SPORTS Episodes

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

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


OLIVERBOOKS: The home of aut...

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

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

HC Davos Coach/Ex-NHLer Glen Metropolit talks about going from Cabbagetown/Regent Park to playing pro hockey literally around the world, getting training inspiration from ‘The Killer’ Doug Gilmour running the hills of Christie Pits, lining up for his first NHL faceoff against Pavel Bure [flanked by Adam Oates & Peter Bondra], utilizing ‘The Metro Method,’ doing his morning skate with the Philadelphia Flyers and then that exact same evening playing for the Montreal Canadiens AGAINST the Flyers, t...

Gibby!! Former Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons talks about why he loves Toronto [and why Toronto loves him back], the story behind writing his new autobiography, why Josh Donaldson wrote the foreword, his back to back ALCS appearances in 2015/2016, the Jose Bautista bat flip [“whole stadium was shaking!”], the Jose Bautista punch up [“he got rocked but never went down!”], the Shea Hillenbrand incident [“it was gonna be him or it was gonna be me...and it sure wasn't gonna be me!”], the Ted...

OverActive Media Group’s Bob Hunter updates the E-Sports venue project at Exhibition Place and shares stories from the ORIGINAL Ontario Place, BC Place Stadium, Expo 86 Worlds Fair, SkyDome [now Rogers Centre], Air Canada Centre [now Scotiabank Place], BMO Field, Lamport Stadium, the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, the 2016 NBA All-Star Game, putting together the ‘puzzles’ involved in venue conversions [‘my back is still sore’], his three Toronto championship rings, concerts by The Hip/Pink/McCartney/...

Toronto FC & 2017 MLS Cup Champion Justin Morrow talks about playing against David Beckham, the bitter feelings/lessons learned from the 2016 MLS Cup loss directly fueling Toronto FC’s amazing successes in 2017, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s memorable karate-kick goal, growing up in a 'sports town' [Cleveland] with both parents as collegiate athletes, getting his education and NCAA D1 playing experience at the University of Notre Dame, his MLS SuperDraft experience in Philadelphia, the potential reasons ...

1992 Barcelona Olympics 110m Gold Medal hurdler Mark McKoy talks about being a gum-chewing Mr. International, why he still [after 30+ years] gets goosebumps watching his Gold Medal-winning run, where he keeps his Olympic Gold medal, his admiration for ‘exquisite’ hurdler [and eventual roomate] Ronaldo Nehemiah, devastatingly being prevented from attending the boycotted 1980 Olympics in Moscow, missing the podium by 0.05 seconds [!!!!] at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, why '4th place feels worse ...

Ex-NHL Player and Coach of the Year Ted Nolan talks about starting from a small house of 12 without electricity nor plumbing in Garden River First Nation [“leaving for Kenora was like going to Disneyland”], learning he was drafted by Detroit Red Wings on the radio [“I was worried it was a military draft”], watching & learning from teammates Wayne Gretzky/Pete Mahovlich/Stevie Y/Mario Lemieux/Hanson Brothers, gaining coaching insights from Al Arbour & Phil Jackson, putting Pat LaFontaine and his ...

The Carnegie Initiative’s Bernice Carnegie shares stories about her father Herb Carnegie, widely regarded as the best Black hockey player to never play in the National Hockey League:

· The Black Aces Line: Herbie Carnegie, Ossie Carnegie & Manny McIntyre

· Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe offering $10,000 to anyone who could “turn Herb Carnegie white”

· Paving the way for Willie O’Ree, the first black player in the NHL and a fellow member of the HHOF

· Willie O’Ree: “Herbie Carnegie was the one...

Stanley Cup Champion/Ex-Maple Leaf Ric Nattress talks about winning the Stanley Cup in Calgary with Lanny McDonald and his ‘little brother’ Doug ‘Killer’ Gilmour, being part of the biggest blockbuster trade in Maple Leafs history [‘the Ric Nattress Trade...LOL’], why he’s proudly a Hamilton mama’s boy, getting drafted by the Habs while busy scarfing Forum hot dogs, being paired with Larry Robinson for his first NHL game [“just skate to the front of the net, I’ll take care of everything else”], w...

Won For All President Joe Jackman talks about being invited to Toronto Maple Leafs training camp and running into someone named 'The King' Borje Salming, great years at St Michael’s College playing TWO sports for the Buzzers, transitioning from an ‘NCAA D-1 athlete’ into a ‘corporate athlete,’ pro-actively working with CURRENT athletes on their transition plans rather than waiting until they retire, the successful post-career transition of ‘The Grim Reaper’ Stu Grimson, and the overall importanc...

Offside: The Harold Ballard Story executive producer Michael Geddes talks about working with Vancouverite/90210’s Jason Priestley, the ‘Ballard Curse’ being responsible for 56 seasons [and counting] without a Stanley Cup [and 19 seasons without winning a playoff round!], uncovering both urban legends [threatening to turn the womens’ McGill Club into a Playboy Club] and realities [direct fan access via the ‘Muppets Bunker’], Ballard operating not with a sharp pencil but rather with NO pencil, how...

