic gold gold is specifically gold.

Speaker 3 (01:21:01):
Yeah, at least anytime recently. Yeah right, yeah, yeah, I
off the top of my dome, I can't think of
anything the past twenty five years.

Speaker 4 (01:21:08):
Yeah, I know there was ones from before, but the
past twenty five years, the era we are looking at,
he's the only one he's got too.

Speaker 3 (01:21:14):
Yeah, you make a surround case. I can't. I can't
argue that. I once again was was a little more
narrowly tunnel vision on the Bridge city andoid is not
quite not quite about a fourth called it about a
four hour drive. You know what, you can drive there
in an afternoon. We'll count it. It's within the borders,

(01:21:38):
all right. So I'm going back to I'm going to
the track, actually okay, and I'm going and I think
this is our uh, this is my only pick that's
kind of from the early portion of the two thousands,
and it is he's now a coach with the Huskies
track team, but he also was a hell of a
runner in his own day. Is Jamie Epp is my pick.

(01:21:59):
He's now the distance running coach with Huskies Track and field.
He's won actually the if not the Canada if not
the U Sports, the Canada West like Assistant Coach of
the Year award like twice, I think. But that's not
why I picked him. Obviously, this is an athlete pick.
He was a Husky athlete right at the start of
the of the two thousands. He won the two he's

(01:22:23):
twice a U Sports or a national I guess it
was cia s CIAU back then national champion CIAU. Yeah.
Two time national champion in cross country in two thousand
two two, three time national champion in the fifteen hundred
meters two dozen and three. What was wrong with two
thousand and two, you ask, Well, he was just busy
winning the three thousand meter national championship in two thousand two,

(01:22:48):
and that was the year in which he was also
selected as SaaS Sports Male Athlete of the Year for
two thousand and two so I mean you're talking about
forty seven. I mean, now it's forty seven schools. I
don't know if they all compete in track and field,
but essentially there's about forty seven U sports schools in
Canadian university sport and national championships. First of all, you
have to perform well enough at your conference championship to

(01:23:11):
go to nationals, but then to go there against the
best the best from across the country and to win
gold in two different distances and one one of those
distances three different times, and then also in cross country
in the fall to do it twice. That's six university
national gold medals for Jamie app and then of course

(01:23:33):
going on to very impressive coaching career as well, which
is relevant, irrelevant to this discussion, but worth mentioning because
it continues to like and the Huskies continue to have
a very strong distance running group, especially actually with their
female athletes who have won I think seven straight Canada
West titles to date. And so for those reasons, this

(01:23:55):
was this I really this one I had a real
tough time with because again, there's so many different ways
you can and look at this category. But I just
thought in an individual sport and then really when you
really and we're talking about athletes, and what's more, what's
more of a pure display of your athleticism than stamina
and your ability the combination of speed and stamina that

(01:24:16):
comes with the fifteen hundred meters. Yeah, there's not many
other sports, whether it's any kind of sport or any
track and field discipline, that are such like dial right
into the pure necessity of the balancing of those two
real competing interests of athleticism in terms of the distance
and the stamina, but also the pace that you need

(01:24:36):
to win at that level and to have speed really
at a distance like that. So that's why I picked them.

Speaker 4 (01:24:42):
And it's so relatable too, because you know, you look
at you look at great curling, great you know, golf,
whatever you think. Oh, you know, I can't directly tell
how heart it is go outside right now?

Speaker 3 (01:24:53):
Fifteen hundred meters, Yeah, no, you will not. I'll be
lucky to make one hundred and fifty meters, let alone
fifteen hundred. That's fair.

Speaker 2 (01:24:59):
That is I'm like trying to say I could probably
make it.

Speaker 3 (01:25:03):
I can probably, I could probably get around of the
track once or twice, but not in any sort of
a time, no chance. A couple other honorable mentions. Mike
Link later had to mention Mike who were hoping to
have on the show soon. But you know, now we're
talking about an athlete in a team sport. But you know,
part of the Huskies only Canada West and National championship,

(01:25:26):
a team in men's basketball, part of the Rattlers only
championship team in twenty nineteen, part of really the explosion
of three x three basketball, and at one point was
a top ten ranked player in the world in three
x three as part of Team Saskatoon and really helped

(01:25:46):
put that sport on the map. It's really exploded, and
certainly a lot of people have their fingerprints on that,
but he's a big reason, big part of it. So
he was one I had Ryland Wiens as an audible mention.

