Mahlalela: Ja’Kobe Walter is ‘a gamer’

Mahlalela: Ja’Kobe Walter is ‘a gamer’

our two of overdrive continuing on TSN 1050 the TSN app and we’re up on TSN for Mark Row in for Brian Hayes alongside Dave fesu from the Toronto Star uh Jama malela is going to join us in a couple of minutes he is coaching the Raptor summer league team he’s um an NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors a couple years returning to the Raptors organization last year and um this is this is the time of uh you know where summer league has a little more importance and I don’t know what that I guess that gives you an idea of where you are with your organization that you are relying on prospects a little more than the established teams you’re trying to figure out who is an NBA player at the moment who is a g League player and who’s just not a player in general um but a lot of eyes on some of the prospects that they have down there including Grady dick who you know he’s he had a good second half of the year but but there is still a lot of development to his game and that’s why he’s in Vegas right now hopefully this ankle injury isn’t too serious but we’ll get an update on that but this is this is one of those Summers where someone like you who covers the team so much is probably keeping an eye a little bit more on what they’re doing in Vegas well yeah you have to I mean on one hand you can’t put very much stock in summer league to your point like it doesn’t really tell you who can play sometimes it can tell you who cannot play right you know and uh yeah you can’t you can’t look at the numbers and say wow he’s averaging 20 points in the summer league he must be a scorer well probably not you know it generally doesn’t work that way right it’s not this is developmental basketball you’re playing against developmental guys in the real League you’re going to be playing against Real players that make 50 $60 million a year to play basketball and it’s a much different Universe suddenly so but yeah for Grady dick a lot of the summer league is just about something he’s not doing right now which is staying healthy you like it’s about learning it’s about sort of having an eye on a guy whose body needs to improve whose durability resiliency needs to improve whose bounceback ability needs to improve like he’s got to be like he’s a kid right and they need him to become a man because he can obviously shoot and they need shooting desperately but he’s got to be able to stay on the floor against men and the body right now it’s like it’s getting better but it’s he ain’t Mr Universe just yet well how much is it a a goal for rookies to not go back to Summer League after their first year like that they you know what I mean like I’m not trying to take away from you know the the positive impact that can have on a career like Grady dick but when you go into your rookie year I wonder how many say I want to have a good enough year where I don’t have to play Summer League I’m sure most of them probably hope that especially if you’re a first round pick yeah you’d hope that you know your option would be I’m going to sit courts side at summer league right like I I’ll go to Vegas yeah who doesn’t want watching watching all these punks try and make you in the league when I’ve already made it but yeah I mean ideally you wouldn’t be there ideally it wouldn’t still be a developmental case but we knew Grady dick I think the Raptors knew Grady dick was not going to be a straight out of the box NBA star they knew it was going to take some time they knew that he had some major major hurdles to clear before he could get on an NBA floor and be a shooting threat well not being a massive you know problem liability on the defensive side of the ball and how long it’s going to take is the question yeah you know is it going to take one year is it going to take two uh is it going to take five who knows and what kind of patience they’ll have we don’t know but we do know they need people that can put the ball in the basket and he can do that and joining us now on the maple Toyota hotline is Jama Mela the Raptor summer league head coach uh Jama great to uh chat with you again thanks for joining us on overdrive we were just talking about summer league and how you know we all have our eyes on the prospects and the organization but what’s what’s the experience been like for you so far in Vegas yeah thanks guys thanks for having me uh it’s been really good I think uh summer league such a unique time when there’s so many athletes in town and it’s not only our team but every team has their young players and on top of that for me there’s a great sort of coaching infrastructure and there’s just so many basketball people around so my days are filled with sort of basketball conversations and learning more about the game so it’s a really exciting time for me so jamama what stood out to you when you look at this roster of of prospects that you’ve been uh saddled with or I guess you know have the honor to coach I should put it you’re not saddled with this is a great privilege to be able to coach these young men uh who’s standing out in your early going here yeah it’s a really good group of players obviously with all the moves that the Raptors made uh around the draft there’s a lot of new energy with the team a lot of younger players but a lot of that that that brings energy with it so that’s been really exciting I think in our first two games you’re seeing uh a real focus on the defensive end and some real sort of like forcefulness that the team is playing with which I think will carry through to our main roster as well and specifically I think um Brandon Carlson uh is really sort of coming into his own he’s just playing very well on both sides of the ball offensively and defensively so it’s been fun to watch him grow and sort of have two two solid games so far you know Jaba we heard so much about how this wasn’t a good draft and I’m sure that that’s a point of motivation for for anyone that was in the draft and who got selected and uh a lot of fans want to know who is jacobe Walter what kind of player can he be and and what have you learned about him in a couple weeks working with him both in practices in these two games that you’ve played yeah for all the hype and discussion and thought you know that this was a poor draft I think that what became interesting for us with this 19th pick