This week on The Produce Stand, we begin our coverage of the second Don Cherry miniseries, The Wrath of Grapes. After giving Keep Your Head Up, Kid a TPS Unicorn, we turn our attention to the next chapter in Grapes’ story.
The story rewinds to Don’s departure from the Boston Bruins before following him to his ill-fated season coaching the Colorado Rockies. We discuss his decision to honour his handshake deal with Colorado despite a richer offer from Harold Ballard and the Toronto Maple Leafs, his clashes with Rockies management, and the stubborn principles that ultimately helped end his NHL coaching career.
Along the way, the movie flashes back to Don’s formative years, giving us a look at his relationship with his father and the experiences that shaped his views on loyalty, hard work and standing up for others. And for Letterkenny fans, there’s a familiar face playing teenage Don: Tyler Johnston, better known around these parts as Stewart.
We also discuss the movie’s recasting, Rose’s new role as narrator, Don’s tumultuous year in Colorado, and whether this sequel works as a continuation or as its own standalone story.
Chapters:
- 00:00:00 – Introduction
- 00:01:58 – How Was Your Week?
- 00:17:16 – Don’t Bore Us Get To The Chorus (Episode Recap)
- 01:29:44 – YEWniversal News
- 01:31:44 – Patreon Roll Call
- 01:34:33 – Final Comments
- 01:40:36 – Outro
Links:
- Opening Theme: Rightfully Mine by Poised For The Worm
- Closing Theme: Inebriation by Poised For The Worm
- TPS on Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | YouTube
- Join Our Patreon
Clip: [00:00:00] That fresh produce stand there, that’s a beauty.
Tanya: What do yous listen to? My Favorite Murder
Clip: podcast. Taggart and Torrens podcast. The Produce Stand.
Tanya: Ah, fucking sexy.
Al: It’s Thirsty Thursday, and that means we are once again hanging out at The Produce Stand, a podcast covering everything in the universe
I know what you’re thinking. There are lots of other podcasts of Letterkenny out there, but this one has Don Cherry’s Taylor. I’m Allan, your host, and joining me in the room, as always, is the lovely Tanya. And online, we’ve got Squirrely Matt and the ever-stylish Victor. How’s everyone doing tonight?
Mat: Did you just refer to Victor as stylish?
Al: Well, you know, yeah, especially wearing the T-shirt he’s wearing tonight. No, it, it, it’s- … part of the, the whole pun. What, what are you wearing? What is that? What is that?
Victor: What do you mean? Urusei Yatsura. Are you asking me what that is?
Al: What show is that?
Victor: That’s Astro Gunga. [00:01:00] You can’t read in Japanese?
Al: No, I can’t.
Oh. Astro
Victor: Gunga. Oh, damn. It says, it’s, it says Astro Gunga. I
Mat: already apologize for asking the question.
Victor: Astro Gunga is, like, the ni- the greatest anime cartoon ever made and, uh, it’s from 1973, same year, uh, same vintage. And, uh, it’s fantastic. I- I’ve got the DVD …
Al: I probably watched it. I, I was al- I was into all those Gung- Gunga cartoons back in the- Yeah
late ’70s, early ’80s. Giant Gunga.
Victor: Not, not to be confused with Gundam.
Al: No.
Victor: But, uh, it i- he is a giant robot.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Um, but he is an alien robot, and there’s a boy that goes inside his chest, and together he becomes a smart giant robot ’cause he, they, they’re, uh, somehow able to gel together. Anyway, it’s awesome. I love it.
Al: So basically the, the, the human boy becomes a parasite to this, uh-
Victor: Yeah …
Al: this robot and, and leeches off the robot. And then they
Victor: fight other giant monsters-
Al: Very nice …
Victor: monster robots
Al: and
Victor: things. All right.
Al: You know what? Yeah. Let’s get started. How are you now? [00:02:00] Tonight’s lineup is Victor, myself, Matt, and Tanya will get the last word.
Victor, uh, I don’t know. Go ahead. What, what, what are you gonna do?
Victor: Well, um- Should have
Al: asked. I know.
Victor: Can I just continue talking about Gunga?
Al: If you want.
Victor: All right. Um, I think I’ve talked about him before, but, uh, I’ll, I’ll find a background later and replace it. Um, what I… I feel like we just did this a couple days ago.
Uh- It was, it was last week … but apparently a whole week went by. Yeah,
Al: last
Mat: week. It
Victor: was a whole seven
Mat: days ago.
Victor: Mm-hmm. I think mostly, like, I’ve just been watching a lot of football, I’ll say for our European and, uh- Mm … South American friends. Uh, but, uh, it’s been- It’s been quite the tournament.
Al: Lots of upsets.
Lots
Victor: of upsets. Oh my God, there’s so, so much f- and then even, you know, that orange idiot got involved and-
Al: Yeah,
Victor: yeah … it’s like it’s, it’s-
Al: Careful, don’t get political.
Victor: You know, I know it, but it, it’s just funny, right?
Al: Yes.
Victor: And, and the karma, the beautiful karma that came back of it. Mm-hmm. Uh, but, uh, um… And then what’s funny is now there’s an English player, um, [00:03:00] that got a red card.
But, uh, I don’t know. I don’t think the prime minister is gonna be petitioning on his behalf, uh if-
Al: If he does, it, it won’t matter ’cause he’s not buddies with, uh, the FIFA guy that-
Victor: No, but what, but what’s funny is he got a red card, but he didn’t get suspended just for one game. Mm. He got suspended for two games without any explanation so.
Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. So that way if England, if, if England somehow wins their next game-
Clip: Mm-hmm …
Victor: then they have to play against Argentina without one of their better players, against Messi. So it just plays all into the whole, uh, conspiracy that people have. But, uh, it’s a lot of good drama, a lot of fun and excitement.
Uh, I’ve been enjoying it. Um- And, uh, yeah. So I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ll pass it on, pass it on to whoever’s next.
Al: Sure. Um, I’m next, and I, I, I actually don’t know… I have nothing to talk about. I can’t think of anything. What? Why are you looking at me funny? Do I have something to talk about? I, I’ve got a show coming up on Saturday.
That’s about it. Oh. Uh, other than that, it’s been a pretty standard week. Nothing- What [00:04:00] did we do last weekend? I don’t even remember. We watched a, we watched a movie with the, with the girl. Another Miyazaki movie, which was, was Kiki’s Delivery Service, I think- Yeah … which was- Oh, we
Victor: saw all of those movies.
Al: Yeah. Yeah. We loved all of them We, we’re, we’re slowly going through them all. Um, the latest one was the, the Kiki’s Delivery Service one, which was, was fun. Yeah, that’s a great one. They’re all, they’re all good. They’re all really, really good. Yeah. Um, uh, other than that I’ve, I’ve been watching, uh, Brooklyn Nine-Nine with, with my daughter-
who’s been watching it. Oh, that’s- She loves- That’s fun … yeah. Yeah. My
Mat: oldest loved it when he went through it.
Al: Yeah. And, um, yeah. Yeah, it’s been a- What the hell did we do last weekend? Kind of boring week, yeah. I can’t-
Tanya: It was so long ago, I have no idea
Al: what- It was, it was a few days ago. Um-
Tanya: No, it’s a long time ago.
Al: Anyway, so I’ll, I’ll, I’ll pass it on to Matt. What have you been up… Oh, yeah, Matt. Yeah. Congratulations on opening up- Oh … your Airbnb. Oh, you can- Yeah … when it’s your turn. Yeah, yeah. Your Airbnb, how’s that going?
Mat: Oh, it’s stressful, man. It’s pretty stressful. Already?
Al: What?
Mat: Oh my God. Well, it’s, it’s, yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s [00:05:00] stru- it’s, it’s stressful.
Well, I mean, it’s, we’re not doing this just because it’s fun, right? We, we definitely need the supplement, right? Mm-hmm. Um, and I, and I’m confident it’s gonna come. When you start off any kind of high risk, high reward anything, y- you know, I, I think my wife immediately assumed the second we opened the door we’d just be full, and that’s not…
I mean, we have three bookings so far. Um- Right … one- No- One day, yeah …
Tanya: no one wants to be the first unless there’s reviews, right?
Mat: Well, yeah, and that’s what I keep saying. That, that’s where the hesitation is. Like, we’ve, we’ve… Yeah. I, I feel like we’re slightly overpriced, so we’re trying to figure out what the sweet spot is, doing lots of research.
I’m constantly tinkering with the app to, you know, adjust some of the amenities or the descriptions, looking things up. Um, and then, yeah, we got, we got the, we have a booking in a couple weeks is our first one right now. But we could, for all we know, get one for tomorrow, um, if it suddenly popped up. And then we have a couple in August.
So I’m excited to get those first few bookings in, but we need them to continue, right? So, um, and then we’re also still finishing up some fin- final [00:06:00] touches on the space itself, and we’re right down to, like, the nitty-gritty of just putting, like, a lock in the laundry room and things like that. Like, little things, but they’re all just there and- Yeah
and it’s, um, it’s been a little stressful around the house as we’re trying to get all this- Well, tell you what.
Al: Next time, you know, Tanya and I need to stay in the city, we, we know where to stay.
Mat: Mm-hmm. There you go. I’ll give you a deal.
Al: All right. I hope so.
Mat: I know a guy.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: Um, but no, I mean, I think it’s gonna be fine.
Um, it’s just- Did you put
Tanya: in your, did you put in your About You, uh, that you run a podcast out of the house?
Mat: I did, actually. I put that-
Tanya: Did you? … when I was- I love it …
Mat: there was, like, a section that said, “Fun fact about you,” or something- Yeah, yeah … and I said, uh- I’m, I’m a host of a podcast that celebrates Letterkenny and Shoresy- Well, you should
Al: put like in, in the very top say, “Come s- see Squirrelly Matt’s big deck,” you know?
Tanya: Oh, I love it. See, that’s why you’re the marketing
Mat: guy. Yeah. Right?
Tanya: Nice.
Mat: So yeah, it’s just, you know, there’s a little butting heads around [00:07:00] here right now. Mm. But, um, I’m, I’m hoping it’ll, it’ll taper down. Aside from that, I’ve just been watching nonsense. I, what’s it say, nonsense isn’t the word. Like I finally watched the Michael movie.
Um- Oh, Michael. I thought that was pretty good. Yeah. Yeah, it was fun. Yeah, it was, it was… The music was great. Mm-hmm. And you said it’s, you said it was his nephew that plays Michael, right? Yeah. Did a great job. Fantastic. Did an amazing job. Oh my God. Yeah. Yeah. Like, it’s, it’s uncanny how well he did on that.
So bravo. I mean, they definitely, they- Gloss over- They kept the story.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: Yeah, they, they glazed over a lot, and obviously in the timeline it doesn’t go into when things really get shady. That’s just where the story stops. But I think it’s a nice telling of, I guess, the lighter side of, of his ear- of his career.
But,
Al: um- I mean, it, what it does is it explains to the generation who’s, who’s wasn’t born then why he became so big, right? It basically tells- Yeah … the story of how he became what he became, how he became the King of Pop. Yeah, yeah. It doesn’t say anything- Yeah … about afterwards, but it, it-
Mat: No, exactly … takes you right up to that.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: And it’s, and it’s so interesting. You know, I watch things like that and, and, you [00:08:00] know, the, I’ve heard the stories about Joe Jackson- Mm-hmm, yeah … and,
Al: and
Mat: some of them, and they hint towards some of it. They don’t really get too deep into it. Um, but you know, right… I’m not, I’m not condoning it by any means, but I think of movies like even like Whiplash, if you ever saw that- Yeah
and there’s a whole scene in that and how brutal that teacher is towards them. Yeah. And the whole concept- Oh, and Tanya definitely reacted to one of the
Al: scenes, the Joe
Victor: Jackson scenes. Well, that’s the whole point- Yeah … that’s the whole point of Whiplash though, right? Is to shock you. Right. Yeah.
Mat: Yeah, exactly.
But it’s like that’s, that’s a constant debate about getting the best out of people is they need to be pushed. And I’m not saying it’s right and, and by any means condone that type of behavior. But then there’s, it always raises the question, would we have ever had Michael Jackson had Joe Jackson not been a piece of shit?
Victor: Yes, we would’ve had Michael Jackson because he was pushing everybody, like all, all the five of them, right? So-
Mat: No, but they were from, from like the y- I’m not, again, I’m just putting the, the un, you know- Yeah, no, I get it. I get it … the awkward opinion. And again, there’s always that argument, like about these teachers who- Same thing.
Would we have a Tiger- … push people [00:09:00] beyond their limits, right? Would we have a
Al: Tiger Woods if his dad didn’t put him on
Mat: TV- Yeah …
Al: at five years old or
Mat: however? Serena and Venus Williams. Or
Al: Serena and, yeah. Like, like- Like it’s, yeah
Victor: But it’s not just putting them on, uh, it’s not just exploiting them as children, it’s also the abuse- Mm-hmm
on top of that. Oh,
Al: I- Right … yeah, yeah.
Victor: Right? Yeah. And I think, I think-
Al: 100% agree Yeah … and, and all of them were ultimately-
Victor: Wayne Gretzky was never abused. Right. But he was put on the ice when he was three years old. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I mean? So, so- He’s one of
Mat: the lucky
Victor: ones-
Mat: There, there’s a path … that had the supportive father opposed to the piece
Victor: of- Yeah
shit who forced them. There’s a path to greatness, and it doesn’t have to go through hell is all I’m saying.
Mat: Agreed. Um, but it’s- Oh, I love that, Victor … you often get the story.
Tanya: Oh my God.
