The Bob McCown Podcast

Day two without Shannon as Bob and Richard welcome Doug Smith onto the show for a much needed update on the Toronto Raptors ahead of their Friday night game against the Golden State Warriors.

With trade rumours swirling and the deadline only 10 days away, the three spend most of their time discussing the trade possibilities the Raptors may have. Do they trade OG or Fred before the deadline? or wait until the off-season? We try to figure out just where this teams front office could be at as we assess the team heading into the final stages...

With Shannon out on “assignment” for the next two days, Richard Deitsch will be subbing in to take his place next to Bob.    No need for a guest today as Bob and Richard open up a conversation about the outlook of sports talk radio in the country and its future as a consistent media to consume sports. With Podcasting fast becoming the new standard, the two wonder how sustainable sports talk radio is as they look back at their experience at Sportsnet and compare the differences in how sports radio was advertised then to now. As sustainability dwindles when it comes...

We are weeks away from the start of spring training so it’s only fitting if we bring on our friend, Shi Davidi. The spend their time today talking about the Toronto Blue Jays. We address their roster concerns and needs as we try to figure out who will be suiting up in both the 3rd base and Shortstop positions on MLB’s opening day in March. We also talk about the status of some of their top level prospects and wonder if the team will be able to retain Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette once they hit free agen

Haven’t talked to Doug in a while so we decide we catch up with Mr. MacLean on todays podcast.   Whether it’s his pickle ball championship trophy or his philosophy on tanking - Doug, Bob and John manage to talk about a lot without talking about much at all as Doug shares stories from his days working in St. Louis, how John was able to convince him to venture into broadcasting and more on todays podcast.

Pierre McGuire joins the show today as we talk about Bruce Boudreau getting fired from the Vancouver Canucks, his replacement in Rick Tocchet and some general NHL talk to start of the week with some hockey chatter.

We’ve got the two Mikes today as we end off the week with a good ol’ fashioned Friday Roundtable.   The foursome spend a large portion of todays show discussing the apparent officiating issue we are seeing in the NHL. With the referees seemingly getting worse by the game we try to get to the bottom of what’s going on and what needs to be done to rectify the situation before switching topics to the coaching side of things. After seeing a large amount of coaches finding success with new teams, the four debate on the importance of head coaches...

General Manager of the Winnipeg Jets and friend to the podcast, Kevin Cheveldayoff joins the podcast today to talk about the terrific start to the season this Jets team has had.   Kevin gives us an idea of his process when it came to looking for a new head coach and lets us know why he though Rick Bowness was the best fit to lead the team moving forward before we move on to the rest of his team. The three talk about the teams depth and chemistry playing a key role in their success so far this year as Kevin g...

Perkins and Longley are checking in to the podcast today for a Toronto Blue Jays themed MLB Roundtable.   The foursome talk about the progress of the Jay’s 300 Million dollar stadium renovation as we debate on the significance of the upgrade and what it will do for the Blue Jays organization. We then shift focus to Toronto’s roster as the four look into the changes they have made this off season and wonder if the front office has any more plans to improve their current team. We also look a little bit into the future ti end the show - Wit...

Howard Simon joins us from Buffalo as we take a look at the winners and losers of the NFL's Wild Card Games. Focusing on the Bills, we get an update on Damar Hamlin's health before breaking down Buffalo's win against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The three analyze the teams offense, defense and coaching staff to see where they stack up with other Super Bowl contenders before making our way over to some more general NFL talk and end with a brief discussion on the Buffalo Sabres.

With the New England Patriots missing the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, we start our focus on the NFL as the three break down the team and wonder what Bill Belichick can do to get this Patriots roster back to the perennial Super Bowl contenders they once were. Before the end of the show we fit in some Celtics and Bruins discussion. With both teams sitting at the top of the standings in their respective leagues, we look at the performances from their stars as we take a look at the NBA and NHL from a...