is is who’s gonna be there uh and what’s GNA happen and there was so much indecision and unsure who’s going to go where and I think as Jacob’s name kept sort of coming closer and closer to us there was this growing excitement uh and in drafting him and having him with me now for two weeks and some time in Toronto and now some time in Vegas I’m really really thrilled with who he is as a person and and even more so actually as a basketball player he just feels like he understands the game uh he’s got great kind of size and shooting ability uh really just a pure shot when you look at it from a coaches perspective H and in the games you’re seeing he’s kind of a gamer he kind of understands what’s happens and what needs to happen how to sort of make things uh occur to help you win so I’ve been excited by him and I think the fans in Toronto are going to really like you know grow to learn and like him a lot as well so we were just talking Jama about Grady dick and how maybe you know it’s not the ideal situation that a guy in his second year or heading into his second year would be in summer league maybe they’d rather be watching from court side uh taking in the action rather than being part of it but everybody’s path to uh the NBA is different every everybody’s path in the NBA is different and and now Grady has suffered a bit of an ankle injury here but what have you seen from Grady dick in the early going here and and where do you think he is on his path to becoming the obviously reliable shooting presence that the Raptors hope he can be yeah I mean I think first and foremost what I’ve learned in my years of of NBA coaching is that the more experience you get the better you’re going to become and summer league is one of those experiential opportunities and so I think regardless of you’re you know seconde player a third- year player you know if if this summer league thing makes sense for you it’s so good to do because you’re getting reps at a different level so for Grady we’re actually able to sort of put him in situations that are his growth areas uh so we saw last year second half of the Season he was so became so good in that catch and shoot ability um he you know was really productive for us and this summer league is like well what can what else can he do and let’s explore it and let’s see um and so we’re making him handle the ball a bit more we’re putting more onus on his defense of course to improve that and so I think for him it’s been this really good growth opportunity and sometimes you don’t see that in the Box Score you know you don’t see that in the final stat line but as coaches were really analyzing the one or two key details that wanted to grow in uh he is the head coach of the Raptor summer league teams an assisting coach with the main Squad John malela joining us on overdrive and you have this you know unique career where you’re with the Raptors 9005 during you know the demard rose in and then kawii Leonard comes in and they win a championship in so you’re part of the development side of the organization you go to Golden State you’re an assistant coach there you win a title there you come back here what I’m getting to is that’s a lot of great experience for you as a coach what have you learned over that tenure that maybe you’re doing differently today compared to what you were doing five six years ago yeah I think uh coaching is such a wonderful journey to go on and I think for me who’s been able to sort of do it for a long time now first I’m incredibly blessed and thankful and it’s it’s just a dream job and I pinch myself all the time I kind of how lucky I am to be coaching uh I think the two teams I’ve work for are just such high class organizations uh I think you see the leadership of what MSI brings to the Raptors each and every day um and then you see sort of this professionalism and winning culture and sort of Championship pedigree of the Warriors and both have really informed my coaching now uh and I think the biggest thing I’ve really picked up from from all my coaching experience is that one the ex’s and those are are are part of it and you got to be really detailed you have to know your stuff but it’s much more how you build your team around it and build your sort of connectivity um and build your resiliency to survive you know NBA seasons are really long and I think the Warriors year where we won the championship it was about resiliency um and I think even last year for the Raptors it was about resiliency with all the different things we went through um and it maybe didn’t amount to wins on the court but I think there’s a ton of wins behind the scenes in terms of the team growing and setting the foundation for our success of the future hey Jam I was I was curious about what the atmosphere is like there I’m not talking about the atmospheric conditions we all know it’s probably 42 Celsius and very dry in Vegas in the desert but you know you’ve had such an interesting basketball kind of Confluence there with the both Olympic teams the the US men’s Olympic team the Canadian men’s Olympic team having an exhibition game um you’ve you’ve you’ve got summer league down there as a basketball Junkie like yourself what’s it like to sort of be at this epicenter of the basketball world at the moment man it’s pretty fun I think uh first of all got the 47 I think one day so um and then I think uh you know it is it is what you said like you know we started the summer league we got into town a few days early so we could watch RJ and Kelly uh play for the national team and watch him play against USA which is sort of such a high caliber game so many amazing players on the floor um and then you look around and you have 30 teams all with their young players playing literally I was pulling into the hotel yesterday and Angel ree walks by because I think they’re playing too you know there’s a WNBA game here I think tonight or tomorrow night so it really is the center of the basketball world at the moment moment uh so to be right here and just to be able to absorb it all and and feel the the energy in the gym like these games are are high level now the fans are there cheering themselves on so it’s been super fun J with the the group that you have there in in Vegas you know unlike some organizations that really have their team almost picked already do you get a sense that there’s an opportunity for a lot of guys who