Mat: Yeah. Yeah. That’s gonna be a tattoo. That’s, that’s powerful. But anyways- That’s … that’s one of the thoughts I took away from it, like when there was that argument at one point, um, be- what’s his wi- what’s the, his mom’s name?
Catherine or, uh, J- Mrs. Jackson … uh, Michael Jackson’s mom. Mrs. Jackson. Am I saying
Al: it right? Isn’t it Mary? I thought it was M-
Mat: Mary? I don’t know. Oh, I’m forgetting what his mother’s name. Anyways, Joe- I thought it
Al: was like, yeah, religious in some way, but-
Mat: Yeah, Joe and his mom [00:10:00] are- Yeah … talking and he’s like- Mary and Joe
he’s going on about how, you know, “He would never be here without me,” and, and then she’s like, “Well, you would never be here without him, right?” And- Yeah.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Mat: So it’s that battle, but I don’t know. Anyways, I really enjoyed the movie. Mm-hmm. Um, the music was fantastic. It really kept that spirit alive and, and the, um,
Tanya: yeah, it was fun.
I was surprised by the rating, though. With the, the child abuse in like scene, and with all the smoking, I thought isn’t that an automatic, like rating higher for an older age group? Um- What was
Mat: it rated?
Tanya: I think it was PG
Victor: PG-13 or PG? There’s a difference.
Tanya: I don’t think it was PG-13. Yeah. I think it was PG. I don’t
Mat: know.
Tanya: Which I was- But- … I was surprised about. Because again, back in the day, like everybody smoked. Um- Yeah … everybody got hit and everybody smoked.
Al: PG-13. Michael- Oh, it is 13. Well, so PG-13
Tanya: is appropriate.
Mat: And I thought it, and I thought it was a fantastic role for Coleman Domingo there playing Joe Jackson.
Al: Hmm.
Mat: Um, he did a, he did [00:11:00] a pretty great job at that as well, so.
Al: Yeah, very hateable. You know. Yes.
Mat: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Al: I, I like the way they recreated a lot of the scenes. Uh, I still think, um, the B- Bohemian Rhapsody did it better, uh, in terms of rec- recreating that last show. They
Victor: also left out a lot of the, a lot of the stuff. Yeah. Bohemian Rhapsody was
Al: just a- Oh, 100%. I’m just talking about re- re- recreating the, the famous scenes we’re all used to
Victor: seeing.
The good times.
Al: Recreating the good times. Yeah. Yeah. Well, just the scene, the scenes we’ve all seen on TV, the videos, the performances- Yeah … the, the, the famous ones, right? Um- Yeah … uh, like the… Even j- shooting Thriller, the, the Thriller movie. I lo- I, I was surprised actually at how in-depth they went into that.
Um- Yeah.
Mat: And, and I… And there was a lot I learned. Like I had… And I had to do my own research. Like they, when they, when they touch on when he recorded Beat It- Hmm … and he pulled the Crip and the Bloods together to be part of that, I had no idea that was really a thing either, and apparently that was all
Al: his idea.
Yeah, that was
Mat: interesting. I,
Al: I didn’t know about that. Yeah,
Mat: you’re right. Yeah. Yeah. And, and I looked it up and apparently, like there was a lot of police enforcement on site, um, when it was all his [00:12:00] idea and everyone disagreed with it, but he went through law enforcement and they reached out to their contacts at the respective gangs and pulled together people that they thought could work for this, and then they were there, insisted to be.
And apparently there was a couple occasions where they were ready to shut the whole production down- Hmm … because things were getting tense. But, uh, but it also comments, and just like they showed in the movie, was the moment the dancing started-
Clip: Hmm …
Mat: it’s like the vibe in the room changed and everybody was suddenly on board and- Right
and wanted to be a part of it. Yeah. So they actually captured that based on what- Hmm … um, apparently really happened. But, uh, that was a very interesting story, his attempt to- Hmm … that’s not fix the world, but have a moment of peace in some pretty chaotic times.
Al: Hmm. Uh, uh, should I wind Victor up or no?
Tanya: Oh,
Mat: boy.
Yes.
Tanya: Already?
Al: Well, uh, okay, so I’m going to because, uh, he, he does such a great job and loves doing it to me. Awesome in the live stream says, “Regarding Wayne Gretzky, I don’t know, man. There’s a legitimate argument that, uh, exploiting kids for celebrity, whether it’s for [00:13:00] athletics or entertainment or whatever, is inherently abusive.”
Victor: Um, sure, sure- Oh, okay … sure. Oh, all right. But are you telling me that, are you telling me that exploiting your kids that way is the same thing as physically or mentally abusing them on top of that? These are two separate categories. Uh, uh, you, you know, I, I think it’s, I think, uh, i- abuse is not the right word.
I think exploitation is the right word. Mm. And, uh, from what I recall is n- nobody seemed to have an issue on the, on the Shoresy cheerleader committee about exploiting women in strip bars. Mm. So, um, so seems like exploitation is fair game, so let’s move on. All
Al: right. Yes. Tanya, how was your week?
Tanya: Oh, you’re giddy.
You are giddy. My- You are just winding up and-
Al: My night, my night just got better.
Tanya: Oh my gosh. Uh, how am I… I, I I, summer is always such a challenge, um, wearing multiple hats and [00:14:00] trying to balance and, um, run businesses and, and house and kids, and it’s freaking exhausting. We’re in July. We’re in July trying to, to fit in all of the doctor’s appointments so that I don’t have to pull kids out of school during the summer or during once school starts up, and getting eye appointments and oh my God, I’m, I, I, I-
Al: Braces next.
Tanya: Braces. Ugh. It’s just, it’s, it’s a, it’s an absolute whirlwind and making sure that, um, entertain, everybody’s entertained and, um, keeping sanity. And I might be losing mine. But anyways, um, so Saturday, what we were forgetting, um, and, and, uh, so to say that life has been busy, life has been extremely busy lately and Saturday is, is like, was so far away, but our daughter had a, um, her concert.
Oh, right. Yes. And, um, and, and like absolutely rocked out- Mm-hmm … on the [00:15:00] bass guitar to, uh, Sweet Child of Mine.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Tanya: And, um- I
Al: didn’t know there were that many notes in, uh, Sweet Child of Mine for the, for the bass anyway. I gotta talk to my bass player in my bands and say, “Hey, what the fuck? You guys have been slacking off.”
Tanya: Yeah. She nailed it. She really did. It w- it, it sound amazing, and so proud of her, and she got an award.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Tanya: Um, and, uh, not everyone got an award, so that makes her award really good. Mm-hmm. Yeah. It was a, it was a truly deserved- No particip- no participation medals- No part- … were, were given … yeah, yeah. Um, so it was a, it was a great, um, a great day and, and celebration and, um, yeah, a amazing work.
Um, and then yeah, work has just been, I think I did some back-to-back 12-hour days, um, which I know Victor’s like, “A 12-hour day is just nothing.” Um, I just, uh, yeah, I think I, uh, I had so… I was e- legitimately exhausted by the end of the day and fell asleep in the chair, which is not like me, but I was, I’ve just been conked right out.
Um, so [00:16:00] yeah, I’m exhausted.
Al: That’s, that’s just my routine. I need to, I need to- I come home from work and I get to sit in the chair and, and have a-
Tanya: Well, that’s because of- … climb under a cabinet … your hour commute. Yeah. Oh, and I did my meditation. I did find, uh, 30 minutes for meditation for myself. Was it 30? I don’t even remember.
Am I in, did an hour? Don’t ask me. I was sleeping. It was an hour. It was an hour. Oh my God. Um, I did meditation this week, and I did, um, oh, I did brain vacations, and I, I, I don’t know whether it’s searchable or not, but it was fantastic just to turn your brain off and have a, a little vacation and then turn it back on in an hour.
Victor: Oh, I think Brent did that on Corner Gas.
Tanya: Did he? A brain vacation? I love it
Victor: Yeah.
Tanya: I, I-
Victor: Yeah, that’s how- I thought it was so much fun … that’s how he took vacations. Like, he, he, when he takes a vacation, he just goes in the back on his lawn chair and puts, like, a screen around his head, and nobody’s allowed to touch him or disturb him ’cause he’s on vacation.
Tanya: Oh, I love
Victor: it. So, uh, that sounds, like, very similar to your, uh-
Tanya: Yeah, we did, uh- … m- meditation [00:17:00] vacations … we did three di- different brain vacations and, um, it was really, um, it was lovely, and, uh, I recommend it ’cause God knows there’s so much hectic-ness in our days and weeks. Um, it’s nice to take a break and turn it off for a bit.
Al: All right. Hmm. Let’s get this thing going, shall we? Previously- Last- … on Letterkenny … last week we re- wrapped up the first Don Cherry miniseries, Keep Your Head Up, Kid. Uh, it earned a fresh rating from all of us, making it a TPS unicorn. We hadn’t had those in a while. This week we begin our s- the second miniseries with part one of Wrath of Grapes.
Victor, have you done your homework?
Victor: It is.
Al: I’ve done my homework. Tanya, have you done your homework?
Tanya: It is and-
Al: Matt, have you done your homework? Matt, are you there?
Tanya: Matt is not
Al: there. Matt is- Uh, this
Mat: time without issue.
Al: Oh, you are frozen, but okay. Well, don’t
Mat: bore us, get to the chorus.
Tanya: There we go. Oh, and he’s dropped.
Oh,
Al: we
Tanya: dropped- And he’s back … he’s back.
Al: Okay.
Tanya: It’s, uh- He has a sad [00:18:00] face, though.
Mat: I got to the part where you just said, “Matt.”
Al: Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
Victor: He didn’t pay his internet bill.
Tanya: Oh. Oh, Matt.
Mat: It says unstable again. Ah.
Tanya: Tell the Airbnb- I hope I don’t get grounded … to stop using bandwidth. You, you
Al: are not- There’s no one
Mat: down there.
Tanya: Eh.
Al: I’m trying to share my screen, but once… Oh, there we go. What the hell happened there? Um, am I-
Mat: I, and I did m- do, I did do my homework.
Al: Good. Good boy.
Mat: You shine. Your, your tip on how to get those files worked flawlessly.
Al: Yes. You have to zip them and, before downloading them, to get them past- Yeah, it worked.
Tanya: Zip-a-dee-doo-dah.
Al: Past the, the, uh, yeah. Anyway, here we go. Uh, we start with, the story picks up where, doesn’t pick up where the last miniseries left off. Instead, it goes back a bit. We flash back to Don’s playing days with the Ro- Rochester Americans. He’s [00:19:00] in the middle of a fight while a voiceover explains the thing Don misses most about hockey: the fighting.
Uh, from there we get a quick recap of his five years with the Boston Bruins, including a replay of their heartbreaking loss in the Stanley Cup Final thanks to the infamous too many men on the ice penalty. That brings us to this meeting with Har- with Harry Sinden at the end of the season.
Clip: Another year, no cup.
Well, the boys did their best. I’m proud of them. Well, four first place finishes, two cup finals in the last four years Listen, I’m prepared to offer you another contract, Don, in spite of everything, but things have to change. You gotta realize you’re part of management now. You gotta start acting like management And you gotta stop giving it to us in the press.
This love affair with the media has gotta stop
Al: All right, before we talk about this scene, production note. A [00:20:00] number of the roles were recast for this miniseries, starting with Harry Sinden, who was played by Canadian actor Booth Savage. What a name. Booth, as in phone booth, Savage. He’s probably best known for playing Principal Callahan on Mr.
D. Uh, fun fact, this wasn’t Savage’s first time playing Harry Sinden. He also portrayed him six or- years earlier in the TV miniseries Canada Russia ’72 based on the Summit Series. Victor, you’re, you’re nodding. You knew this?
Victor: Yeah, I watched it.
Al: Yeah? Oh, big surprise. Yeah, yeah. I think I watched it too, but it was a while ago, so I don’t remember anything about it Um, what’s this?
The recast was a monster… Oh, oh, r- and Awesome says that, uh, Booth Savage was also in Monster Warriors with Jared. So-
Victor: Of course …
Al: thank you for that, uh, connection. So Victor, w- talk about that scene there, which we didn’t see in the first series, but we, we get to see it now.
Victor: Yeah, it was good. I, I mean, I was a little bit, uh, taken back when it was a different Harry [00:21:00] Sinden- Mm-hmm
’cause I was actually really… They, the casting with the first one was really good, like- Yeah … that he really resembled, uh, Sinden.
Clip: Mm.
Victor: Um, so I, I was a little distracted by the fact that it was a new Harry Sinden. Um, but uh, yeah, it was, uh, it was… The other thing is that it was almost clear from the beginning, and, uh, this is not to just again continue to argue with you about this, but they, they didn’t position this movie as a continuation from the first movie.
This is just another movie telling, talking about Don Cherry’s story. Because they basically, you can watch this movie without ever seeing Keep Your Head Up, and you basically learn, uh, you know, the, the path of Cherry from player to, to, to, uh, a coach to s- a TV celebrity. Um, so y- you don’t, it’s, it’s not required watching for the first movie to watch this one, right?
Like Godfather II, you need to watch Godfather I. Sure. This one, um, it, it kinda takes you back to the beginning and it [00:22:00] starts to set the scene. And there are several scenes that kind of, um, almost position this as a standalone, uh, because of the c- the, the montages that they do- Mm-hmm … and whatnot, so, uh, um, kind of bringing you up to speed.
They
Al: still use a lot of scenes from the first miniseries. Um-
Victor: Yeah, they, they do, but not, but, but not in a continuity pers- f- not from a continuity perspective. Mm. More for telling the story i- of this movie. So, uh, but anyway, I, yeah, I thought it was a good s- a good strong open. Mm-hmm. Uh, but uh, y- I was a little initially disappointed at it’s not the same Harry Sinden.