Burnside and Duhatschek checking into the podcast today to end the week with a good ol’ fashioned Friday Roundtable with Bob and John.   The three talk about the struggling Colorado Avalanche and their chances of repeating before switching over to he Florida Panthers and the Eastern Conference.   The three debate on what went wrong for the Panthers team who are fighting for a playoff spot just a year after winning the presidents trophy before we head back to the western conference to address the surprisingly good Seattle Kraken.   We manage to fit in some trade deadline talk into this jam packe...

Jack Armstrong joins the show to catch up with Bob and John on todays podcast.   Before we get to the hoops talk we had to address the elephant in the room. Jack’s Christmas album. We get the details on how it all started, his live concert and more before shifting focus to the Toronto Raptors as they enter the second half of this years NBA season.   We discuss potential trade targets and roster improvements for the Raptors as we debate on what a realistic ending is for this underwhelming Toronto team.

Zooming in all the way from Switzerland, former NHL Head Coach and current bench boss of ZSC Lions, Marc Crawford joins the podcast to catch up with Bob and John.

The three talk about Marc’s return to ZSC and the differences between coaching pro hockey in Europe compared to North America. Marc gives us an idea of what kind of skill level he’s working with in Switzerland, shares stories from his career in the NHL and gives us an update on his plans for the future on todays episode.

Whats going on with the Toronto Raptors? Should they blow things up and start the re-build or fight for a play-in spot? With the NBA trade deadline nearing and no clear direction for the future, we bring on Paul Jones to answer all of these questions and more as we take a deep dive into the state of the Toronto Raptors.

Dave Hodge joins us today  as we bounce from league to league and cover some of the bigger headlines in the sporting world.

We start with the NFL and their response to Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest he suffered last week in the Buffalo Bills game against the Cincinatti Bengals. With the official decision to not complete last weeks game, we talk about what that means when it comes to league standings and how it affects the playoff matchups as we get ready for the NFL Playoffs. We then shift over to the NFL as we look at...

Drafted 25th overall to the New York Rangers, Mike Murphy began his NHL career in 1970 as a player… little did he know that Mikes involvement with the league would span over 50 years and would end as the NHL’s Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations. 

We bring Mike on the podcast today, just a week after working his final game, to reflect on his historic career as player, coach and executive as we celebrate his contribution to the game of Hockey.

John Paul Morosi joins us from Halifax to talk about Canada’s 6-2 win over the United States in the smith finals of the World Junior Championships. The three talk about the to controversial goalie interference against the US team as we preview Canada’s gold medal game against Czechia tonight. We then move over to baseball as we talk about the Toronto Blue Jays & some of the deals that still need to be made this off-season

Another two for one episode for ya today as Richard Deitsch joins the podcast to discuss the status of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin and the NFL’s response to Hamlin’s cardiac arrest he suffered during their Monday Night Football matchup against the Cincinatti Bengals. We then bring Doug Smith on the show for some Raptors talk as we analyze the teams recent performance and speculate on potential moves the front office could make before the trade deadline.

On todays NHL Roundtable with Kevin and Mike, the four go over last nights Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins. We talk about the significance of the Winter Classic and question the impact outdoor games actually have when it comes to profit and marketability. We also talk about the Boston Bruins and their elevated level of play compared to last year, the Carolina Hurricanes and fit in a brief discussion about Connor Bedard and the World Junior Championships. 

Happy New Year and welcome back! Just Bob and John today as we kick off the new year by reflecting on some of the biggest sporting headlines of 2022 and look forward to what to come in 2023. We start the show with the NFL as we preview tonights matchup between the Cincinatti Bengals and the Buffalo Bills before we look at the rest of the league, analyzing this years disappointments, favourites and dark horses as we near the 2023 NFL playoffs. We then shift focus to the World Junior Championships being held in Halifax and find out why John is tired...

Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations of the Montreal Canadiens, Jeff Gorton, joins the show to talk about his team on todays episode.

With almost a year under his belt in Montreal, Bob and John talk to Jeff about his experience with the Habs so far, his comprehension of the French language and what his plans for the team are going forward. We get some insight on what Jeff brings to the table, having worked for two original 6 teams already, and learn the differences within the fan base and media in Montreal compared to markets like Boston...