maybe they’re going to get in Toronto and and wouldn’t get if say they’re in the Boston or Philly or Milwaukee when they have such established teams already and and it’s led to you know um you know the the training at a different level than a typical summer league I do think there’s a real intensity to the way our group has been working I’m really happy with their effort and practice we just finished a practice just a few moments ago and and there’s such a focus and I think it does come from this the realization that like you know there are minutes to be had on the NBA roster and so the more focused and committed you are in the summer the more likely that becomes but I think what we said earlier too like there’s there’s 30 teams here and every game you play in summer league and every minute you play you’re you’re showcasing your talents and your skills and if it ends up for the Raptors great but if it ends up for another team we’re also super happy for that player as well so I think you see this sort of you know dreams can come true and sometimes for some of these guys this is the moment when that that dream actually happens what is like how hard is it jamama to sort of project players out of the summer league we were just saying that you I’ve I’ve heard from a lot of Scouts that you never really find out who can play but maybe you find out more who can’t play is there some truth in that and and what can you take as a coach that might translate to an NBA game from this summer league which clearly is a different type of product yeah it’s much more about learning the the how a player operates so I think you take a jacobe or Jamal shed or some of our younger guys like that we’re really trying to learn like can they learn and that’s sort of the starting point you know if they play well or not in these first two games we’re not going to judge them on on that in terms of like their careers but we are judging can they learn uh can they figure things out can they take the coaching and try to apply it as best as possible um and I think that is where summer league is super valuable you get to know the person much more so and it takes time to to to actually craft a player into a a very viable NBA option that’s a two three four year process for most players uh but this is about the details and and getting to know the person John I know it’s all business at the moment but it’s a pretty exciting summer considering that we have the Olympics beginning in uh just over a week are you pretty excited to see what Canada can finally do with the men’s program back at the Olympics for the first time since 2000 I remember watching the Olympics way back in sort of the Steve Nash days and seeing I think it was in Sydney must have been um and and Rowan and that group and sort of being so proud and watching the you know this team Canada play and sort of fight through adversity and and and and be really successful and I’m excited for that same thing I think this group you know with with our Raptor players and RJ and Kelly and then with with Jamal and with Shay in terms of like you know top end NBA talent I I’m really excited for what it looks like and and how good they can be um and I think for the first time in a long time we kind of have our guys you know and I think you can finally say okay we finally got our guys let’s really see what happens and you know it’s great that the US has their guys too which will make it really fun and and you know Serbia is obviously a great team uh as well so I think this Olympics might be the best ever I was going to ask about your take on the US team I mean there are obviously overwhelming favorites on paper and in the sports books jamama but you know as a basketball uh Observer you know you look and you say Well they’re a little older how healthy will they be we’ve already seen Kawhi Leonard’s not there we know Durant’s been dinged up who knows what we’ll get from Joel embiid like how much of a favorite do you think they are and and and do you actually think there’s a chance that somebody knocks them off in the search for gold I do think they’re the favorite um you know and my years on the Warriors have taught me that any team with Steph Curry is a pretty good team saw that the you saw that in the games that they think the game here where he sort of can he’s lightning in a bottle and sort of turn the game around really quickly which I think what happened with with Canada in their game here so Steph is so special um and I think they you know the talent on that us team is really good but that being said you know I think the the game is really coming together now and and by no means are they the the uh the clear clear clear favorites to win I think that there’s definitely you know Canada you know I mean France potentially who knows in terms of home team and you know they catch some catch some momentum Serbia obviously really really strong um there are some teams that could do some damage and I think like the metal rounds and getting to the metal round rounds will be a huge accomplishment to get there it’ll be huge in this Olympics do do you get to watch it as a fan or is it is it all business so we’re uh I get to watch this one as a fan which I can’t wait um and sort of just cheer on my guys as much as I can um you know but I always have my Coach’s Eye on I’m always watching for talent and making sure RJ’s defending and Mak do for the Raptors too so that was our followup question there you go no I mean like hey it’s but I was going to ask you about that J like we I remember way back in it’s been so long since has had a team that we have to go back to 2000 and Steve Nash talking about how his experience as a part of that Canadian team in Sydney at the Olympics really kind of catapulted him in terms of his ability to be an NBA player and his confidence as an NBA player can that be something you hope for when you got a guy like RJ Barrett that the experience as an Olympian could really allow him to take a step as a pro without question I think we saw it in Shay last summer I think I think Shay really sort of stepped his game up to an even higher level than his NBA production had been and I think everyone watched him last summer and said oh watch out like he’s going to have a heck of an NBA Year and that was the case obviously kind of an MVP MVP consideration and I’ve talked to RJ about this like that’s the