Speaker 2 (01:26:00):
I had Ryland Wins in.

Speaker 4 (01:26:01):
He was one of the ones I struggled with and
then I just I simply went metal versus metal, gold
to bronze, and that's that's what it came down to
for me.

Speaker 2 (01:26:09):
Patrick Marlowe, right, yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:26:10):
And Ryland wins for those who don't know, diver uh
and won a bronze in Paris uh in diving, I
can remember it was in the syncro event or event
was the event? Yeah, but that doesn't take you still
got to be just as good a diver, if anything.
I thought you got to be better to win in
the sincro.

Speaker 4 (01:26:25):
Yeh, because you have to not only execute your dive,
you have to do it at the exact same time
as the guy across from you.

Speaker 3 (01:26:30):
And I mean he's still pretty young as well, so
keep an eye on him. For twenty twenty eighth, the
Pike Lake product Ryland wins and the other guy had
another track athlete, another former Husky, Kieran Johnston, who was
a twice I believe. I don't have it written here,
but I believe he was a two time national champion
in the in the pentathlon. Yes, at the at the
U sports level, which again now you're talking about multiple

(01:26:52):
events obviously the cat They always talking about the Olympic
decathlon champion being the world's greatest athlete because of all
those disciplines. So when you have someone who has meddled,
has been a gold medalist nationally in the pentathlon more
than once, I mean that speaks to his athleticism. So
Kieran Johnston was another guy I thought deserved a little
shout out as well in that category.

Speaker 4 (01:27:15):
Great minds we're thinking alike on on the male athlete,
I think, yeah, minus minus my Patrick Carlo from leaft
eh Man.

Speaker 2 (01:27:20):
You know what, you know what, that's why I like curveball.

Speaker 3 (01:27:22):
We like some curve balls here, we like some curve balls.
How do you feel about your list? Any any second thoughts?
Any any other people that we haven't talked about that
our teams or no.

Speaker 2 (01:27:32):
I think I like the fact that we each had
different people.

Speaker 3 (01:27:34):
But we didn't have we had zero overlap. We did
and we did say before we weren't going to share
our list in events, so there was a possibility we
may have picked some of the same things. But what
does that say about the choices?

Speaker 2 (01:27:44):
Well, and that's it.

Speaker 4 (01:27:45):
And I think I think although we didn't have any
direct overlap, our finalists were all overlap, right, Like we
all kind of had the same kind of idea for
who should be in the mix. So I don't know,
I don't know if we really really missed anyone.

Speaker 2 (01:28:02):
I'm sorry, bosses. It wasn't very busy today.

Speaker 4 (01:28:04):
I did have a lot of time to prep Okay,
I'm sorry dar if watching this.

Speaker 3 (01:28:09):
About his working for the podcast.

Speaker 4 (01:28:11):
That's right it, Guy Garth. Please don't share my web
history from today. It will not be work related.

Speaker 2 (01:28:17):
It's rare, rare.

Speaker 3 (01:28:18):
It's rare when a non porn search is one you
want to keep hidden. But there you go.

Speaker 4 (01:28:24):
Lots of Saskatudes, Sports Hall of Fame, lots of SaaS sports,
No foreign films.

Speaker 3 (01:28:29):
Were Listen, buddy, this was tons of fun. We're gonna
do some other stuff like this as we go. We are,
so let's keep it coming. And I'm gonna try to
get a few other folks on here to get their
picks for these category can't wait, And then we're gonna
build a bit of a composite list too and see
what that looks like over time. So thanks a lot, man,

(01:28:52):
thanks for being here, and let's do it again soon.

Speaker 2 (01:28:53):
All right. I don't care if I messed with the lighting.
You're getting a hug.

Speaker 3 (01:28:58):
This is what comes with the territory that is John Fraser,
and that's your Saskatitude quarter Century Sports Showcase, first edition.
Stay tuned for more. We've got a little more good
sports still to come. Good spun, oh Man, Shenanigans. I
tell you never know exactly what you're gonna get and

(01:29:18):
Johnny hops on. But hey, that's a lot of fun,
and we'll do that more. I'm gonna, like I said,
I think we're gonna get some more local sports types
from the observation deck, if you will, to weigh in
on this concept here that we've got going on. So
we'll maybe compile all those and get to come up
with a master list by the end of it all.