Former player, broadcaster & NHL executive, Dale Tallon joins the show to chat with Bob and John.

With golf talk out of the way the three discuss Dale's time in Chicago and pick his brain on what he thinks needs to happen in order to have a championship contending hockey club. We talk about the intricacies of the free agent market, how important scouting college hockey players is in a 7 round draft and get some info at the end of the show on whether we will see Dale in an NHL teams front office again anytime soon.

From September 5th 2022

It was 30 years ago today that Canadians were introduced to "The FAN". Canada's first all sports radio station, The FAN was responsible for kickstarting the careers of some of the countries most well known broadcasters, including our very own Bob McCown.

The brains behind the operation, Allan Davis, joins us today to talk to Bob and John and to look back on what made the station so successful and how it revolutionized the way we consume sports content.

Check out one of our favourite interviews that we did this year while Bob and John are on their vacation!

A man who needs no introduction.... Doug Gilmour joins the podcast today to catch up with Bob and John.

We get lots of info from Doug as he reminisces about his days playing hockey. We ask him about his thinking process that went into choosing his jersey numbers, the infamous missed call that stopped the Leafs from going to the Stanley Cup Final and other details fans may not know about the former Leafs Captain.<...

We’re taking a week off! While we’re away, we will be running some of our favourite episodes that we recorded this year! Check it out if you missed it, see ya next week! 

Member of both the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame & the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and one of the countries greatest golfers to play the game, Lorie Kane, graces Bob and John with her presence on todays episode.

With Lorie set to compete in her 30th and final Canadian Women's Open Bob and John talk to her about her ca...

It’s our last episode of 2022 as Kelly Hrudey joins the show to end the year with Bob and John on a high note. We spend todays show listening to Kelly share some stories from his playing days as he remembers what it was like being traded to the Los Angeles Kings and gives us some insight on what it was like celebrating the holidays as a professional athlete. 

As we get ready to celebrate the holidays with friends, family and loved ones, we at the Bob McCown Podcast would like to thank our listeners for the con...

President and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays, Mark Shapiro himself hops back on the podcast to catch up with Bob and John.

With renovations currently underway at the Rogers Centre, Mark gives us a progress report on the 300 Million Dollar makeover for the leagues 7th oldest ballpark before shifting focus to the Blue Jays roster, Mark's opinion on the teams off-season signings and his exceptions heading into next year as we get closer to the start of Spring Training.

In the middle of a tough stretch of basketball for the Toronto Raptors, having lost 8 of their last 10 games, we bring on Matt Devlin to give us his perspective on the disappointing start to the Raptor’s season. We talk to Matt about the impact that injuries have had on the teams success, Nick Nurse’s hesitance to look deeper into the rotation and the non stop trade rumours surrounding OG Anunoby. Before we go, we manage to fit in some more general NBA chatter as we talk about the resurgence of the Brooklyn Nets.

Our very own Bay Area correspondent and friend of the show, Ray Ratto joins us today as we focus on what’s going on in the sports world down in San Francisco.

We start the conversation with the Major League Baseball and the Giants as we dig into some of the moves the team has made so far this off season before shifting focus to the future of the Golden State Warriors Championship core. When we come back from the break we talk some NFL as we break down the current Quarter Back issue (?) with the...

ESPN’s Ray Ferraro joins the show today to start off the week with some hockey talk with Bob and John.

Does a new voice really make that much of a difference? We spend the first half of the show talking to Ray about the impact a new head coach has on his team as we discuss the success Bruce Cassidy, Rick Bowness & Jim Montgomery have found after changing locations this offseason.

After the break, head over to the NHL’s Pacific Division as we talk about the surprisingly good Seattle Kraken & Bo Horvat’s situat...

Its the return of the Friday Roundtable as we bring on two guys who can talk about a little bit of everything in George Ofman & Richard Deitsch. We bounce around from topic to topic today as we try to take advantage of George's windy city roots, focusing much of the conversation on the sad state of Chicago sports. With each of their 5 professional sports franchises in the middle or on the verge of an all-out re-build, the four gloss over the situations of each team based in Chicago before transitioning into a more general discussion about Major League Baseball...