same sort of momentum we need for him right now we need him to have a really solid Olympics one for the Canadian team without question but also for the Raptor team I think that he can use the momentum and sort of the experience and the confidence of having a great Olympics to carry himself back to the NBA and really take a big leap in his career I think if we watch RJ and and see the journey he’s been on and and you know all of us Canadian basketball fans have watched him um this is an exciting time for him when he can really come to a team and sort of be in a super supportive environment and be in a home environment and take that next big jump in his career well uh you guys are back in Action tomorrow against Utah and then it’s the Miami Heat on Friday a game you can see here on TSN you got a perfect two and0 record so far so hopefully that continues uh Jamma really appreciate you joining us today appreciate you guys thanks so much there you have it jamama malaa joining us on the maple Toyota hotline check out Maple Toyota’s huge truck and suv lineup including Tundra Forerunner Highlander and Grand Highlander in stock and ready to deliver visit Maple toyota.com so he gets to watch as a fan which is nice and uh but also as a coach who may or may not be sending a text to RJ Barrett saying Shape Up on the defensive side that’s defense you call that defense d RJ and that’s and that look that’s not a secret right like RJ Barrett we all know what an offensive Talent he is he’s got uh the gift to blow by people the gift to take it to the rack hopefully the gift to shoot the ball with some consistency which has been off and on in his career but yeah the question mark if you want to be a really good team and he’s going to be one of the Lynch pins of that great team um he’s got to play D well and they have to play D and for Canada to have success and I think most people’s definition of success is a medal do they have to shoot the ball given given the fact that they’re not the biggest team in this tournament yeah that’s my that’s my one of my main concerns obviously the size concern is considerable when you think about the Giants that France is going to have in a tournament with no defensive three seconds you got the tallest man in the world in you’ve got Rudy Gober Defensive Player of the Year multiple times that’s going to be a difficult Lane to penetrate yeah the French Lane um Canada doesn’t have that kind of Rim protection right and I really thought they could have used Zach Edy I think he would have served a purpose as much as he’s a you know you know a guy straight out of college with very little experience at that level I think they could have used that big body the 7 foot4 frame of Zack EDI um so size is an issue but to your point like we don’t exactly have a roster of knockdown Shooters like when we played well at the World Cup last year Dylan Brooks shot out of his mind yes needed a huge shot against Spain to get us over the hump against Spain um we got this time we have Jamaal Murray which we didn’t have and he’s obviously a very gifted shooter so that is a huge plus really could he used Andrew Wiggins of course he’s not showing up yet again um so shooting will be an issue if they don’t shoot if someone shoots it’s not an issue and and it’s so tough to take anything away from these exhibition games because you’re you’re seeing the fiveman units like stick together almost like it’s a hockey game the one thing that I did see and I don’t think it’s a huge issue because they’ll work work it out but you can really see who played last summer together and who didn’t yeah and you know the two Headliners on this team are are Shay and Jamal Murray and they of course did not play together last year Jamal Murray could play and so there wasn’t the cohesiveness between those two which you hope that they can get through over this next week or or so and and figure that out both they’re so talented that you would think that they could but that would certainly be their undoing if they can’t oh for sure like was I was speaking to a coach acquaintance of mine uh via Tex the other day and and I was saying is Canada’s back court the best in the tournament and he was like on paper perhaps but his concern was the same one you just outlined is that both guys Shay and Jamal they’re both lead guards right they both have the ball a lot on their respective teams so how are they going to find that balance of I’m comfortable when I’m off the ball and you’re on the ball and you’re comfortable when I’m on the ball and you’re off the ball that’s going to be tricky because these guys do not have a ton of experience playing together and it’s a short tournament and you got to figure it out quick because if you don’t you get into a deep hole and it’s hard to dig it out how what’s your reaction to this is the best American team we’ve seen since the Dream Team in 1992 well on paper it certainly is this is the best generation of American players in an era we’ve making a lot of we’ve been making a lot of fuss about how like more so than that redeemed team that had Kobe and good team too like I I you’re picking you know I haven’t I haven’t gone side by side on those two teams it’s probably a pretty interesting comparison yeah but to Jam’s Point like there was no shooter like Steph on those teams no and now LeBron was on both of them so I guess old LeBron versus young LeBron I guess you take young LeBron yeah Kobe was you know Kobe was Kobe but he he was closer to the end than the beginning um yeah that was a great team I mean that’s that’s a tough conversation but one thing about this us team as good as it as it is on paper I do think it’s also really fond of the training room right like really they know they know their chiropractors and physiotherapists and orthopedists really well you know and maybe too well and LeBron’s the exception but all these other guys like is embiid gonna like can you really count on Joel embiid to show up healthy for all the games yeah what are the odds and is is is he like Public Enemy Number One over there in France like because he could have played for France right chose the US chose the US I mean the US kind of chose him too like it kind of shows how you you talk about you know the fact that the the last handful of MVPs have all been for and developed and I guess you could say Joel embid played his college basketball