No,
Al: I agree. I, I, I mean, yeah, the o- a- a g- we also got used to the, the first actor, now we have to get used to a completely different actor. Yeah. Tanya, did you even catch that that was a different actor?
Tanya: Uh, no.
Al: No. I didn’t think so. And not surprised. But
Tanya: I did see a bunch of things and I got very confused.
Al: Mm.
Tanya: Um, so where did Cindy go? And why was she never mentioned?
Al: Because at this point Cindy was, was [00:23:00] out of the house and, and working pro- I think at the, a hotel or something in, in, in Quebec City. I forget. In the first- She
Tanya: wasn’t mentioned at all.
Al: Not yet. I mean, it’s only the first half of that movie. Like, but she’s o- old enough now that she’s out working.
She’s not at home.
Tanya: Huh. I, I don’t, it, it just, it, it felt like we were watching another time period and-
Al: Like in the fir- in the first movie she comes back- Yeah … from wherever she was when Tim gets sick, right? And, and that’s when she del- donates the, the kidney and stuff like that. But she’s already not living at home by, by the time Tim is sick
Tanya: Okay
Victor: Yeah, like she, she wasn’t a, like, this main presence in the first-
Al: No
Victor: iteration.
Al: Yeah, she was in and out. Like, she was way more present in the first one, but I mean, we don’t… We haven’t seen… We’ve, we’re only seeing the first quarter of this miniseries today.
Tanya: And so this might be dumb.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Tanya: So I w- lost tra- okay, so he’s- ‘
Al: Cause she does get mentioned. Doesn’t she get mentioned?
Tanya: I don’t think she did. Well- [00:24:00] ‘Cause I was like, “Where the heck
Al: did she go?” Later on I think, uh, when he… Anyway, w- we’ll get to that point. But- So- They,
Victor: they
Tanya: haven’t
Victor: written her out of the show- No … if you’re, if that’s what you’re concerned
Tanya: about. I just didn’t… We, we, the, we knew about her- Mm-hmm … and that she was there.
She- She still
Victor: exists- Yeah … in the Don Cherry world. And,
Tanya: well, I… It didn’t seem like she did, not in this. And n- but she does.
Victor: It, it rolled her off. She was unnecessary for the part of the story that is being told so far.
Al: So far.
Tanya: We should’ve had a phone call with her at some point.
Al: Okay.
Tanya: Anyways, um, um, so didn’t he say in the other, um, mov- in the last movie though that he never spoke to him again?
They never spoke to each other again? Am I getting confused?
Al: S- y- yeah, in the first movie Don Cherry does say that Sinden, that was the last time Sinden… I don’t know if he said it he, the last time he spoke to me, but the last time we saw eye to eye or, or he, he trusted me. That was the last time he trusted me or
Tanya: something.
No, I thought it was the last time we spoke, like, he, we ever spoke.
Al: Mm.
Tanya: And now we’re speaking. Yeah. [00:25:00] And, and I was like- It was clearly
Victor: hyperbolic
Al: or whatever. Yeah. I mean, yeah. Hyperbolic. And so, and it’s por- important to note, uh, Tim Cherry wrote the script and the books that these two miniseries were based on.
Cindy also wrote-
Tanya: Really? …
Al: uh, her own, um, book on, on, like memoirs or whatever. And in, in his, in his interview with Toronto Mike, he said that they thought about doing one of the, the two series, uh, from her per- from her perspective. Yeah, yeah. And it would’ve been a lot different, uh, like Cindy telling the story as opposed to, um, well, Tim telling it through Don, right?
So anyway, it’s, it’s very interesting. Matt, what did, what did you think of this?
Mat: Uh, well, I’m with Tanya. I didn’t know there was an actor change at all. Okay. Um…
Victor: Okay. Okay. Thank you, Matt. Let me a- I love your honesty. Let’s, let’s pause. Do either one of you actually know what Harry Sinden looks like in real life?
Mat: No. No. No. I didn’t even remember the name from the first movie. So Harry Sinden to me was a new character as a [00:26:00] whole. Then secondly, when that guy came on the screen, I thought it was Adam Scott for a second, um, which is an actor, uh, co- he’s the guy that’s in, um, Severance. Um, but then I’m like, “No, that’s not him.”
And then I went a d- step further and I’m like, “He could be a cross between Adam Scott and Dustin Hoffman.” And then I just focused on all of that. Um- And then I lost track of the scene.
Clip: So isn’t Adam Scott like 20 or 30 years younger
Mat: than Don Cherry? Yeah, well, that, that’s why I realized that it didn’t make any sense.
Al: This, this actor, Booth Savage, does look a little like Adam Scott. You’re right. Um, I’m j- I’m looking at these s- uh, images of Harry Sinden, uh, his younger self, and, uh, I don’t really see any resemblance to either actor. But anyway.
Victor: But
Mat: the first one was- Well, no, no, I just meant in the movie.
Al: Yeah. The
Mat: actor in the movie-
Al: Yeah
Mat: looked like a cross between Dustin Hoffman and Adam
Al: Scott. The, the fact that Booth Savage played Harry Sinden six years before this in another CBC miniseries is, [00:27:00] is hilarious. And actually, we’ll see that that repeats itself again later in, in this, uh, uh, in this movie. Uh, so next scene. As we, as we now know, Sinden doesn’t give Don a new contract, but the movie makes it sound like Don is the one who turns him down because of all of Sinden’s conditions.
When Rose asks Don what happened, he simply says that if Harry didn’t get him now, he would’ve gotten him sooner or later. It’s time for them to go. This is where we get the first voiceover that isn’t Don’s. It’s Rose’s. She says that they’d been married for 23 years, and had to, had moved 15 times, and five of those years were in Boston.
Tanya: Oh, I thought she said 50.
Al: Yeah, no. Can you imagine? No, I think it was 15. Uh, they put down roots and then f- r- Boston really felt like home. So whether Don quit or was fired doesn’t really matter, because the media decided he was fired, and they all had a field day criticizing Boston’s decision. The players loved him.
The fans loved him. The whole town loved him. Rose hates that their entire lives are being, uh, displayed on TV for everyone to see. And just then, the [00:28:00] doorbell rings, and it’s Red Fisher from the media looking to interview Don and get his side of the story. Don isn’t home, but Red invites himself in to wait for Don, and Rose reluctantly agrees.
A- in voiceover, Rose c- talks about how much Don loved the media and how much they loved him. Uh, she valued their pr- uh, privacy, but that’s life when you ch- well, that’s what life is like when you choose to be married to a hockey coach. Uh, the next scene is Red’s interview with Don.
Clip: How does it feel to be leaving the Bruins, Don?
Well, I love Boston, and, uh, I love the players, and, uh- You know that The Bruins are so identified with you personally Must hurt a little. Sure. But I tell you what, I’m not gonna cry about it. I think the boys in, uh, South Boston, Charlestown, they’d be disappointed in me if I did. We’re hearing that, uh, Harry fired you.
Is that true? [00:29:00] Nope. No, I coulda had a contract. Good one, too. No, I coulda come back another year. But tame Don Cherry, stand behind the bench like a wooden Indian, not getting fined and not throwing things, not kicking things, but it wouldn’t have been the right thing to do. No. No, my players been looking at me like, “You sold your soul.”
And I not gonna. Five years with the Bruins is a long time. It’s five years. I’ve been with the Bruins a hell of a lot longer than that
Al: Before we continue, I just wanna say my parents had those exact couches in
Tanya: our house I was gonna say that. I remember those couches. My, my, and my friend had
Mat: those couches.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: Yeah.
Tanya: I, I was, I, I, uh, uh, I was triggered when we were watching it. I was like, wait, wait, oh. Those couches look so familiar, don’t they? Yeah, they did.
Al: And we still have those exact same stair [00:30:00] railings in our house right now. Anyway, um, we flash back to Kingston in 1949, where a 15-year-old Don Cherry is playing for the Kingston Victorias.
Don is really giving her, ’cause he’s heard that the Bruins, there’s a Bruins scout in the barn that night. We see the Bru- Bruins chief scout approach Don’s ch- uh, parents. Sorry. We see the Bruins chief scout approach Don’s parents in the stands and introduce himself as Harold Cotton. Then back on the ice, Don gives the puck away in his own end, leaving, leading directly to a, a goal.
After that, after the game, Don meets with his father in the stands for a heart-to-heart
Clip: I blew it, Dad. You were right. I tried too hard. Everything I did was wrong. Geez, what’s Mr. Cotton gonna think? That’s the worst game I ever played. Oh, I don’t know. I didn’t think it was so bad. I was on the ice for three of their goals. [00:31:00] That’s true, but you played that one-on-one perfect in the third period.
Yeah, after Mr. Cotton left. Well, if all scouts cared about was stats, they wouldn’t bother showing up for the games. You moved the puck well, kept the other team honest when you were on the ice
Some good clean hits too. That one on their center, I bet you can still read his number on the boards in the corner over there. Well, he had his head down. Yeah, but he won’t the next time. You can bet on that, huh?
I’m proud of you. You’ll get him. Come on, let’s go home
Al: All right. I mean, let’s do the production, the obvious production note here. Uh, if young Don, 15-year-old Don Cherry looks familiar, it is because he’s played by none other than Tyler Johnston. Stuart. Also known as Stuart And what’s, [00:32:00] what’s funny is that Tyler is not o- is only three years younger than Jared Keeso.
So right now Tyler’s 39, Jared Keeso’s 42. No way. Are you
Mat: serious?
Al: Yet he’s convincingly playing a 15-year-old version of Jared’s, Jared’s character in, in the movie, which was, you know, done 10 years ago. How old
Tanya: was he when he played this?
Al: Uh, well, w- was it 2006? No.
Victor: 30.
Al: Yeah. This was
Victor: 2012, I
Al: think. Oh my God. 20- 2012, so six, uh, or eight years ago.
But
Tanya: they even had… Didn’t he-
Al: No, more than that. I can’t do math. Eight. What the hell is it? 14 years ago.
Tanya: Didn’t he have his shirt off- Carry the one … at one point? Like, he has this really petite, small frame.
Al: Yeah. Well, he does a- anyway, but, um, so that’s what makes him perfect to play, I guess, a younger version of Keeso.
Yeah. But, uh, yeah.
Tanya: That’s awesome.
Al: Uh, yeah, Victor, what did you think of that scene? Well, first of all, when you first saw D- uh, you know, saw Stuart play, uh, young Don Cherry, what’d you think? Did you know that, he, he played him?
Victor: Yeah, yeah. I, I knew that. Uh, um, I think we even talked about it [00:33:00] on, in our intro, didn’t we?
Probably, yeah. I, I think so, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Tanya: I knew it too.
Victor: Uh, uh, so, um-
Al: When I got- Yeah, yeah, that was- So, so just to- Yeah, yeah, yeah … illustrate Tania’s face blindness- … I paused the movie. I said- … “Do you know who that is?” And she’s like, “Nope.” “That’s Stuart.” “Who?” Yeah. “
Victor: Stuart who?”
Al: Is that, is
Victor: that Rob Lowe? Did he play Youngblood?
I, I
Tanya: can’t. I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t, I can’t make out features like that. I know.
Al: Anyway.
Victor: That was awesome. Ah. Just don’t understand how that works.
Al: So yeah, sorry, go o- on. W- that was a great scene. Uh, you know, and, and actually the, the, the actor that got to play Don Cherry’s father would be perfect to play Don Cherry today.
Like, he looks so, so much like him. It’s, uh, it’s pretty good.
Victor: Yeah, yeah. So I mean, it was, it was nice. It was endearing to see, like, his dad is so supportive, right? Mm-hmm. Like, he’s saying all the right things. Yeah. And, you know, he’s, like, trying to, uh, uh… Little Don is trying to beat himself up and saying, “I did this, and I screwed up that.”
And, and, and Dad is saying, “Well, yeah, that happened, [00:34:00] but, um, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s th- you know, you, you kept them honest on the ice, and you, you played your shifts the right way,” and all that kind of stuff. So he said all the right things, and he was very supportive, so, um, which I was, I guess, a little surprised.
I didn’t… You know- … usually, you know, like, I… Don being kind of so rough around the edges, you, you’d think that maybe he took after his dad a bit. But, uh, in, in that scene, they sh- certainly put his dad in a, in a very positive light.
Al: Mm-hmm. Matt, what’d you think?
Mat: He, the… I, I… So obviously, I forgot that he was in this.
Mm-hmm. ‘Cause… But I know we talked. But the second I saw him, I’m like, “Oh, yeah.” And I was instantly excited. Yeah. I’m like, this’ll be fun. Yeah. Um, but that scene, the most po- one of the most powerful lines of the movie, I think, came out of that scene, which is his dad, where he says, “If all scouts cared about was stats, they wouldn’t bother showing up to the games.”
Clip: Mm-hmm
Mat: I love that.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Mat: I feel like if I was a scout, I would wear that on a jacket and walk into [00:35:00] arenas wearing that- Mm-hmm … just to make it clear that I’m here to see more. Um, but I think that was such a good calming thing when he was all bent out of shape over the goals and all that, and it’s like, “Nah, man.
He just wants to see what you look like on the ice.”
Al: Yeah.
Mat: Shit happens. Um, that was one of the most supportive comments I’ve heard in a scenario l- well, not that I’ve seen a lot of scenarios like that, but it felt perfect in that moment. Mm-hmm.
Al: I also like how well-dressed the father is. Again, another thing that he gets from his father is the whole stylishness and- Yeah
he could be this big tough guy, but he still, like, dresses nicely and, and, and treats people- Yeah … you know, with respect and stuff. Tam, what’d you think of that?