Sports Artist David Arrigo talks about his breakout projects for Wayne Gretzky, driving the California coast in a Corvette with Guy Fieri, going speechless in front of Bono as he perused his art portfolio, handling all the detailed minutiae from KISS ‘Manager Al’ [or was it actually Gene Simmons??], his infamous ‘Grinch’ goalie mask for Mike Smith, starting his career with an air-brushed jean jacket [Molson beer + monkeys!], travelling the world with his Live Mural Experience, and why life is go...

NHL Superstar Bernie Nicholls talks about McDonalds visits with Wayne Gretzky, leadership lessons from Dionne/Messier/Chelios/McSorley/Baumgartner, going from playing hockey in a town of 75 to playing in a city of 10 million, hanging out with Dr Jerry Buss and the Showtime Lakers, golfing with John Candy, Tom Hanks reppin' his jersey on Saturday Night Live, scoring 150 points [!!!] in a single season, being assured by Bruce McNall ‘you will NOT be traded, go ahead and buy that mansion’...and the...

World-renowned concussion/brain/spinal injury Neurosurgeon Dr Charles Tator talks about being a lifelong ‘local yokel,’ his mother being the original ‘helicopter mother,’ the era when the Maple Leafs won Stanley Cups ALL the time, why the BRAIN [not the heart] is your soul, why we need to focus on the front end of the concussion problem [PREVENTION], the good that came from the Steve Montador tragedy [“you can have my brain”], why Gary Bettman and the NHL need to recognize that CTE is actually a...

Maple Leafs/NHL veteran Kris Versteeg talks about winning TWO Stanley Cups in Chicago, sharing drinks with Vince Vaughn, rooming with fan lightning rod Phil Kessel while Leafs fans tossed Eggo waffles, attending his high school graduation instead of the NHL draft [and learning he got drafted lying in the grass at 6am], going from selling rollerblades at SportChek to the Western Conference playoffs in 3 years, spending basically 2 years in a hospital bed [and why injections in your inflamed pubic...

NHL veteran Robert Picard shares stories from the Forum [‘The Flower blew right past me first shift of my NHL career!’], Maple Leaf Gardens [‘it was a circus...ringleader: Mr Harold Ballard’], fighting his way through the ‘Q’ [‘John Wensink was a crazy guy’], getting drafted by teams in TWO different professional hockey leagues, being traded to Toronto for ‘The Popcorn Kid’ Mike Palmateer, on and off-ice memories of ‘The King’ Borje Salming, playing with a young pre-Captain Rick Vaive, getting p...

NHL/Toronto Maple Leafs veteran defenseman Todd Gill talks leaving home for hockey after grade 10, his first games as a Toronto Maple Leaf against Montreal [back to back at the Forum & the Gardens!], learning the ropes from The King Borje Salming, the magical playoff run of 1993 [THREE game 7s!], running into the buzzsaw known as ‘Wayne Gretzky with something to prove’ in that fateful conference finals game 7, the toughest fighter he ever faced [spoiler: Joey Kocur], why Pat Burns was his favour...

Veteran Professional Sports Executive Bob Nicholson shares stories from TWO Toronto Blue Jays championships, THREE Toronto Argonauts championships, transitioning the Montreal Expos to the Washington Nationals, bringing Doug Flutie & Ricky Ray over to the Argos, setting unprecedented pro sports attendance records, the challenge of selling baseball seats at Exhibition Stadium [some grandstand seats were miles beyond the field!], transitioning to SkyDome, bringing the MLB All Star Game festivities ...

NHL veteran/St Louis Blues Legend Gino ‘The Tank’ Cavallini talks about having the body of a man at sixteen, scoring the NCAA championship-winning goal in 4th overtime for Bowling Green, his first roommate Lanny McDonald [“I WAS Lanny in road hockey”], Mama Cavallini’s favourite player rankings [#3 Gino Cavallini; #2 Paul Cavallini; #1 Wendel Clark], great memories of the 1986 & 1987 playoff battles against Ken Wregget and the Maple Leafs, getting ‘Titan Two-Handed’ by The King Borje Salming, su...

Radio veteran/record label rep/bestselling hockey author Kevin Shea shares his music & sportswriting experiences with Borje Salming, the Parachute Club, Eddie Shack, Blue Rodeo, Matthew Barnaby, Weird Al, the Hockey Hall of Fame, Steven Tyler/Joe Perry, Slash, Honeymoon Suite & Don Henley...and in a worldwide exclusive he reveals his radio DJ on-air ‘nom de plume’ [spoiler: ‘Sky Kelly’]!

TORONTO LEGENDS is hosted by Andrew Applebaum.

Matthew Barnaby: Unfiltered and all of Kevin Shea’s books ar...

Strategic Performance Optimizer/Strength & Conditioning Coach Matt Nichol talks about working with Mats Sundin in Stockholm & Toronto, his first boss Pat Quinn [somewhat surprisingly] being a health & fitness innovator, Gary Roberts making it easy to get the other Maple Leafs on board, the humility of Wayne Simmonds/Andre De Grasse/Joel Anthony/Jordan Binnington, doing the simple things SAVAGELY well, the ‘not awesome’ science behind 'bag skates,' working with Charlie Francis, co-founding BioSte...