in the US uh as much as as much as he came out of out of uh out of the international scene you know like the US was desperate for a big man MH because you know Anthony Davis wasn’t cutting it and could you really count on Anthony Davis and Grant Hill really recruited the heck out of Joel embid by the sounds of it like we really need you man well didn’t like wasn’t like the French government involved in getting Joel andb like citizenship well it is a bit of a slap in the face right like I mean it’s always it’s always tough when you’re talking about dual Nationals or in his case I guess he had the had the option of three different passports right with with with Cameroon and heck I mean you play both sides of it we just heard Jesse March uh Canadian national soccer coach on the men’s side talk about how Canada’s playing that game like they’re looking for dual Nationals that want to come to the Canadian side take the Canadian passport and give up whatever like you know if they’ve got multiple options you want the guys to come to your side well I I think Doogie wants me to Hype up candle a little bit because he just texted me the odds and uh the US no shock favorites to win gold at minus 480 the team that’s number two is Canada at plus 1100 so there’s a bit of a gap between number one like it it really does feel like there is the chase for the silver medal but it it goes Canada France Serbia uh Germany uh who won the World Cup last year kind of forget uh coached by Canada’s Gord Herbert that’s right yeah Greece Australia Spain there’s Canada’s group right there tough group group of death well that’s the one thing that feea is always hard to figure out you’re always scratching your head with feea and how is it that Canada beats the us at the World Cup which was ostensibly their Olympic qualifier yeah and they’ve got the tougher group yeah yeah congratulations you won the bronze medal you get the tougher group you get the group of death right make that make sense for me Mark well the US still they open up against South Sudan or at least they have South Sudan in their group who are at plus what 50,00 they the yeah I mean I don’t I I haven’t scouted the South Sudan team extensively but I’m not expecting a world beater there let’s hope they are a world beater but yeah anyway so Canada according to the odds the favorites to win silver although there’s a big group there and and also like it’s you know England was the favorite going into the euros and that’s just because that’s where the money is going look man these FEA games they’re so different than an NBA best of seven right like you’re talking about 40 minutes of basketball with a three-point line that’s a little shorter with no defens of 3 seconds with questionable refereeing like a lot can happen man it’s like cop all over again is that what you’re saying I’m just so many of these games and to your point about shooting like so many of these games when you watch them if they’re tight like they just come down to who makes a three and who doesn’t like it’s just like You’ got an open three we got an open three and the game’s decided whoever made it it was 04 right that Argentina um went off against the states and one the one year the states it wi gold and all you can think about is you know how well they shot the ball and it was just and you know you have your job but you’re also like who are these guys well exactly they’re but they’re teams right like that’s the thing about Spain about Argent like I mean Argentina’s not in this one but Serbia why did Germany win last year at the World Cup yeah um they’ve been playing after great Dennis shuder that’s right they’ve been playing a lot of basketball together as kids right these kids they grow up on the U6 teams the U7 teams um there’s a real National culture on a lot of these rosters um so you you’re facing a real team in a lot of ways whereas the the knock in the Americans has always been they’re just a they’re just a collection of Allstars yeah and so that could be if there’s going to be a downfall look would I expect the US to to lose no but I would I be surprised if someone knocks him off I don’t think so yeah and they’re not best of seven series too like there’s always that you know where you have a bad day or a bad half and it can it can lead to you know a result that no one saw coming and I’m going to get your thoughts on uh where you think Canada can finish in the Olympics coming up in our second installment of confirm or deny uh also still to come we’ll chat with Dave Naylor our football Insider on what’s going on in the CFL big changes with the Elks and also Mike faren on the MLB allstar game what do the Blue Jays do at the trade deadline uh that much more overdrive continuing on tsn1 50 the TSN app and up on TSN 4 I can neither confirm or deny that uh that this is in to segment Austin trades Andrew Ray to Toronto in exchange for the RS to Tuka Ras it’s been my honor and a privilege to serve as the general manager of the Tron M beliefs Hockey Club it’s time for confirm or deny do you regret giving all those gentlemen the no trades or no movement clauses I I can either confirm or deny that I can’t confirm or deny confirm or deny brought you by Summit Ford and South Lake Ford Lincoln where there’s no such thing as no trade Clauses any make any model anytime visit Summit 4.com or Southlake 4.com today we uh we started this off a little bit earlier in the show we’re going to continue with the Open Championship and the question is confirm or deny that Tiger Woods will make the cut do you need the weather forecast before answering well doesn’t look good it’s Scotland so it can’t be good a I have it as a high of 18 both days a 40% chance of rain on Thursday a 20% chance of rain on Friday I don’t have the wind in front of me so yeah let’s just assume it’s windy but I I think that what I get from that is it’s not hot no which I think heat is what tiger needs although he does sweat at an alarming alarming rate have you noticed that more with age I feel like he is he’s sweating more and more I don’t know if that just comes with the how arduous the game has become for him given all his injuries or with they or maybe I just didn’t notice it earlier but he is the Rafa Nadal of golfers when it comes to was Rafa the king of perspiration on the tour he’s one of the vasic posil as a Canadian he sweat a lot and he like he’ll be the