Tanya: Yeah. I, um, once I realized it was Stuart, then I couldn’t un- unsee it. Um-
Al: And you’re waiting for him to, like, start break dancing or- … or take some, a hit of, uh, uh, cocaine or something?
Tanya: Yeah. Um, yeah, it was a, it was a good scene. I l- I liked, uh, the father-son scene. Um, it, it really showed his roots and where he [00:36:00] came from, as you guys are saying.
Al: All right. Let’s move on. In the very next scene, Harold Cotton pays the Cherrys a visit at home. He tells them Don has a lot of promise and invites him to t- Boston Bruins rookie camp, offering him an A card, which is a tryout invitation.
If the Bruins like what they see, Don will play for their junior club in Barrie. Uh, the team will arrange his billet and transportation, and Don will attend school while he’s there. Cotton adds that the coach in Barrie is a g- is goddamn strict about, about education. Don’s father promptly asks Mr. Cotton to watch his language in their house.
Cotton apologizes, and the Cherrys sign the agreement. The next scene, Don and his father head to a local diner to celebrate the s- the signing with a couple of milkshakes, and then we get a scene that helps explain the strong sense of justice Don inherited from his father. They come across a couple of guys bullying a young man named Teddy who’s wearing a leg brace.
Clip: What’s up, Teddy? Now, when I was out somewhere with my dad, it was like a match being waved near gasoline. Teddy. Teddy. [00:37:00] There’s always the possibility of an explosion. You got a problem with these guys?
You may not know this, but, uh, Teddy’s a friend of mine
Hey, Teddy. How you doing there, bud, huh? Come on over and sit with us Watch it. Want a milkshake, huh? Want a chocolate milkshake? Sure. Good man. Come on and sit with Donald
Ted, you know what? Donald got signed by the Bruins today. Wow. What do you think of that, huh? Get me one too
Al: All right. We’re getting a little bit of velvet hammer, uh action here from, uh, Mr. Cherry. Uh, Matt, we’ll start with you this time. What did, what did you [00:38:00] think of that scene? We’ve lost- Well- Lost Matt again
Matt’s, Matt’s frozen Matt’s frozen. My place or yours? Matt, pay your internet bill. Okay, Tanya, what’d you think of that scene? Um-
Mat: I mean, I think it’s, it speaks… Oh, goddammit.
Al: Okay, we can hear you again.
Tanya: Take two We can hear you
Al: Not anymore.
Tanya: All right. I’m in. All right. Um- No you
Mat: can’t.
Tanya: Um, so what did I think? I, I- Can you hear
Mat: me? No. Son of a bitch. Oh,
Al: man. You’re gonna have
Victor: to
Al: do some editing,
Tanya: Al. Oh, I, I refuse to edit. Editing. This
Al: is fun stuff. No, that’s actually gold. Yeah.
Tanya: Son of a bitch. All
Victor: right. I think it’s safe for you to go now, Tanya.
Go
Al: ahead, Tan.
Tanya: Um, I was going to say, um, I was, I was kind of having flashbacks to Letterkenny and, um, Alexander-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Tanya: um, and [00:39:00] him in the bar. And, um, I, I kind of wondered again if Keeso was, um, playing with some of that when he was writing, um, Alexander’s role. It’s
Al: possible. Even down to, uh, when he fights, um, uh, Joinboy.
Joinboy first says, uh, uh, that, that, uh, that, th- that slow learner or whatever he calls him at, at the bar, that was my cousin and you, you, uh, helped him out and so if you don’t wanna fight, we don’t have to fight. Like, he thanked him for, for helping his cousin out and then, um, Tim- you know, Wayne still says, “I don’t, I don’t know who the hell you are.
Let’s fight.” But, uh-
Tanya: Yeah …
Al: yeah. Ah, you’re back Matt. How’s it going?
Mat: I hate this.
Al: You know, if you wanna get those f- five star Airbnb ratings, you need to make sure your internet’s, uh-
Tanya: You,
Mat: you gotta get- There’s too much- You gotta get fiber … ’cause so I’m, I’m on, I’m on this, wife is watching TV. I’m running the live speed as well.
Mm. And then [00:40:00] what I realized the pattern here is both times I shut down, I turn my phone on for a second and- … like a video started- Oh, geez … on something, and then I’m like, “Oh, shit.” So I, I’ve turned off the live stream. I’ve put my phone down.
Tanya: I put my phone.
Mat: Which I’m, which I, I’m not not paying attention, just for the record.
Uh huh. I’m just-
Al: Okay. Whatever. What do you think of that scene?
Mat: I loved it.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: Yeah, I loved, I loved, um, I think it… It’s moments like that where I think kids really learn certain character traits around, um, you know, how to treat people- Mm … and, and the right thing and things like that, and I like how the dad approached it.
Um-
Al: Very gangster-like … I’ve
Mat: seen… Yeah. Like, he didn’t nee- he di- he didn’t need to say much. No. But his presence and his approach and his confidence in that delivered the message hard and the guys backed down really quickly. Mm. And I love how he just welcomed the kid into his table and his like… You don’t see stuff like that very often, and it shouldn’t be necessary, but they’re very [00:41:00] powerful moments in people’s lives when shit like that does happen.
So, um, I liked it. I thought that was cool, and I think it’s, it, it… I think Don clearly picked up a lot from moments like that- Mm-hmm … on how to treat people
Al: Uh, Victor, what’d you think?
Victor: Uh, yeah. I mean, not much more to add. I think you guys covered it. Um, obviously it’s, uh, it’s a feel-good scene ’cause, you know, y- uh, they came to the rescue and- Mm-hmm
and, uh, I like at the end how, uh, th- the dad, uh, got a shake for himself as well. I think that was, uh, a, a nice cherry on top.
Al: Uh, so to speak. What kind of
Mat: shake would you guys go for?
Al: Uh, I, I, I’m boring. I like vanilla shakes, but, uh, yeah. Ew. Yeah.
Victor: Yeah, I would go, I would go vanilla, but with malt.
Al: What’s- What’s that?
I don’t know.
Mat: Yeah, what, what is malt?
Victor: You’ve never been to a ’50s diner? What the hell?
Mat: Yeah, but I didn’t know what it meant.
Al: I use-
Victor: Okay. You know, you know what, you know what, uh, Maltesers are?
Mat: Yeah, they’re gross.
Victor: You’re [00:42:00] s- you’re so inappropriate. Um-
Mat: Really? Well, Mal- Maltesers are an abomination of food. Mm-hmm.
Victor: Some s- so, so Maltesers and/or their competition, uh, w- whatever they’re called- Waviers? No.
Mat: Whoppers?
Victor: Yeah, Whoppers. Um-
Mat: Also an abomination. I-
Victor: it’s ’cause it’s the same thing. Um, they are, the stuff that they’re made from- Mm-hmm … you can actually have that powder mixed into your shake. Oh, okay. And it’s a, an incredibly wonderful combination.
Okay. Uh, and it’s super delicious. It’s hard to find places that still do that, but if you find, like, a ’50s diner, like we, we had, um-
Al: Friends. Fr-
Victor: Friends will probably do it. Yeah, yeah. They, they may do it. I don’t know. I th- I, I’m not sure if they do. Yeah. But there’s one that’s in Barrie- Mm … uh, that’s, um, um, I forget what it’s called.
But there’s a ’50s diner just on that highway, uh, just outside of Barrie. Uh, if you stop in, uh, they’ll give you a malt shake. Our- All right … next we’re going to Donnelly’s.
Tanya: Our go-to, [00:43:00] uh, when I went to my grandparents’ house, it was always having f- um, vanilla floats. Uh, vanilla ice cream and then, uh, Sprite, uh, poured over top.
Al: Yeah, that just sounds gross. Sprite?
Tanya: Yeah, Sprite. I thought that’s
Victor: root beer, isn’t it?
Tanya: No, we- It’s normally
Victor: root beer …
Tanya: we had Sprite and vanilla, and that was- That sounds
Victor: like… I feel like they ran out of root beer and kind of- I think they did …
Tanya: yeah. No. I think they tricked you on that one. That, that is, like, that, I’m telling you, that was-
that was a treat was to have- That is … vanilla ice cream, uh, scoops in a glass and- Mm … and Sprite over top.
Al: Awesome to the rescue. Okay. Malt is a wheat product. It’s also used in beer. Well, I’ve heard of malt for beer, uh, for flavor and color. Yeah. It’s a good source of protein, so there you go. Mm.
Mat: Fair enough.
I, my, my, s- really quickly on the topic is I like, I’m a purist. I like my chocolate. But when you get some places that are willing to go that extra mile, I order a Neapolitan and they put a scoop of vanilla, a scoop of chocolate, and a scoop of strawberry in and mix it up that way, and it is chef’s kiss.
Al: [00:44:00] I could do that.
I could totally do that. Yeah. Yeah.
Mat: That’s great.
Al: All
Tanya: right. I don’t know. Strawberry sh- has no place in with- … uh, the, the chocolate and the vanilla.
Al: Oh, no, the best part- That’s true … of eating Neapolitan ice cream is mixing it all together and then having it.
Tanya: Oh.
Victor: I think if, if you, if you have- Yes, now we’re back on the same page
if you have… No, no. If y- If you have vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries cut up- Yes … and mixed into it-
Tanya: 100% …
Victor: that is the way to do it.
Tanya: Yeah. But not that, like- Now we’re besties again, man … not the fake Neapolitan strawberry.
Al: No.
Tanya: Not that, not that kind of strawberry, no. Yeah.
Al: All right.
Clip: I agree
Victor: with
Al: you.
Next scene. We’re back in 1979. Don and Rose are out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. It’s a special occasion. Don tells Rose he’s been offered $135,000 a year. That
Tanya: would’ve been-
Al: Yeah, huge. For two years, plus an option to coach- Thank you, Kenny … in Colorado. That’s more than double what Boston was paying him, and would make him the highest paid coach in the NHL.
Uh, Colorado is a last-place team, but Don figures that if they’re willing to pay him that kind of money, maybe they’ll also spent, spend what it takes to get the players he needs to [00:45:00] win. Rose asks whether he’ll be able to get along with the Colorado GM, Ray Moran. Uh, Don didn’t think much of Ray back in Tulsa, but for $135,000 a year, he figures he can sure as hell try.
Uh, sure as heck try. Sorry there, Mr. Cherry. Uh, Rose asks if any other teams are interested. Don says he’s heard from Washington, Atlanta, and maybe even Toronto, but Colorado has made a firm offer, and he doesn’t think anyone else is gonna top it. So Don and Rose decide to go to Colorado. Cut to the day Don is set to leave to finalize a deal.
Just before he heads out, the phone rings. It’s Allan Eagleson, played by Canadian actor Judah Katz. He tells Don he can cancel his trip to Colorado.
Clip: Hello? Hey,
it’s me. Eagle. Yeah, listen, I’m glad I caught you. You can, uh, cancel that trip to Denver. Just got off the phone with the Leafs. Ballard wants you. Leafs? Three-year contract, 150,000 a year. That’s a lot of money. That’s 15 grand more than the Colorado offer, and a longer contract. [00:46:00] Well, I, I can’t do it, Eagle.
Why? I already shook hands with Ray Moran on the Colorado deal. What are you, nuts? Come on, it’s the Leafs, Don. They’re a play or two away from the Stanley Cup.
They can’t do it, Eagle Don, we’re talking about a longer contract. We’re talking about more money. You’re gonna be closer to Kingston. I already made a deal with Colorado. You haven’t signed anything yet, Don. I know, but I just told you, I shook hands on it What is this, damn Boy Scouts, huh? No signature on a contract is no deal done.
You understand that? Plus, it’s the Leafs. What, you think I wanna go to a last place club? You think I don’t wanna coach the Leafs? I can’t do it, all right? I gave my word All right. You’re making a big mistake, though[00:47:00]
Oh boy, the Leafs, really? You sure you’re doing the right thing? Don. Rose. Don’t you start in on me too, all right? All right. Loyalty and honesty. My mom always taught me to keep my word, no matter what
Al: And production note, this wasn’t Judith Katz’s first time playing Allan Eagleson. Like Booth Savage, he p- he first portrayed the real-life hockey figure six years earlier in the TV miniseries Cana- Canada/Russia ’72 about the Summit Series.
Just goes to show that when the CBC likes you in a particular role, there’s a good chance you’ll be asking to pl- asked to play that same person in another role in another CBC production, so.
Mat: So what you’re saying is these are all in the same multiverse?
Al: Yeah. Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. Exactly. Uh, Tam.
Yeah, Tam, we’ll go to you first. Uh, what do you, what did you think of that?
Tanya: Well, you know what I’m gonna say.
Al: What?
Tanya: I, this has happened to me. I, I was in a situation where I was laid off at, [00:48:00] uh, a, a company and, um, they asked me to stay on and help with the transition ’cause there was a mass layoff. And, um, and, and I ended up helping here and there, and they, they kept me going and going, and I was looking for a job at the same time.
And, uh, I, uh, applied for a job. My friend got me in, and, um, I, I accepted the job. And just as the company that I was with that was legitimately, like, a two-minute walk from my house, um, said that they had a job opening and wanted me to, to fill it, and I’d already given my word. Like, my f- my friend, you know, had helped me out with this job, and it was in Markham.
It was gonna be a 40-minute drive for me, but I gave my word, and I already said I was going to go, and I couldn’t do it either. I was exactly like Don. It’s like my word is my bond, and I can’t go back on my word, and you guys did it to me once. Who’s to say you won’t do it to me again? And I, I gotta [00:49:00] go where, uh, they, they’ve, they, they want me, where they’ve asked for me.