Our good friend Buck Martinez today to talk some baseball with Bob and John. The three talk about the Toronto Blue Jays and asses the teams recent signings in Kevin Kiermaier and Chris Bassitt as we talk about where we think they will fit best and speculate on the impact they will make on this Blue Jays roster. Before we go, we also talk about the moves made by other teams throughout the league and have a conversation about Buck’s health and where his head is at regarding the future of his broadcasting career.

  Lost of stuff going on in the NHL this week, so who better than Nick Kypreos to come on the show and talk about it all with Bob and John?   With his 800th last night, Alexander Ovechkin is only 95 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s all-Time Leading scorer… so is it realistic to think that, at 37 years old, the Russian superstar can do it? That’s what we focus the first half of todays show on as we debate the significance of Ovi’s 800 goals in todays era of the game and try to place him on our lis...

We talk to Dan about two of the newest faces fans we see in Blue Jays gear next season as we discuss the signings of Chris Bassitt & Kevin Kiermaier. The three talk about Toronto’s off-season performance so far this winter while speculating on what the additions of Bassitt and Kiermaier mean for the franchise, further player acquisitions and the overall makeup of their roster on todays episode.

Naturally, when you have two former NHL goaltenders and current NHL broadcasters on the show you talk about hockey… right?    No hockey today we dig into the parallels of comedy in sport with two guys who know a few things about stopping pucks and telling jokes. Scott Darling and Jim Ralph join the show today as we talk about their connection with comedy in their life after sport. We talk to Scott about his transition from the net to the stage as we find out what drove him to try his hand at stand up. We also get Jim’s perspe...

After 19 days in Qatar, TSN’s James Duthie joins the show to talk about his experience covering his first ever World Cup. We ask James about his time in Qatar and get his impressions on the controversial host country and their $300 Billion dollar budget for the tournament before discussing Team Canada’s performance both on the pitch and from their coach, John Herdman. After Duthie leaves, we welcome Rob Longley onto the show to discuss the Toronto Blue Jays lacklustre offseason as we question whether the teams front office will ever be willing to spend the money it takes to l...

Some basketball talk today as we welcome Doug Smith and Michael Grange to the podcast to talk about the Toronto Raptors. After breaking down their win last night against the depleted Los Angeles Lakers, we analyze the Raptors roster and debate on what they need to do to improve their rotation, and question whether they need improvement at all. We also talk about Scottie Barnes’ second year slump, the progression of OG Anunoby’s game and the lack of defensive production coming from guys like Fred Van Fleet and Gary Trent Jr.

The Toronto Sun’s STEVE SIMMONS joins the show today to catch up with Bob and John. The three spend the first half of the podcast analyzing the Toronto Maple Leafs and their recent play. We talk about Mitch Marner’s record setting point streak, the “struggling” Auston Matthews and wonder whether this is John Tavares’ best season as a Maple Leaf. Shifter gears to Major League Baseball in the second block of the show, Steve, Bob and John go over some storylines emerging from this years winter meetings and talk about Aaron Judge’s decision to stay with the New York...

Daren Millard, the voice of the Vegas Golden Knights, and NESN’s Billy Jaffe join the podcast today for some hockey talk. The four start the show by discussing Vegas’ shootout win last night against the Boston Bruins before focusing on the two teams surprisingly good starts to the season. We ask Daren about Golden Knights net-minder Logan Thompson, and wonder if he is the answer to Vegas’ goalie issues before shifting the conversation over to the Boston Bruins as we look at what they’ve done to find themselves at the top of the standings 24 games into their regular...

Dave Hodge returns to the show to start the week off with some baseball talk. With the leagues winter meetings underway, we talk to Dave about all of the big name players who have yet to sign with a team and speculate on where they might end up. As always with Dave, we talk about the Toronto Blue Jays and get an update on who they are targeting and what roster moves we should expect before the start of next season.