first one to admit it I’ve interviewed him and I could just see the sweat dropping on my mic and thinking we should probably wash this the mic sock but anyways Tiger Woods will will he make the cut I’m going to say confirm I think he will make the cut I think I’m going to go with the Hank Haney argument here Hank his former coach during his one of his former coaches during Tigers Heyday has made the case that this is possibly his best chance at a major because he’s a master of lyns golf he knows how to plot his way around a course where the trouble is generally the pot bunkers the coffin the famous you know nasty you know bunkers where you have to get out sideways or backwards if you get in them we know he’s got that really good command of his flighted shots the Stinger the low shots that you need if it’s going to be windy which it normally is at some point and it’s flat right no Hills in Scotland yeah this ain’t the highlands I I I’m going to confirm it as well because part of me wants to see it happen and the other part is I I agree that I think he can hang on for a couple rounds and then it probably goes south on the weekend because four rounds of golf is a lot for him at this point but um I I think the the knowledge of these courses is so so important and we talk about that all the time with Augusta but Royal TR there’s only a handful of guys who who know it well and you know Henrik Stenson won the last one yeah I don’t think he’s a contender this year but no he would be an interesting guy to keep an eye on but like it’s it’s who’s done well at these courses who knows the courses who’s going in um you know you mentioned Scotty Sheffer came in a week early it’s always interesting to see how guys are preparing to play a course where they don’t typically play and it’s certainly not on their you know it’s not their practice course that they’re playing in Florida or wherever else they’re situated in the state so I’m going to confirm that uh it is the MLB allstar break uh Vladimir Guerrero Jr we saw him at the Home Run Derby as the number one member of the teoscar Hernandez fan club there is a bromance there that is as strong as ever even though they’re not playing uh with each other anymore much so the shrin of Vlad I’m sure but everyone wants to know will Vladimir Guero Jr sign a long-term extension at the end of the season with the Toronto Blue Jays oh man this feels like an annual confirm or deny how long have we been saying they’re going to lock him up eventually right it’s got to be soon right like is it going to be more than $250 or $300 million I don’t think I know I know it’s it’s look I’m this is kind of it does feel like it’s coming down to the wire here right like it feels like they got to make a decision and I guess I’m going to confirm it I’m going to say probably it’s recency biased because I think around this time last year if you were asking the same question it probably would have been are they going confirm or deny that they’re going to sign Bo bashet yeah a longterm deal right he he was in the midst of leading Major League Baseball and hits for a second straight season he was their MVP by a lot of measures uh the tables have turned this year clearly vlat has been you know on the upswing bo bashed has fallen through the floor um but because we like we talked about at the top of the show Mark I think they’re doing things for reasons beyond the good of the baseball team right now like he’s their most popular player yeah they’ve got a renovated ballpark to the tune of $400 million they’ve got to sell tickets and I think if they didn’t resign him I think they they kind of looking at the world thinking what would it be like what would attendance be like if he wasn’t on our roster if we weren’t selling his jersey in the team shop and I don’t know if they like that hypothetical and I think you know the team is not going to need to spend the money that they would have if we were talking about this two years ago yes but I do think that the Blue Jays would be willing to pay at at least what Market value is for them if not more because of the value of what you just pointed out that they need someone whether they want to call it or not they’re going to have to retool this organization they need to restock the farm system which is one of the worst in in baseball at the moment and so they’re going to have to make some you know some some unpopular moves um they’re going to have to get rid of players who can help them now but they needs someone to get people at least some people to get into the building he he still sells jerseys he still sells excitement when he goes to the plate even though he is not that MVP player even though he’s not that home run hitter that we all thought he might be when he put up all the numbers but he is still I think we have a better grasp of who he is and I think that’s a very good player maybe it’s might not be a great player it might not be you know the Hall of Fame player that his father was but I at least right now and maybe maybe like vlat and his agent still think themselves as that and I again I don’t know who’s going to pay it like I I don’t know who is saying you know we are going to go off of the 2021 numbers and forget what’s happened the last few years yeah that’s not happening I don’t think that’s happening so I think that the Blue Jays will will know that and I think that they will be competitive because I think there’s a lot of value in having him still stay in the city especially if you’re going to make that decision to to move away from Bo bashet which might happen uh okay we were talking about uh Olympic basketball the Canadian men’s basketball team are a lock to win a medal at the Olympics confirm or deny I’m gonna deny it because it’s not because I don’t believe in this team it’s not because I don’t believe they can win a medal it’s not because I don’t believe they should win a medal I think they should but the idea that there’s a lock at a tournament like this I just don’t believe in that cuz it’s just we just talked about the unpredictability of FBA basketball right the situ ation where yeah look you got a good chance to advance you’ve got a 12 team tournament eight teams get through to The Knockout round so I like their Chan to advance to The Knockout round but beyond that you’re playing some really tough competition in single elimination situations 40-minute