So, um, it was a hard… I mean, it wasn’t a hard decision ’cause I, I knew that I couldn’t, but I, I can only imagine how difficult it was for, for-
Al: A, it was $15,000 more, which at the time was huge. I
Tanya: wanna ask
Al: that question. And B, it was the Leafs, the motherfucking Leafs. Yeah. Did we know that the Leafs almost, uh, had Don Cherry as their coach?
‘Cause I feel like that would’ve changed history. Like- Yeah … well, although, if Don goes to work for Harold Ballard, I, I feel like, uh, those two would’ve been, like, two rams, like, going at each other all the time. Like, they would’ve… Somebody would’ve exploded there, um, if that had happened.
Tanya: I wanna know what was the eq- what was the, um, the…
So in 1979-
Mat: Yeah … 135- So I, I have an inflation calculator here. Thank you. Um, and it says in, in this, just off this online thing, 135,000, so what Colorado was offering, [00:50:00] would’ve been the equivalent to about $575,000 a year. So I have
Al: to know. It’s, it’s not quite the same because, n- like, things have- Yeah … th- things change exponentially.
And, and the important thing to note is Colorado’s offer would’ve, uh, or made him the highest paid coach in the NHL. Yeah. The Leafs’ offer would have made him even higher. Like, so-
Mat: Yeah …
Al: you know what I mean?
Mat: And the 150 would have put him about 640,000. Yeah. Um-
Al: So I, I think, I think the comparative should be if you look at who the highest paid coach is right now in the NHL and how much they’re making, and that’s what he was being offered, and then a percentage above that for the Leafs, which would have been his dream job.
It would have been his dream job. Yeah, yeah. ‘Cause it would- closest to Kingston, his hometown. Everything about the Leafs job was, except for the fact that it was Harold Ballard,
Tanya: but- Some people aren’t even making 135 these days. Like, back in 1979- Yeah … like, houses were, what, $12,000? Like, or $20,000. It was like- Yeah
yeah.
Mat: It, it just feels like a [00:51:00] mistake, and I get the loyalty and all that. I have no issue with that. Yeah. But in a business setting where there’s no previous loyalties to the team other than this conversation that led to this job offer, you’re, you’re allowed to be selfish when it comes to your career.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Mat: Um, especially when an opportunity as incredible as this one from h- for him came knocking. Um, I’m sure, I, I have to believe this haunted him, um, for a long time after on that one, but you never know. But yeah, you just, you just have to. Yeah. I mean, I may- on, on this, on a, really quickly on a, on a similar idea.
This happened to me at work. Not, not anything to do with a dream job or anything, but I was going for a role a number of years ago, one that I was like, “Okay, whatever.” Um, and it, the role was basically mine, and I was about ready to sign, pretty same deal. About ready to sign, I had met with the manager. I’m like, “Yeah, this is gonna be great working together.”
And then I got a call from another team that I had previously showed interest in that I thought would take my career in a different, [00:52:00] more exciting direction, and they out of, literally out of nowhere called me and said, “Hey, we’ve got a contract. It just came up. Uh, we, we wanna fill it quickly. I know you’re about to go in and accept this offer.
Do you want this one?”
Clip: Mm.
Mat: And I took the other, I took the new one. Yeah. And I had to go back and say to the other leader, saying, you know, “I really appreciate it. Uh, this was a great opportunity and you had faith in me, but I have to do what’s best for me and my career” and, um, I don’t look back. I think, I think I made, to this day, know I made the right choice because it opened up some pretty awesome windows for me.
Um, but on a business level, you’re allowed to be selfish when it’s your life and the things that you care more about, I think.
Al: Sure. Well, I have a similar story, and it involves Victor, actually. So, like, I was at, I was at a, a, a job for eight or nine years and looking for a change, and I actually… That’s when I, when I met Victor is when I was applying to a company he worked for prior to the company we both ended up working for.
And, uh, [00:53:00] and he offered me the job, and at the time, I was ready to leave because I, I was working for a, a, a director who I really en- liked working for. I stayed for him, uh, longer than maybe I should have, but then things changed at work, and I was miserable, and, and I needed to get out. So that’s when I started looking, but then things changed back to the way they were pre- previous with the same director.
And I’m like, “Well, why would I leave now? I’ve got seniority here,” and stuff like that. But Victor had already offered me the, the other job, and I had to have that conversation with him s- and turn him down. Uh, and that was, that was a tough one to do, but I, I did. I think I did the right thing, and then seven years later, Victor found me anyway and hired me for the other job.
Tanya: Isn’t that funny? Because the same thing ended up happening to me. Yeah. Even though I went out to Markham, uh, for seven years, I came back. I had my son. I ended up going back to the company- Yeah, you did. Yeah … um, um, eventually down the road, and, uh, yeah, it worked out at, at, at the point that it needed to work out.
Al: Victor, do you have any similar stories?
Victor: [00:54:00] I probably do, but
Al: I, I- You, you, you, you always take off for the money, so
Victor: Yeah, that’s right. Um, I, you know, you know what? Like, I, I have a different take on this whole scene. Mm. Um, uh, def- I, I’m not sure, um, if, if you and Tanya a- agreed with Matt, but, you know, Matt said it, it was a mistake.
I don’t think it was a mistake at all. Uh, in fact, I think that that’s one of the few examples where he does not get in his way, right? So in that first, uh, uh, “Keep your head up,” uh, there’s several times where he got in his own way and pivoted his life in a different direction. But that was based on impulse, and it was based on, uh, uh, emotions rather than, uh, sticking to your values and sticking to your, um, uh, um, uh, belief system and all that kind of st- You know what I mean?
Like- Yeah. Mm-hmm … so, so I think in this case, I don’t think it was the wrong move at all because this path, th- this decision put him on a path where he became, uh, Coach’s Corner. Yes. And became, [00:55:00] uh, an icon on, in this country and- Yeah … you know, until recently. So-
Al: Right …
Victor: uh, like, so,
Al: so- But think about the other path he would’ve taken.
He would’ve become- Yeah. No … the head coach of the Maple Leafs
Victor: and- Three years … n- no, no. No, no. But that’s all made up, because y- that’s, that’s kind of your, you’re just making an assumption that it would’ve been roses. It wouldn’t have necessarily been roses at all. You already said it, that, uh, working for Harold.
First of all, I, I wanna remind people that the Leafs weren’t a, this incredible team. Like, just because you heard in this movie s- oh, they’re a couple of players away. They weren’t a couple of players away. They were never a couple of players away. They were a garbage organization led by a garbage person.
Meanwhile, it was the Islanders to- towards the l- the, the end of the ’70s that, that ha- had a dynasty. I think they won, like, four or five Cups in a row- Yeah … with, uh, Montreal in between there at one point. And then they handed over the reins to Edmonton into the ’80s. Mm-hmm. But, uh, uh, at no point was, were the Maple Leafs part of the conversation.
And, and bringing Don Cherry to that team wouldn’t [00:56:00] have changed anything because Harold Ballard was still the owner, and it was still getting in the way of that team ever being successful. Mm-hmm. So, so I think if anything, that would have maybe put him on a path to get thrown out of the league, and maybe not even get the opportunity to be on Coach’s Corner.
So I, I, I, you know, I, it, it’s a, it’s one of those sliding door moments. But- Mm … it’s not like his life turned out bad- No … because he made that decision. No. In fact, he turned out good. Um, he ended up being- Ultimately
Al: he did, but
Victor: that- … a millionaire because of it … but,
Al: but, but the Colorado move was a bad one because he, he, he didn’t-
Victor: It’s a stepping stone.
Yeah. It’s a stepping- Yeah, yeah … like, you can’t, you have to
Al: look at- But, but hold on … you have to look at that It was, okay, w- uh, we’re saying that now because we have the benefit of, of knowing what the future holds, and he d- he does become the Don Cherry for CBC. But-
Victor: Yeah …
Al: in Colorado, he only lasted one season, and after that he got blacklisted because of Colorado.
Like- No … so who’s to say that in Toronto he, maybe he doesn’t become-
Victor: Who’s to say? Who’s to say?
Al: We don’t know. That’s the path that he needed to go. That’s all theoretical. Yeah, it’s all theoretical. But, um- That’s what he
Victor: needed to do. It’s all g- That’s what he needed to learn … y- [00:57:00] all, everything’s, everything is theoretical except what actually happened.
Mm. And what happened is he became a millionaire, a celebrity, and has, and was able to provide for his family for the rest of their lives and, and well into the future because
Al: of the Coach movie. I think if he takes the Toronto job, maybe he doesn’t s- uh, ultimately succeed there, but maybe he continues being a coach in the NHL, and maybe he’d be happier
Victor: Are you kidding me?
He would’ve probably been put in jail for killing Ballard at some point.
Al: Well, that’d
Mat: be a different level of cele- of celebrity.
Al: Yeah, it would be. It would be, totally.
Mat: There’d be a whole different movie being made.
Al: You know what? We’ll, we’ll have to ask Ti- Tim about that one, whe- whether he thinks his dad would’ve been happier in Toronto.
Oh, yeah. That’s a good question. Yeah. All right, next scene, we cut to the press conference introducing Don Cherry as the new head coach of the Co- Colorado Rockies. The Rockies GM spends most of the presser pumping the tires of his new coach, saying the organization is in the business of winning hockey games, and hiring Don is proof of that.
Don says the Rockies have a decent mix of high draft pickit- picks and veteran players, but they sure as hell aren’t the Bruins. He [00:58:00] knows he’ll have his hands full getting this team to play a, a simpler, less fancy brand of hockey. There’s also one glaring weakness: goaltending. Their goalie is a nice enough guy, but in Don’s words, “He can’t stop a taxi.”
We then cut, cut to, uh, Don discussing goaltending situation- Oh, Victor likes that one … uh, with R- Ray Moran. Moran is the GM of, of Colorado. He insists their goalie is a highly re- is a har- highly regarded, he just needs some time. Uh, next Don wants to send a young player to the minors in favor of a grinding veteran, but Moran, um, overrules him, saying they’re, they’re paying the former first-round pick far too much to have him playing in the minors.
In voiceover, Don says, “You win with character, not with money.” And then we get a flashback to Don as a teenager. He’s home for the summer, and he’s supposed to be painting houses, but he’s given the day off because it might rain. That doesn’t sit well with his father. Don argues it’s a good job with good pay, so why change?
His father reminds him there’s more to life than money. Using a few connections, Don’s father gets him a job on [00:59:00] the railroad, uh, replacing rail ties. It’s brutally hard work. At first, Don isn’t, uh, i- isn’t welcomed by the older workers. In fact, one of them, whose name is Jake, teases him relentlessly. Uh, then when Jake finally, uh, finds out Don’s a hockey player, he challenges him to a race.
Don accepts and loses to the chain-smoking older man. But Don doesn’t complain, he just works harder. Eventually, after one insult too many, Don snaps. He puts a pickax to Jake’s face and warns him that if he says one more word, he’ll put it right through him. Jake silently walks away. The foreman, the foreman later warns Don that he’ll have to watch his back from now on.
Don finishes the summer on the railroad. No one ever bothers him again, and the hard labor leaves him in the best shape of his life. Then, on his final day on the job, Jake approaches him one last time.[01:00:00]
Jake, just go.
Clip: You know where the term redneck comes from? ‘Cause rednecks spend all day bent over in the hot sun. They’re beer drinkers, men who work for a living. When people say I’m a redneck, I’m proud of it.
I lost all my baby fat on that railroad crew. I was lean and mean and ready to go. You mind your billet. Make sure you eat right. I will. And listen to your coach. You do what he says. I’ll be fine
Listen to your mother Always do
Al: All right. Uh, we’re getting some PTSD there, Tam?
Tanya: Yep.
Al: You wanna talk about that scene?
Tanya: It’s a little too close to home. [01:01:00] Um, yeah. Um, I can’t imagine, um-
Al: 16 …
Tanya: 16, uh, leaving home and, um, yeah, it’s, uh, it’s a little fresh, the wound for us right now. Um, yeah, it’s- It’s a powerful scene.
Al: Victor, what did you think of that scene?
It had, it involved r- the railroad. You must have loved
Victor: it. Yeah, I thought it was fantastic. Um- Uh, you know, builds character, puts hair on your chest. Mm-hmm. Um, though, uh, you know, um, I don’t know, I don’t know, Tanya, if Al feels that it’s as big of a wound as you do, but, uh- Anyway, um- We all, we all cope in
Al: different ways.
Victor: Yeah, yeah. Enjoy the freedom until one day he moves in and- Yeah … and, and, and just stays.
Al: That’s what she’s hoping for.
Victor: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s what she says now.
Clip: That’s…
Victor: Um, uh, but, uh, yeah, no, that was a good scene. Uh, I think that it, this is one of those where it was a little maybe too [01:02:00] clean cut- Sure … of, of a story for the movie.
It’s like, uh, was Jake… Was it really, was it really like, like that? Did he, y- you know, the pickaxe and then nobody says a word to him for the rest of the summer- Mm … and then at the end it’s just a head nod. I feel like maybe more stuff happened, but, uh- Sure … but it made… But it, you know, like, like they say, don’t let facts stand in the way of a good story.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: But it was good.
Al: I love that they, they do a race, and he loses to the older chain-smoking guy, and he’s supposed to be this, like, elite athlete, like-
Victor: Yeah …
Al: as
Victor: if. I don’t- That’s, even that part is- Yeah … hard to believe, but
Al: yeah.
Victor: Yeah.
Al: Uh, Matt, what’d you think?