(01:29:40):
So we'll keep you up. Maybe we'll use the Instagram
to kind of keep you updated on that as we go.
But yeah, first we'll call that the first of a series.
First of a series. Yeah, we'll do that all right.
Before we go, of course, it is time to salute
our good sport of the week, and man, oh man,
you want to talk about an accomplishment, this is something
I cannot even fathom trying to do, let alone actually

(01:30:03):
achieving it. We're going to the world of endurance swimming
and it's our good sport of the week is Aaron Bawers,
who recently successfully swam the English Channel at the age
of fifty, which I mean, just on its own incredible,
but to be that fit and be able to do it.

(01:30:25):
I mean, I'm younger than that, and I sure couldn't
even swim one kilometer, let alone the nearly fifty kilometers
that Aaron Bauers had to swim to cross the English Channel.
The shortest crossing is about thirty three kilometers, but of course,
with currents and tides and all these things like, it
ain't a straight line. So by the time you finish
a Channel swim, the estimate is that you swum somewhere

(01:30:46):
between forty and fifty k and you're fighting the elements
the whole time. It took her about sixteen hours, actually
almost seventeen hours to complete the swim from the English
side to the French side of the Channel.

Speaker 2 (01:30:59):
On.

Speaker 3 (01:31:01):
Aaron Bauers from Saskatoon, the daughter of a well known
sports figure here locally in Kelly Bowers, who passed away
back in twenty nineteen. She was doing the swim in
part as a tribute to him. Kelly was a tremendous
athlete himself and a bit of a fish in his
own right, and just a lifelong athlete, fostered that in

(01:31:24):
his kids as well. Aaron has been a marathon swimmer
for a very long time she's wanted to do the
English Channel swim, and so she decided she and she
was going to try to do it last fall. Last September,
which is read around her fiftieth birthday, was also the
fifth anniversary of Kelly's death, but the weather didn't cooperate,
so they had to reschedule. Thankfully she's able to do it.

(01:31:46):
Mich Also, I think raised a bunch of money for Jumpstart,
So that's really awesome. Just an incredible achievement. Again, every
time I hear about this kind of individual accomplishment and
this kind of like really pushing yourself to your face
limits is just incredible. I have don't have the cojones
to try something like that of any sort, whether it's
a swim, a climb, I don't know what, but like

(01:32:08):
you really have to be wired a certain way to
be able to do something like that, And it's just
so impressive, and I know Kelly would be incredibly proud.
I'm sure Restler family is as well. It sounds like
you had a whole crew out whether of course you
have to have lots of support when you attempt to
swim like that, uh, and to get pull it off
just wow, Wow, bravo standing ovation if I could here,

(01:32:29):
but I'd be too far from the mic. But Aaron
Bauer's big salute right there for our good sport of
the week. And we're gonna try to get Daron on
the show here in future weeks here because I want to.
I want to learn more a lot more about this
swim and all that went into it. So congratulations Aaron.
I'm sure getting some much needed rest and recovery now

(01:32:49):
after what was an absolutely epic accomplishment swimming the English channel.
For that, you get the real monumental additional accolade of
being the goods of the week right here on the show.
Uh and uh just wow, trendous stuff. So Aaron Bowers,
way to go. And that does it for this edition
of Good Sports. Thanks again to John Fraser for hopping

(01:33:11):
in and uh just being a real real good sport
and being on the show here this week. And well
we'll get him on here again sometime. I don't think
he's worn out as welcome just yet. Yeah, I think
I think he gets a return return invitation at some
point down in the future. That'll do it once again.
Follow the show on Good Sports at pardon me at
Good Sports three or six on Instagram and of course

(01:33:33):
like inscribed like subscribe and share on the Different Avenue
media network on YouTube. That's where you can catch every
episode right up through here. This is now episode eight,
so please do hop on board the good sports train.
We're only just gain and steam every week as we go.
Thanks for watching, have a good one and of course
be a good sport.

Speaker 1 (01:33:55):
Whatever it makes, what gets you out of bed, whatever
kicks the cop website, you'll join it instead. A victorious
day dream. That's my glory of fame.

Speaker 2 (01:34:16):
That's by me, all on the same team. That's the
name of the game.

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}John Fraser, Co-Host of 3Down Green Cast | Good Sports EP8