games unpredictable refereeing no defensive three in the key rules that the players aren’t always particularly familiar with right and so I don’t think there’s any locks I really don’t uh as much as I do believe in Canada’s chances here and that’s where I’m going uh lock is the word that’s that’s really giving me an issue here and that’s why I’m going to deny it as well just because there there you have to respect the the five or six teams that could all medal in this in this tournament and then and the advantage that some of those teams have is that they have the cohesiveness they have the history together they they know what it takes whether it’s officiating whether it’s shooting the ball whether it’s the way you play defense on International stage that maybe helps them out in a tight game against Canada I think skill-wise Canada you could you can make the argument is number two in this tournament to the United States Y and I I believe in slh hope that they will be in those semifinals and be fighting for a medal It’s just tough to say lock when you have Serbia and look at the group like are they they’re going to I I think we all believe that they can advance are they going to win that group and they might but they I think it’s probably 50/50 that they either finish first or second in that group and then when you finish second then suddenly in the quarterfinals you you might have to play uh you know a team that you don’t want to have to play in the quarters yeah I mean it’s you’re right the group is it’s it’s definitely the group of death I don’t quite understand how they arrived at this but it’s Australia it’s Greece it’s Spain it’s Canada um as many as three you know you can have three of those team te get through top two get through for sure but you know it’s it’s it’s difficult like the like Spain is always tough even though they don’t have the the star quality that they had during their golden generation with the gasal and and you know who who called it quits the last Olympics and um they don’t have you know that really high-end Talent they they’re always a cohesive team and we you know as we just talked about Canada had you know Canada was 5050 to beat them at the World Cup right like they had to make some big plays down the stretch to beat him um Australia got a lot of NBA athletes Greece has got Giannis and a lot of good Euro Pros so there’s no gimmies there and one bad game one bad shooting night and suddenly you know you’re trying to catch up and you’re trying to you’re chasing the field and it’s not that Canada can’t do that but it’s just it’s very difficult so it’s a tough tournament to win man you’re going to need the breaks to go your way you going need the refs to go your way a little bit I think and and you got to hope that the US comes in a little dinged up which is which I kind of like the chances for I I have this feeling that some of those you know older us guys are gonna have a time we’ already seen one yeah throw out the White Flag in Kawhi Leonard that’s right right Durant’s been hurt I mean who knows with embiid I you know there’s LeBron will be there I would I would you know Steph’s ankles are always a question but you know to jamama point earlier in the in the show any team with Steph is going to be tough to beat who did the states remind me have to beat in Tokyo and Durant had to have like a monster performance is it France yeah okay yeah yeah and they’ve only gotten better well France can be yeah France has a chance to be dominant right they had a bad World Cup they did right last year but they are they their perennial Contender I mean I guess it dep like wemy might be four years away from being the best player on the planet next Olympics might be a problem when he’s figuring it out and it’s going to be impossible to get a shot off with him in the vicinity may it may already be impossible to get a shot off with him in the vicinity yeah but you assume he’s going to get better and that’s a scary thought but it’s nice to face him when he’s still young I want to finish up with uh robot umpires according to commissioner Rob Manfred it is only a matter of time he was talking to the media today I think he said what was it 2026 yeah 2026 that uh could be the date where they start bringing it in so robot umpires will become a staple for Major League Baseball in the upcoming years I’m 100% confirm on this it’s a no-brainer like I’ve gone to a lot of minor league games over the last handful the years where they’ve been using the system testing it out um it’s a great system I like it like essentially you as a batter you have the ability to challenge a pitch um now how do you get that ability like I’m sure there are going to be managers that don’t let certain guys with bad eyes challenge pitches but you tap your helmet and you get a review and it’s very much like tennis tennis it’s very much like people start getting excited they they put the video up on the big screen on the Outfield and you see the ball come in and you see it you know in the against the strike zone and and they actually have a measurement like it was outside by 0.7 inches right and or it was a strike and the um was wrong and everybody goes nuts and says yeah the um sucks um that’s it and it it just makes too much sense like that we’re we’re way past the point of watching umpires make those mistakes and people don’t like it and this system is not perfect I know there’s a reason why they haven’t brought it in yet because it’s not perfect and still got some bugs but I think it’s as good as you’re going to get and I think it’ll be here uh I’m kind of surprised it’ll take till 2026 because I watching the minor leagues I think it’s probably pretty probably could be ready to go for next year W it’s also the stubbornness of the the history of the game and the human aspect which I I love as well and that’s part of what you know what makes baseball great but when you’re when you’re talking about a strikeout or you’re talking about outcomes of games you know and and we’ve seen it in sports where it could be off by 0.001% but everyone kind of signs up for it and lives with it yeah and you trust the Hawkeye you when it comes to tennis you’re going to players will end up trusting whatever this you know the system that they’re using will call so I yeah I think it it’s it’s I think the question is less is it happening or will it become the