Mat: Yeah, I mean, I think we’ve all got that, that first job or that ear- maybe not first job, that early job in our life where we can say, “It did a lot for me in my growth as a human being.”
Mm-hmm. Right? And I think that’s what this one represents. For me it was I worked at a summer camp for a few years. That I know without a doubt had a big part in bringing confidence in myself and a [01:03:00] new sort of a- approach to life out of that. I know that without a, without a shadow of a doubt. So I liked this.
I think it was a really good s- summary. What I did laugh at this was towards the end of it, and, and I loved Tyler Johnson, don’t get me wrong, but when the, when the narrative comes on and says, “I was lean and mean and ready to go.” Mm-hmm. And they cut to Tyler Johnson- … and he’s, like, packing his bag, all looking all clean and cut and- Yeah
nothing about that was mean or lean. It just, I don’t know. It, it kinda made me laugh. It was cute, but, uh- And, and
Victor: there was no baby fat to lose to begin with, so
Mat: that was- Right? He’s, I lost my baby fat. Like, there’s… He’s, uh, he’s, like, 90 pounds soaking wet and, uh- But anyways, that made me laugh.
Al: All right.
Next scene we see the 16-year-old Don board a bus to Barrie as his parents watch him leave. Back in 1979, Don is being interviewed by the press. They ask what he expects from his new team in Colorado. He mentions that in Boston he always got the players he needed, prompting one reporter to ask him if that’s a shot at his current management.
Don immediately takes exception. He doesn’t want the [01:04:00] media getting him into trouble with his new GM before the season even starts. He says his new team’s going to have something they’ve never had before, a snappy dresser behind the bench. Uh, next we see Rose settling into their new home, but Don has a bad feeling about things.
Rose says the team looks like a nice, nice bunch of boys. Don agrees, but he doesn’t need boys, he needs men, tough men. Uh, the season gets underway, and as Don predicted, the team’s biggest weakness is in goal. Whenever his goaltender has a bad game, which is often, he wants to pull himself out, which is hilarious.
That scene is so funny.
Let’s stop and talk about that scene for, for a quick moment here. Have you ever seen a, a goalie go, “Me, me, pull me out. I want out,” try to get on the bench, and the coach is like, “No, you stay, you stay the fucking night”?
Victor: Yeah, I mean, that’s, like, right out of a slap shot, you know? Yeah. That’s, that’s a, that’s, that’s-
that’s the kind of stuff you see in that, in those movies, right? Mm-hmm. So, um- Yeah, the- I’ll, I’ll, I’ll take, I’ll take the word, you know, Tim’s word for it that that actually happened- Yeah. … ’cause I haven’t done my [01:05:00] research on that. So that
Tanya: doesn’t happen?
Al: No. Actually, the closest thing I can think of is when Patrick Roy was left in net for, I think, six goals.
Yeah And he went to the bench and basically told his coach, “This is the last game I ever play for Montreal.” And he was right. He never played for Montreal again. He went off to, on to play- Really? … for Colorado and stuff. And he won
Victor: the Stanley Cup the next
Al: year. And he won the Stanley Cup the next year, yeah, ’cause he felt disrespect- Wow.
But that was the opposite. He felt disrespected that they left him in for s- for all those goals. Like, normally, a, the goalie would, the starter would be pulled for the backup. Like, uh, teams have a bad night every once in a while and, and you get scored, you know, a bucket full of goals or whatever.
Tanya: So is it the goalie’s fault, or is it, um, the fact that his team isn’t, um- It
Al: depends on the night, right?
In, in, in the case of Patrick Roy, there’s no better goalie than he was at the time. His team just had a really awful night, and he should’ve been pulled a lot earlier. He wasn’t, felt disrespected, and he said, “I’m never playing here again.” And that was the last, uh, Montreal had of Patrick Roy.
Clip: Wow.
Victor: Yeah, I, I mean, that said, I mean, [01:06:00] there’s been other good goalies that have been left in net for a lot of goals, right?
Yeah. And, and, and there’s usually reasoning for that. Maybe there’s, like, the ne- there’s a, it’s a back-to-back and you need to save the other goalie for the next day because if you put him in, then now both goalies are not fresh for the n- uh, maybe there’s an injury. Maybe there’s something else. And coaches don’t wanna be shown up by players, right?
The coach is in charge- Yeah … regardless of how big of a star the player is. So, so it’s not typical- Yeah … uh, for a goalie to overreact, um, like, like that. Like, it’s not, it’s not the first time in history that a goalie’s been left in net for- Yeah … six-plus goals or whatever. Yeah. So it’s not like that was, like, a historic moment.
But Patrick Roy felt disrespected and decided that, “That’s it. I’m out of here.” But I’m sure there was already stuff brewing- Yeah … leading up to that moment That was probably the tipping point,
Al: yeah.
Victor: Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. That was just the last straw and, uh, but that wasn’t the thing that, you know, that it’s not like Patrick Roy, everything was good, and then that happened, and then he- Mm
he left, right? It’s, uh- Yeah … he clearly was [01:07:00] not eye-to-eye with the coach to begin with. I just can’t remember. It was so long ago. I don’t remember any details around it.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: Yeah. Ma- mo- moments like that make me laugh. I mean, on a, on a- opposite side. So now, you know, now that I’m a sports person, um-
Al: Yeah.
Welcome …
Mat: base- base- baseball, I’m learning a lot. Mm-hmm. And, uh, I’m getting a real kick out of where on the other side, it’s like they save face with pitchers when the game’s really gone sour, and they put in just other position players. Yeah. Like, I know Myles Straw as an example pitched an inning- Yeah … a couple games ago when they were getting their asses kicked.
And it almost becomes a joke just watching them-
Al: Oh,
Mat: I
Al: love
Mat: it when- … get the pitch across the line. Like, what’s next?
Al: I love it when they get position players to pitch, for sure, because- When
Mat: they get out- Yeah … on, like, a 50, 50- Yeah … or, like, a 40-kilometer an hour-
Al: Yeah …
Mat: uh, 40-mile an hour fastball, and you’re like, “Yeah, look at that out.”
Al: Yeah. All right. So- The, the Rockies are in last place in the NHL standings but first in attendance. And when, when the media asks Don why, he jokes that it’s because of his tailor. Uh, next Don meets with [01:08:00] GM Ray Muran and pleads for a goaltender. He even suggests one who’s available, but Muran turns him down, insisting that one player does not win or lose hockey games.
Don replies, “He does if he’s a goalie.” Don’s not wrong there. Murron isn’t budging though. Uh, we then cut to a party at the Cherry house with the players and their wives and girlfriends. Don can’t help talk hockey r- reminding his players to keep their shifts under 45 seconds. Rose eventually has to scold everyone for t- talking shop at the party.
Next, Don prepares for a road trip to Boston, his first game back since leaving the Bruins. Rose begs him not to make a scene. Meanwhile, Harry Sinden tells his assistant he doesn’t want any fuss over Don’s return either. Colorado’s a last-place team. Boston should get an easy two points out of this one, and he doesn’t want anyone making the night about Don.
Of course, the moment Don walks into the arena with Tim, he compliments Harry on his tie. Harry somehow takes that as an insult and storms off. Uh, because to Ha- because to Harry, Don somehow makes everything about [01:09:00] Don. During the pregame skate, Don, uh, is announced over the PA despite Sinden’s wishes, and the Boston crowd gives him a huge ovation and starts chanting his name.
Watching from his suite, Sinden is less than thrilled. Uh, then Don takes his place behind the bench, and a fan tosses a bunch of plastic grapes onto the ice, on, onto the bench. Don picks them up, holds them up to the cheering crowd, and then turns and holds them up for Har- to, towards Harry’s private box, uh, making Sinden-
even, even more miserable. Uh, Boston jumps out to an early two-nothing lead, but Don’s players aren’t about to let him down, not in Boston. They storm back to win the game and celebrate like they’ve just won the Stanley Cup. As the players celebrate, Don looks up towards Harry in his private box. The Rockies keep the momentum going with wins over Montreal and Quebec next.
For a brief moment, they’re riding a high. But then as the season wears on, the losses start piling up again, and the pressure begins to get on Don. Uh, during one game, Rockies forward, uh, Mike McEwen ignores Don’s instructions to keep his shifts short. He stays out too long, turns the puck [01:10:00] over, and it leads to a game-winning goal.
When McEwen returns to the bench, Don explodes, grabs him, slams him up against the glass, and tears into him for costing the team the game. McEwen quits the team and D- but Don doesn’t lose any sleep over it. In his mind, if you quit on your teammates, uh, you don’t belong on the team. Then Don gets an unexpected visit from his GM
Clip: Mike McEwen’s coming back Oh, that’s funny.
Excited to heard from him I met him in New York
He walked out on his team, Ray. You don’t do that. You shouldn’t have embarrassed him on TV like that. Hey, I’ve yelled at better players than Mike McEwen. The point is he wants to come back. Why, Ray? You tell him I won’t be here next year?
Al: Ray doesn’t say a word. He simply just gets up and walks out of Don’s office.
In the next scene, Don visits the home of Colorado Rockies owner Arthur Impe- Imperatore Sr., uh, the self-made New Jersey trucking magnate. Uh, Don immediately respects Arthur, [01:11:00] Arthur because in many ways he sees a lot of himself in him.
Clip: We felt we had the talent this year. Well, you know, things really coming along towards the end there.
Good finish. Five-nothing win over Pittsburgh at home. Fans trekked through a snowstorm to see us off, so, uh, things really turned around. I know. You know, we’d, uh, we’d like more goals, but, uh, I mean, you said yourself you wanted more bums in the seats. You got, uh, 149,000 more tickets sold, so I, uh, I hope you’re happy about that.
And what about Ray Marren? What do you think about the job he did? I don’t wanna talk about the guy behind his back. No, it’s okay. It’s between us. It stays here. No. No, I got a lot to say about Ray Marren, but, uh, I won’t talk behind his back. All right. He talks about you Well, I can’t help that, can I? I know you’re a good leader, but do you really feel you’ve worked hard enough with the players, Don?
Well, I was there every step of the [01:12:00] way, Arthur. Oh, I know about hard work. The truckers who work for me, they work hard, even in the rain. Oh, the truckers? Well, first of all, Arthur, uh, those truckers sit in their cabs while somebody else loads the trucks. Now, I worked construction for 20 years on the end of a jackhammer in the rain.
So with all due respect, don’t give me that baloney about how hard truckers work. You remind me of me when I was young. Don, I don’t wanna hurt Rose and Tim. I like your family
I think I know what you mean there
All right, uh, look, uh, look, don’t worry about my family. I’ve always looked after them and I always will. You do what you gotta do
Al: No mention of Cindy there
Tanya: That’s what I’m saying
Al: Yeah. Yeah, I don’t know. Uh, maybe she asked not to be involved in this story. Who knows? But, uh, [01:13:00] yeah, uh, we, we went through a couple of scenes there.
Uh, Victor, what did you think of those scenes?
Victor: Um, yeah. I mean, if that’s how it went. It’s, it’s a little surprising that a coach is being let go by the owner and not by the GM.
Al: Mm. ‘
Victor: Cause usually it’s the GM. And you’d think that M- Mar- Marin or Moran or Moron- … uh, would have enjoyed, uh, doing that.
Al: Mm-hmm. Maybe he was afraid
Victor: of Don.
But,
Al: um- I don’t know.
Victor: Maybe. He heard, he heard what might have happened to Harold Ballard and said, you know- Um, yeah, so, uh, i- you know, and, and I, I guess the words were never s- spoken. Mm. You know, Don clearly understood what, what was happening. Yeah. And it’s funny, like even, even he, he always had to have l- the last word, right?
I mean, uh, here he is talking about the truckers- … and he’s gotta start fighting with him about the truckers. You know? And basically
Al: insults the guy’s c- like, business. Like, yeah.
Victor: Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure, like, he’s like- You think you
Al: guys are hard workers? Actually, the, the hard workers are the people who load the fucking trucks.
Victor: Yeah, [01:14:00] yeah. That, so that’s an example again where he’s- He shoots himself, yeah. He sh- yeah, get, get, gets in a way of his own self. I, I mean, maybe, like, the, the n- it’s that decision was already made regardless of what would’ve happened- Yeah … or what he would’ve said in that meeting, but you don’t wanna burn bridges, right?
So that’s an example of him making a dec- a choice that is emotion-driven and not care, and not, like, you know, um, uh, dr- driven by, you know, consideration and smart choices and all that kinda stuff. So, um, so maybe that didn’t work well for him, and that’s probably what got him blacklisted and why nobody wanted to hire him.
It- But again, that opened other doors for him.
Al: Yeah. It’s curious that he got blacklisted though, because he seems to refuse to talk about people behind their backs. Although, to the media he seems to, to say more, but, but, uh-
Victor: He’s, yeah. I, I- Yeah … I think, I think, well, that’s, I think he’s, uh, pun intended, cherry picking.
Uh, you know? Uh, uh- Yeah … of, of what he considers acceptable or not. Matt needs
Al: his [01:15:00] blue spatula. He’s looking for it. Oh, you’re welcome. Well done. Well done. Matt’s looking for his blue spatula. That he- Oh, oh, he’s g- he’s got his balls instead. His beer coozie balls. Tan, what, what do you think of those last few scenes?
Tanya: Um, yeah. I, I… So that means that the owner was l- l- letting him o- like- Yeah … laying him off.
Al: Yeah. W- that’s what we infer from that scene, is that he got fired by the owner, not by the GM, which isn’t usually the case. Like, to Victor’s point, usually the GM fires you, not the owner. But, uh, I guess in this case, the
Tanya: GM- But it was a direct result because of what happened on the bench when, um, the player came in and he-
Al: It was a result of they were still a last-place team, although I thought D- Don made some good points.
Yes, they’re a last-place team, but they had the highest attendance in the NHL. Like, he made way more money with Don as the- Well, it,
Victor: Daniel, I think, I think, I think it comes down to the one little thing that- was said there is that he [01:16:00] talks about you. Mm-hmm. So it sounds like the GM con- continuously was complaining- Yeah
to the owner about Don, right? Because Don was a pain in his aside. Don was always arguing with him. He was always asking for things. It seems like the GM never bent though. Mm. Like, Don never got his way. But I think that that’s very basically what it is, right? If when the GM complains about the coach to the owner, then the owner says, “Okay.
Well, what do you wanna do?” Mm-hmm. “Let’s get rid of him.” That’s, that’s probably what happened.
Al: Yeah. Matt, what, what’s your take?
Mat: Yeah. It’s like, it, it’s him. I think at this point it’s do I lose my GM or do I lose my head coach? And I, and I, the way I- To me, I think
Al: the, the head coach is way more valuable to him than the GM.
Mat: I, I would, yeah, but- The GM was useless … clearly-
Victor: But, but, but the owners are usually don’t know what the hell is going on. Right. Yeah. They’re usually just those people in the room.
Al: Yeah, you’re right.
Mat: So based on all that, I think also that’s probably why the firing went down at, the way it is because I think the owner, um, I think there’s a, a level of respect there.
It’s like, “I know who you are, I know what you’ve done, I know what we, our opportunity was with you [01:17:00] and, and it didn’t work out.” Um, and that was goodbye at that point. But I, I don’t know. It, it just, that’s the way, based on what you guys are telling me, that’s what my interpretation would be is that- Mm-hmm
it was just sort of a sign of, uh, of appreciation as well, even though he got blacklisted, uh, by the GMs and everything. But, uh, it’s an interesting one.
Al: Mm-hmm. What’d you think?
Tanya: You already asked me.
Al: Did I? All right. Let’s move on then. Don gets up, shakes Arthur’s hand, and leaves the Colorado Rockies after just one season.
Once again, Don’s firing is an unpopular move with the fans, and once again, Don and Rose find themselves packing up and moving. In voiceover, Rose admits she’s actually relieved that Don’s time in Colorado is over. She loved Denver, Tim loved Denver, but Don was miserable there. Don assures Rose that something will come along, the offers will start coming in in the summer, and Tim will be just fine.
After all, Don was already out of the house by the time he was Tim’s age. Cue another flashback. Young Don is now in Barrie playing under Hap Emms, who Don says was the smartest coach he ever played for. During a skate around, Hap [01:18:00] stops practice to read the players a newspaper article.
Clip: Read this in the national newspaper two days ago.
You remember the game against the Marlies, right? One where you boys embarrassed me?
Hap Emms must have been particularly upset when Eric Nesterenko walked around the Flyer defense and scored, while Donald Cherry played button, button, where’s the button? What is Emms teaching these guys?
You made me look bad, Donald You look at the puck one more time on a one-on-one and you’re gonna be very sorry. I’d like to see some one-on-ones now. Cherry first. Let’s go ladies, on the hop [01:19:00]
Al: The team runs some one-on-one drills starting with Don. He has a hard time resisting the urge to go after the puck and gets beaten yet again.
Uh, that’s when Hap steps in to do some coaching
Clip: Do you suppose it’s gonna be possible to convince you not to look at the puck, Donald?
You cure a dog of killing chickens by tying a dead chicken around his neck until it rots off. So maybe this is gonna work. You wear this in bed, you wear it to school, in the shower, everywhere. You don’t take it off until I tell you to. If you do, you’re off this team. And I’m gonna ask people, “You see Donald at school today?
Was he wearing the puck?” Like that, you understand? Don’t look at them. Do you understand? Yes. Good. Your hockey lives are in my hands, boys. There’s gonna be no girls, no drinking, or you’re gone. There are no second chances. If you [01:20:00] get to your billets at 9:30, I’m gonna know, ’cause I’m gonna phone them and I’m gonna ask Now if you work hard and listen to me, you might make the NHL.
But if you’re floaters or you break any of my rules, you’ll be out of hockey so fast you will not know what hit you. Now give me some laps, hard ones. Let’s go, boys. No dawdling, let’s go.
Al: All right, Matt, what do you think of those last couple of scenes?
Mat: To teach a dog not to kill a chicken by tying a dead chicken around its neck and letting it rot off.
That’s fucked up, man. That is very fucked up. That’s fucked up. That’s really fucked up, man. Then
Tanya: you got a-
Mat: I can’t- …
Tanya: stinky, dirty dog that’s choking on bones. That’s what
Mat: you got. Instantly, I’m like, “Is he about to tie a chicken around Don Cherry’s neck?” ‘Cause this is gonna get really twisted really quickly.
Um, yeah, I don’t know. It’s, it’s extreme coaching, man. Maybe we’re back to what we were talking about earlier and, and how you [01:21:00] push greatness through extreme measures. But, I don’t know, I feel for it. That’s, that, that shit would never fly in today’s world, but-
Al: No. No
Mat: way … it’s, uh, the shame, the shame approach.
Yeah. But, uh, no, I like it.
Victor: I just- What are you talking about? Edmonton just hired that guy.
Al: What
Mat: guy? Which
Victor: guy? Babcock.
Al: Oh, yeah.
Victor: You, you forget, you forgot what he did a couple of years ago to Columbus?
Al: Re- refresh our memories.
Victor: He started asking for their phones and said, “Let me look through your photos-
Al: Oh, yes.
That’s right …
Victor: to see if you were doing anything untoward- Yeah … in your photos, in your personal, private photos.” What? This is exactly the same thing as, “I don’t want you drinking or seeing girls- Yeah … and being in bed by 9:30, and let me look through your photos to see if anything incriminates you.” It’s the same exact…
And asking Mitch Marner to tattletale on his teammates- Mm-hmm … uh, behind their backs. I mean, like- Yeah … this is, this is stuff happening now in our lives, right now. And Edmonton decided to hire this [01:22:00] idiot.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: So, uh-
Al: Yeah, I’m, I’m, I’m surprised he’s, he’s back in the league. But the l- that’s what the league does, it recycles their coaches.
Like, uh, it’s, it’s pretty crazy.
Victor: Yeah. Yeah.
Mat: Wasn’t he let off, though, with that? Like, I, I’m not saying he didn’t do it, but wasn’t he sort of like-
Victor: Well, no, so- He’s just done his suspension. Or haven’t they? No, no, what, what happened, what happened was is they were gonna do an investigation, and Babcock decided that he’s gonna just leave- Mm-hmm … the Columbus. So he, he resigned. And so there was never an investigation. Oh. And when Edmonton a couple of, I guess a month ago, decided that they, they’re thinking of hiring him, the NHL decided to do, to do an inve- investigation before Edmonton was allowed to hire him.
So they, they did their investigation, and then decided that, well, if we’re gonna let, uh, you know, rapists into the league, then why wouldn’t we let this guy into the league? So then they said, “Yeah, that’s fine.”
Al: The,
Mat: the
Al: opinions expressed- We have plenty of articles from like- … uh, by Victor in this po- podcast are those of Victor and do not reflect those of [01:23:00] anyone else.
Mat: So then, so then let’s speak on that, let’s continue this, this little banter quickly. Mm-hmm. I, I just Googled it and it says, uh, on June 16th, there’s something on Sportsnet. It says, “NHL officially opens Babcock investigation.” Yeah. So because the Oilers have now picked him up, now he’s f- he’s free game again?
Victor: No, no, that, that investigation- It’s already happened … is completed. Yeah. And now because- Oh … it was completed, Edmonton was able to hire him.
Al: Yeah, I guess, uh, to, to
Mat: Vi- So it was a quick, so it was like a two, it was like a one-week investigation.
Al: To Victor’s point, the, the NHL has let, uh, worse coaches off with, for worse things, so they didn’t have any, any- Yeah
legs to stand on. Joe
Victor: Quenneville.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: Joe Quenneville, who was the coach in S- I guess still is the coach of the Anaheim Ducks, was let back in after, after the h- a horrible, horrible thing that happened in Chicago a few years ago, uh, like in the mid, mid 2000s. Yeah. Um, and when they won the Cup. And so I’ll let you guys look that up yourself.
Mm. But he, he did a terrible thing, and so did the rest of the [01:24:00] Chicago management, and now they’ve all been allowed to have jobs again.
Clip: Mm.
Victor: Which is way worse than what Babcock did, by the way. Yeah. So, um, and, and then again, those five Canadian hockey players, even though Vegas was the only one that took the, took, uh, took them up on the offer and brought in Carter Hart, uh, the other players, they, uh, they were all allowed to come back to the league.
And the thing is, regardless of whether you agree with… They were acquitted, but they were morally wrong. Mm. And the whole idea- Yeah … is that if you do things that are morally wrong, you shouldn’t have the privilege of playing in the NHL and becoming a multimillionaire.
Clip: Yeah.
Victor: Go and, go and do other things, but don’t play in the NHL, ’cause that’s a privilege.
Clip: Yeah.
Victor: So- Yeah … so, so anyway, all, uh, um, all to say is that this stuff is not just from the ’70s and whatnot, it’s happening still now today.
Mat: So I, I’m sure you’ve thrown away your Bab socks that you probably got as a gift a few years ago.
Victor: I’m not a Babcock fan, no.
Al: Yeah. Uh, he w- he was [01:25:00] really easy to imitate, though.
Uh, Tan, uh, anything about tho- those scenes, the, the coaching scenes?
Tanya: I have forgotten.
Al: Yeah. All right, let’s move on. I- Here’s… We’re going to the very last scene that we’re doing tonight anyway. Next scene we see Don on the phone with his mom back in Kingston, giving her-
Tanya: Oh, I remember … Oh. I’m so sorry. Good.
I wanted to ask about the I wanted to ask about the button. How are you supposed to keep play hoc- isn’t the whole point of hockey is to know where the hell the puck is?
Al: If you’re a goalie. No. Uh, if you’re- No … if you’re defending somebody, you’re t- you’re watching the body because y- y- it’s easier to fake you out with the puck than it is with the body.
If you watch the body and you follow the body, you take the body out, the puck won’t go anywhere because the, the body is what’s controlling the puck. But if you go after the puck, y- you, pretty soon somebody’ll g- be around you and, and past you. So-
Victor: Yeah …
Al: you, when you’re defending- Why didn’t
Mat: he just say that to Don?
Yeah. Like, I would’ve understood that.
Victor: The, the, the problem is it’s not the words, right? The problem is your natural [01:26:00] reaction- Yeah … is to go for… ‘Cause you’re holding a hockey stick in your hand. Yeah. And your hockey stick wants to go for the puck. Yeah. It’s just a natural reaction, so you have to go against what your natur- what your body wants to do, and you need to start using your head.
So it’s, it’s, it’s something you just have to keep practicing. And-
Al: Remember last week when you said she was the neck that turns the head? Yes, yes. So the body- … is the, is the neck that, that turns the puck. So if you take the neck out, then the, the head goes nowhere. Did I just fuck that up? Nailed it. Right?
Anyway. I think we
Mat: all briefly understood what you were trying to say.
Al: There you go, yes.
Victor: Yeah. You know, you know what might be a way- Mm-hmm … uh, that’s probably what coaches do is to take the stick out of your hands- Mm-hmm … and then do it.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: Right? ‘Cause then without the stick, then you’re just naturally all you got left is the body.
Al: Yeah. Mm-hmm. All right, final scene that we’re covering tonight. We see Don on the phone with his mom back in Kingston, giving her an update on how things are going. This is eerily similar to whenever Tanya calls our son at school.
Clip: All right. It’s okay, Mom. Are you having a [01:27:00] good time, Donald? Uh, yeah, it’s, it’s great.
Uh, sharing a room with another guy. Landlady’s got a lot of rules, but, uh, we’ll be fine. Well, you mind her now. I will. Ask him if Hap’s giving him decent ice time. Uh, uh, your, your father wants to know are you getting enough ice time? Well, uh, rooks are getting a bit of a hard ride right now. But, uh- Tell him he’s gotta earn his ice time by working hard at practice.
Why don’t you tell him yourself? You tell him. Hey, uh, I gotta go, Mom. Guys are waiting to use the phone. Your father says work hard. We sure do miss you around here, Donald. I know. I miss you, too. I gotta go. All right. Goodbye. All yours, Rick.
Sound okay? I guess so
Al: It’s like they put a nanny cam in our house and just, just, uh, recorded Tanya [01:28:00] talking to her son And
Tanya: you sitting in the chair saying stuff from afar. Yeah, I know. It’s like,
Al: it’s like an- Oh, are
Victor: you guys at that stage already? …
Al: an exact play-by-play replay. Uh, anyway, um- Tell him
Victor: not to be stupid. Okay.
Al: Basically.
Tanya: Yeah. Now you’ve been in
Al: our house. Ask him, does he need money? No. All right. We’re- Is Owen tarring money? We’re, we’re stopping there. Uh, Tan, what, did you like that scene?
Tanya: A bit of PTSD. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Um, but, uh, yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s, um, it’s sweet. It’s, it’s, uh… Yeah.
Al: Matt?
Mat: He was wearing the puck.
Al: He was.
That’s right.
Mat: He’s wearing the puck.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: And I love that he’s… Like, back then, when you had phones that you had to share. World’s come a long way since you guys were sitting on Face- Do you do FaceTime with Owen, or is it, is it phone calls?
Al: WhatsApp. We, we WhatsApp him.