staple and will they not get rid of it and I I I’m going to confirm that it’s going to be a staple you know yeah and I mean like it is kind of like I they probably have to come up with a better name because there’s not going to be a robot behind the plate that’s what everyone thinks it’s like it’s still going to be a human being right it’s not like C3PO or R2 I don’t play it you know like it’s not that it’s there’s a human being behind the plate it’s essentially a challenge system um and I think it work I really do I think people are going to like it I think it it actually adds as it does in tennis on big moment in big moments on big wied still has but not some other team like because you have you still have the line umpires at Wimbledon French Open doesn’t right French Open doesn’t us open’s gone back and forth I’m trying to remember but anyways I like the fact that there is a suspense where you have the human call the initial right you in or out and then you can go to it and the crowd’s chanting and it’s like oh was out by a millimeter I mean in the minor leagues it you know it’s happened that games are decided on on a challenge and of course it’s going to happen that way that’s just the way baseball is right weird things happen all the time and I just think it’s it’s it’s just a no-brainer I don’t I I don’t really see the resistance I’m sure the umpires Union’s got a problem with it because it’s it’s another another sort of overlooker of their work which and they got enough of them we all know everybody loves the second guess the umps but I I ultimately think like there’s a lot of games that I’ve gone to just in anecdotal kind of observing of the game the Ys end up looking pretty good yeah like a lot of times the Batters I’m sure the managers have some very Stern conversations with batters that are quick to challenge and shouldn’t be challenging yeah because they’re mad justify yeah yeah and I bet there’ll be guys that are not allowed to challenge because they have terrible eyes and they’re going to wait like you’re only going to get a number of challenges whether it’s a couple or three I think right now it’s three in the in the minor leagues and you lose them if you don’t get it right and you keep if you get it right MH um so there’s like they you know how guys are when they they strike out and they’re mad and they’re like that can’t be in the strike zone well some guys just the emotion of the moment may have them tap in the helmet to to challenge and the and and the manager is going to be going no no don’t challenge year ey is terrible all I could think of was the tapping and then the circle on the stomach and being able to do it um confirm RI was brought to you by Summit Ford and South Lake Ford Lincoln where there’s no such thing as a no trade clause any make any model anytime visit Summit 4.com or Southlake 4.com today Dave layor will join us in the six o’clock hour Mike faren from MLB network will join us to kick off the final hour of the show coming up next stepen stampco one of the best goal scorers of this generation in the NHL also one of the best memories as he uh put on a display today in Nashville that’s coming up on overdrive TSN 1050 and the TSN app well the hockey world still trying to get used to DAV stamp Coast in that kind of mustard yellow that the Nashville Predators wear certain a lot of fans in Tampa I think even see stamp ghost is trying to get used to it because as we as we have seen it was an emotional departure from the lightning one that he did not expect but um you know here’s a guy that scored 40 goals last year that predator’s team was the winners of the offseason or at least they have been so far and the expectations are going to be pretty high for them and and um if if the you know his memory is any indication Steven stampco is still a pretty sharp guy out on the ice and and today he was speaking with the media and I guess in the past that he has been able to recite details about a lot of the goals that he has scored and they uh well he was he was tested earlier today as you’ll you’ll hear here you had an interview a number of years ago where you demonstrated your ability to remember your goals in great detail and I I wondered if you still had that abil you scored quite a few goals since then but I I wondered if you still had that ability yeah for I mean for the most part if I can kind of remember the game or which kind of goal it was I have a pretty Keen sense of who made the play or who passed it who had the assist things like that do you remember the goal from November 19th 2022 here in Bridgestone that overtime winner one one timer yep y yep I remember that yep that was it yeah good good screen by Cory Perry in front yeah yeah and he was they they showed the video and he was bang on you know one timer Cory Perry in front and hey man he’s only scored 555 in his career Mark why would you remember them all that’s that is pretty remarkable yeah so it’s um yeah it’s going to be interesting to see what he he and the national predators can do because that’s been a a model franchise that hasn’t been able to get over the hump in the playoffs they haven’t scored right now they bring in two 40 goal scorers in stamp coast and Mar so and we had Barry trots on when I was filling in last week and he was he was very optimistic that that could be the difference between what they’ve been and what they can be there’s a look of him in that Jersey and um Stephen s goes to the Nashville Predators um we see what they can do this fall meanwhile um we’re going to have to see what the American League can do with Vladimir Guero Jr as the lone blue jay representing the team at the midsummer classic Mike faren from MLB Network radio going to join us after the break to kick off the 6:00 hour on TSN 1050 the TSN app and over on TSN 2

Mark Roe and Dave Feschuk are joined by Toronto Raptors assistant coach and head coach of the Summer League team Jama Mahlalela to discuss the standouts on this Raptors Summer team, Ja’Kobe Walter’s performance in Vegas, the expected growth for Gradey Dick, the lessons he’s learned throughout his coaching career, how the Olympic experience could help RJ Barrett as a Raptor and more. They also play the extended version of OverDrive favourite Confirm or Deny and they discuss Steven Stamkos’ memory of his goals throughout his career as he starts a new chapter in Nashville.