Mat: But,
Tanya: like, video or audio? Um, well, actually, no.
Just phone calls lately. Yeah. Oh. Um, I, I think [01:29:00] at the beginning it was video calls, but, uh- He’s a busy
Al: boy …
Tanya: yeah, I’d be happy- Okay … if I can get a text message.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: No, cute scene. He’s wearing the puck.
Al: Victor, what did you think of that scene?
Victor: Yeah, good scene. And I, and again, just reminds you that he had a very good relationship with his parents, good upbringing, and, you know, caring parents, right?
So Um, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s nice.
Al: All right. And like I said, we’re- that’s where we’re gonna stop. That was halfway. That was exactly halfway, Matt. So there you go. I told you, right? All right. Exactly
Mat: on the dot.
Al: Okay. Um, and, uh, we will finish up the rest of this, uh, next week, um, with a part two of the first movie in this miniseries.
Uh, we’re gonna move on, just have a really quick, uh, Universal news item. Uh, it’s, it’s kind of, uh, Universal adjacent. There is a Heated Rivalry, the unauthorized musical parody happening in Toronto- … at the [01:30:00] Soulpepper Theatre, um, and, uh, it, it… starring, well, I don’t know if he’s starring, but he’s in the cast, James Daly, uh, AKA Ronnie r- you know, uh, from, um, from Letterkenny, Rocks and, uh, Da- Ro- Ron and Dax.
Um, he’s, he’s in it, and then a bunch of o- uh, it’s… Soulpepper is their theater troupe, so they, they, they put on a bunch of shows, and so they’re doing a musical parody of Heated Rivalry. Uh, it sounds like it’s, it’s crazy, and it’s, uh, only happening, I think, for a week in July in Toronto. Uh, so those of you who are interested in that, yeah, check it out.
Uh, look it up and, and-
Mat: Do I feel like just hearing you, there’s already missing an opportunity for this to have been, like, an on-ice, like, like, an on-ice experience? Like Ice Capades or something?
Al: Can you imagine?
Tanya: Oh my.
Mat: Heated Rivalry on ice.
Al: Yeah.
Tanya: Uh- James Daly, I, I don’t know if anyone’s seen, um, he has a…
There was a clip or a trailer of him [01:31:00] in, um, Vampire-
Al: Yeah, Dracula: The Musical or- Yeah … whatever it’s called. Or, uh- Oh my God … The Comedy of Horrors. Hilarious.
Tanya: He’s perfectly- I wish I had of seen it. Yeah. Uh, like, please bring it back ’cause I really, really, really wanna see it. The, the, the trailer for it, he was phenomenal.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Tanya: Yeah.
Al: Yeah, he was great. He was… And, and if every… And anyone ever watched, uh, uh, Working Moms, he has a very memorable scene in Working Moms that you have to just, you have to see it to believe it. It’s, it’s, it’s- I don’t
Clip: remember …
Al: he’s, he’s in it only for, uh, like a bit, and the bit that he’s in it is like, “Holy crap.”
I, I, I’m not gonna give it away. You- I do not remember … you’re just gonna have to watch it. Anyway, so that’s all the news I have, uh, for this week. Um, before I go with final comments, uh, ’cause I have no listener comments this week, Matt, would you like to do a shout-out to our, um, patrons?
Mat: Patrons, yes, because we love you all so much.
Let’s go through the lineup. First, we’ll start off local to, uh, keeping the hometown crew [01:32:00] strong with Miriam, Juan, and Gord. Thank you. Um, looking at Liz, Dennis, and Dave bringing the Great Lake toughness from Michigan. Casey and Jen holding down the South, South style from Virginia. Adrian and Jeff, cold weather, warm support over in Maine.
Josh and PJ, the two legends of the Keystone State out in Pennsylvania. Catherine and Teresa, big state, big support, big love all the way from Texas. Justin and Dennis proving that Chirps travel across the pond. Out in California, Awesome, the name says it all. Chad probably owns a flannel or two out in Minnesota.
Uh, Jason racing straight onto the Patreon list in, in Indianapolis. Uh, Ryan keeping the East Coast represented out in Maryland. Northern Ontario toughness, of course, with our friend Michelle out in Sudbury. Robbie, powder, powered, powered by potatoes and podcast love out in Idaho. [01:33:00] Mike bringing the joysy confidence out in New Jersey.
Joey, high altitude, high quality taste out in Colorado. Nick, of course, hopefully beating the odds in Las Vegas. Aaron, Windy City strong opinions all the way in Chicago. Noah, somewhere between the city and the wilderness in Upstate New York. Scott, still waiting on your address in parts unknown. Simcoe, Cassie, small town, big support.
And of course, Sarah, Cheese Country checking in out in Wisconsin We also have Casey bringing the southern heat as well in North Carolina. Jay, hockey country represented in Edmonton. Jeremy, Jez keeping the international crew alive in Perth, Australia. Tobias showing the Show Me State some love in Missouri.
Paddle, best Patreon name on the list, hands down, Rhode Island. Cha- Charlie, classic name, quality supporter in Massachusetts. And last but [01:34:00] not least, Melbourne Jack crossing the globe for the show. To every single Patreon supporter, thanks for keeping us going, keeping us laughing, and proving the letter Kenny and Shoresy love has no borders.
You’re all absolute beauties.
Al: Well done, Matt. Wow. Wow. You, I just gave you that list before we started recording. Did you do that while we were recording?
Mat: Yeah.
Al: No wonder you were distracted.
Tanya: I did. Here- That’s how he broke his internet so
Al: many times … here we thought that his internet was down. No, he’s, like, writing this shit down.
That’s, that’s amazing, man. Well, well done. Just trying. All right. Let’s move on to final comments, and we start with you, Victor. Your final comments for tonight.
Victor: Uh, yeah, I think we should start, uh, doing a guessing game where Scott is from. I, I’ll, I’ll start with, uh- Uh, I’ll pick Norway just for fun. There’s still- But how do we
Mat: rule them out, though?
This game has a flaw, because we can’t actually rule out your answers.
Victor: Um, well, it’s, it’s… We can, you know, it’s, it’s, like, um, we can just… We don’t rule them out. We just say, “Here are our picks. Here are our guesses.” It’s just [01:35:00] like at the end of the season where we sp- p- make our predictions for the following season.
Al: I
Victor: think- These are our predictions …
Al: I think Scott’s from Michigan. I, I’m, I, I could be wrong, but I feel like he’s from Michigan. Oh,
Victor: well. I think Norway’s more fun. Norway’s
Mat: more fun.
Al: Sure. Yeah,
Mat: well, game over. Norway’s
Victor: more fun. Yeah.
Al: Well, I don’t know for a fact. I’m just guessing. I don’t know. Like, I guess, like- Oh.
Yeah. So
Mat: you’re playing already.
Al: Sure, yeah. There you go. Well, well we’re playing- Tanya, where do you think Scott’s from?
Victor: Yeah.
Tanya: Um- Yeah … I’m gonna say, uh, London.
Al: London. All right. Another UK listener, or London, Ontario. UK. UK, all right. Amazing. Uh, Victor, your final comments, was that it?
Victor: Uh, yeah, I- because we’re, we’re not, we, we, you know, we’re only halfway through the first episode, so, um- Yes
I think, I think, I think it’s a good start. Um, I’m enjoying it. Mm-hmm. I’m enjoying it really almost… Not almost, I’m enjoying it just as much as I did the other one. Um, and so far, it really, the movie is positioning itself as its [01:36:00] own thing, right? Like, again, I don’t feel like we’re watching a continuation, just because we’re…
And the reason I say that is because there’s so many flashbacks, but the flashbacks go even further back than we were watching- Than the first movies, yeah … the first movie, right? Yeah. With, with our friend Stuart. So, um, so I kind of feel very complete with this one, and I’m, I’m kind of, even though I’m enjoying where we are, I’m keep wanting to fast-forward to where he becomes- Mm
Gorgeous Corner . Yes. Don Cherry, so I’m really looking forward to that.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: So I’m ant- I’m really anticipating that, but I am s- I kind of enjoying the, the journey.
Al: All right. Uh, I, I mean, yeah, we’re, we’re, we’ll, we’ll give our ratings and stuff next week, but I, I do wanna say this be- in le- so that in case I forget it for next week.
I’m not sure how I feel about having two narrators in one story. So when I started hearing Rose’s na- uh, Rose’s voice, like, doing some narration as well as, as, uh, um, Don Cherry, it was kinda weird. So I’m not… We’ll see how, [01:37:00] how, like, if that, you know- I
Victor: didn’t
Mat: even catch
Victor: that at all. Yeah. I, I, I, I felt the same way with Clerks 2 ’cause it was in color.
I, I felt like- … you know, it’s, it was still written well, but- But it’s in color. I don’t know how I feel about that.
Clip: Wow, way
Al: off the line. Jesus Christ. I love it. Way out of left field. All right. But anyway, uh, so far it’s, it’s, it’s- Whoa … it’s enjoyable. It’s, uh, yeah, getting used to the, some of the, the recasting has been, uh, not challenging, but, but different.
It’s, it’s taken me out of the, the mo- the story a bit here and there. Uh, but so far it’s been fun. Uh, Ted?
Tanya: Yeah, I, I hope they find Cindy. Um, I was a little worried about her. Um, yeah, I hope that happens. Um, I, I hope that they do, um, a flashback to his most recognizable, um, uh, clip of, uh, you know, when he’s, he’s on the…
when he does
Al: the- But they did that in the first movie
Tanya: I know, but they should do it again.
Al: Okay.
Tanya: Because it’s just that big of a deal. Just go watch, just go watch the other
Al: [01:38:00] one.
Tanya: I know, but it’s a big deal. It was a big deal. It was like-
Al: Well, they’ve, they’ve gone past it though. They’re, they’re
Tanya: onto the next story I know, but they’ve been f- they’ve flashed back already to where they once were.
Al: Didn’t they? I think what they should- They already started with the flashbacks of him and- I think, I think the second most, uh, recognizable clip of Don Cherry is him kissing Doug Gilmour on the cheek. So if we get that, I’ll be happy with that.
Victor: Hmm. Oh, I did forget to mention something. Mm-hmm. So when, when Red was interviewing him in the, in the house- Mm-hmm, yep
and he’s sitting on, on your Portuguese couch, um, he… Don looked like he was paralyzed on that couch. Yeah. Like, he looked… He, his, his body- Those were
Al: comfortable couches.
Victor: Yeah, but he looked para- Yeah. Like, like his head, like- Yeah … only his head was moving.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: And I th- I felt like one of the best actors in that scene was Blue.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Because, you know, like, uh-
Tanya: The dog? Y-
Victor: yeah. Uh, so you know when… You know how hot it is under those lights? Mm-hmm. Like, when, when they’re filming, those, you know, the, the spotlights? They’re super, super hot, [01:39:00] especially, like, back then. I th- they’re like all halogen and, and, and he’s just sitting there, he’s ma- because I don’t…
You know how many times would they have had to retake that?
Al: We’re getting a sneak
Victor: peek at
Al: Victor’s MVP for this movie I think.
Victor: Yeah, well, for sure so far. Uh, I was very impressed with Blue in that scene. Mm-hmm. Okay. But, but yeah, he was completely paralyzed in that scene. Yeah. That was crazy.
Al: Sorry, did you finish your final comments, Tan?
I
Clip: don’t. No?
Al: Okay. I don’t. Shall I move on to Matt? Yeah. All right, Matt, final comments.
Mat: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I’m enjoying it so far. It’s, it’s, it’s fun. I will be honest, it took me a few minutes to acclimate to the fact that we’re still staying in the hockey career.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Mat: I was really excited that, to dive into Hockey Night in Canada.
So like Victor, you, you can’t wait
Al: for the Hockey Night in Canada stuff,
Mat: huh? Yeah, I want… I was like, we were talking at the end and how they teed up the end of the last one. Mm-hmm. I’m like, “Okay, here we go. We’re getting into the broadcast and all the chaos that probably ensued in the early days of any controversial, uh, media persona.”
Um, so I’m hoping that still comes in Wrath at some point [01:40:00] in either this one or the next one. Um, but aside from that, you know, obviously that’s my disappointment, but I’m enjoying it. Uh, it’s nice to see Tyler Johnson in here, uh, representing a young Don Cherry and, and seeing those two together. So no, it’s, it’s a good start and I can’t see where, can’t wait to see where it keeps going.
Al: All right. Oh.
Tanya: So this is the first part of four parts again?
Al: Yes.
Tanya: Gotcha.
Mat: No. Okay, just wanted to double check. of the first one of the two-part series
Al: So
Tanya: four parts total No, this is the first,
Al: what Tanya said is, what Tanya said is correct Do we have to fucking do this every- Oh, wow. That was so intentional … every fuck… Oh my God, Dayton. Seriously. Time to get inebriated at the after party, folks.
And that’s all we have for this episode. Next week, we’ll finish the first installment of Wrath of Grapes and hand out our ratings and MVPs, so make sure you do your homework. Until then, if you’d [01:41:00] like to support the podcast, become a patron. You’ll get a shout-out on the show, exclusive bonus content, early access to interviews, and your own ad-free podcast feed.
Another great way to support us is by telling a friend about the podcast or leaving us a review. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Blue Sky at Protostampod. Shout-outs, as always, go to our bud- buddy Ian Service for the live stream, and our friends at Sonar Network. Our intro and outro themes are by Poised For The Worm.
You can find their music on all major streaming platforms. Thanks for joining us. Now we’re headed to the after-party. On behalf of Tanya, Victor, Matt, and myself, thank you for listening, and have a great [01:42:00] week
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