Toronto Legends

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

Ed the Sock Creator Steven Kerzner remembers North York’s Newton Cable, shares Ed’s origin story [involves the Crafts Closet] and namesake [think Lou Grant/Carl from UP], talks about Ed’s Night Party transitioning from community cable to CityTV to a national MuchMusic audience, why he thinks Moses Znaimer is responsible for the greatest phase of creativity in Canadian TV history [people love to wa...

HC Davos Coach/Ex-NHLer Glen Metropolit talks about going from Cabbagetown/Regent Park to playing pro hockey literally around the world, getting training inspiration from ‘The Killer’ Doug Gilmour running the hills of Christie Pits, lining up for his first NHL faceoff against Pavel Bure [flanked by Adam Oates & Peter Bondra], utilizing ‘The Metro Method,’ doing his morning skate with the Philadelp...

Gibby!! Former Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons talks about why he loves Toronto [and why Toronto loves him back], the story behind writing his new autobiography, why Josh Donaldson wrote the foreword, his back to back ALCS appearances in 2015/2016, the Jose Bautista bat flip [“whole stadium was shaking!”], the Jose Bautista punch up [“he got rocked but never went down!”], the Shea Hillenbra...

Degrassi Co-creator Linda Schuyler talks about producing over 500 episodes of the iconic franchise, why Drake will always be Aubrey Graham to her, sets the record straight on the urban legend that Drake threatened legal action to get Jimmy Brooks OUT of his wheelchair, gives HER side of the Aubrey Graham audition story [in contrast to Drake’s version as delivered to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Sho...

OverActive Media Group’s Bob Hunter updates the E-Sports venue project at Exhibition Place and shares stories from the ORIGINAL Ontario Place, BC Place Stadium, Expo 86 Worlds Fair, SkyDome [now Rogers Centre], Air Canada Centre [now Scotiabank Place], BMO Field, Lamport Stadium, the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, the 2016 NBA All-Star Game, putting together the ‘puzzles’ involved in venue conversions...

Stand-up Comedian & Podcaster Ben Bankas talks about taking his ‘Permission 2 Laugh’ tour across Canada, the strength of Mark Breslin’s Yuk Yuk’s brand, launching his ‘Please, Wear a Mask’ stand-up special on YouTube, travelling from Kingston to Toronto for his very first set [5 minutes!] at P.J. O'Briens Irish Pub, his creative process of using journal entries to create new material, the post-scr...

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

Actor/Writer/Author/Musician/Comedian Paul Reiser talks about stand up comedy being his first love, creating Mad About You & casting Helen Hunt with his wife’s approval, stumbling into his breakout role in Barry Levinson’s ‘Diner,’ seeing George Carlin/Robert Klein/David Brenner/Robin Williams/Billy Crystal/Rodney Dangerfield LIVE in the local NYC clubs, sharing the set with Carol O’Connor/Carol B...

Scarborough rap superstar Choclair talks about coming up together with Jully Black, Kardinal Offishall and Saukrates, morphing from ‘Junior’ to ‘Choclair’ [and how he got that name], literally getting called out of the classroom to rep his high school in rap battles, his appreciation for MuchMusic’s Michael Williams & Master T, the bump from the Little X-directed ‘Let’s Ride’ video, using paper-sc...

Financial Literacy Expert & Consumer Advocate Ellen Roseman talks about being BLOCKED by Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey, her Montreal roots, moving from covering Women’s Wear to Business at Maclean-Hunter, going from The Toronto Star to The Globe & Mail [and back to The Star], her initial feedback to David Chilton’s draft for The Wealthy Barber [“Where’s the beef?? You are no John Le Carre!”], intervi...

1992 Barcelona Olympics 110m Gold Medal hurdler Mark McKoy talks about being a gum-chewing Mr. International, why he still [after 30+ years] gets goosebumps watching his Gold Medal-winning run, where he keeps his Olympic Gold medal, his admiration for ‘exquisite’ hurdler [and eventual roomate] Ronaldo Nehemiah, devastatingly being prevented from attending the boycotted 1980 Olympics in Moscow, mis...

Comedy writer Darrell Vickers talks about being Head Writer for The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, how after being hired he did not actually talk to Johnny again for two and a half years [!!], moving freely past Ed McMahon’s bodyguard, working with guest hosts Garry Shandling/Jay Leno/Billy Crystal/Bill Cosby/Chevy Chase, why Johnny wishes his 2nd last show [Robin Williams, Bette Milder] had...

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

Former MuchMusic & Entertainment Tonight Canada host Rick Campanelli talks about morphing from ‘Rick the Temp’ into ‘Rick the Franchise,’ how his father unplugging the house phone almost prevented his MuchTemp contest win, meeting both an AMAZING and a HORRIBLE celebrity within the same band interview [spoiler: involves Aerosmith], the endless sea of people at Woodstock ’99, going from 2 suits at...

The Carnegie Initiative’s Bernice Carnegie shares stories about her father Herb Carnegie, widely regarded as the best Black hockey player to never play in the National Hockey League: ·       The Black Aces Line: Herbie Carnegie, Ossie Carnegie & Manny McIntyre ·       Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe offering $10,000 to anyone who could “turn Herb Carnegie white” ·       Paving the way for Willie O’R...

GZERO Media Publisher Evan Solomon talks about packing up & moving to The Big Apple/NYC, leaving his comfort zone to seek out ‘pleasurable discomfort,’ asking his holiness the Dalai Lama the most sensitive of life’s questions, how he tried with a combative interviewee to “Tai Chi-it but ended up getting rolled,” GZERO trying to see around the political corner to build non-partisan bridges between...

Legendary CityNews Anchor Gord Martineau talks about leaving the desk after 39 years, knowing at 14 what he wanted to do with his life, recognizing John [JD] Roberts was destined for news anchor greatness, being mistaken by the PM for Keith Morrison, Moses Znaimer being a genius visionary, surprising meetups with George Harrison/Janet Jackson/Annie Lennox, giving real estate advice to Ted Rogers o...

Stanley Cup Champion/Ex-Maple Leaf Ric Nattress talks about winning the Stanley Cup in Calgary with Lanny McDonald and his ‘little brother’ Doug ‘Killer’ Gilmour, being part of the biggest blockbuster trade in Maple Leafs history [‘the Ric Nattress Trade...LOL’], why he’s proudly a Hamilton mama’s boy, getting drafted by the Habs while busy scarfing Forum hot dogs, being paired with Larry Robinson...

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

Offside: The Harold Ballard Story executive producer Michael Geddes talks about working with Vancouverite/90210’s Jason Priestley, the ‘Ballard Curse’ being responsible for 56 seasons [and counting] without a Stanley Cup [and 19 seasons without winning a playoff round!], uncovering both urban legends [threatening to turn the womens’ McGill Club into a Playboy Club] and realities [direct fan access...

Restaurateur/Entrepreneur Chef Joe Friday talks about cooking for ‘Spicy P’ Pascal Siakam and hanging with Kobe Bryant, his awareness of the fictional Detective Joe Friday, his Okinawa/Japan upbringing and transition to North Carolina, applying his martial arts skills to wrestling dominance, why DISNEY is the world’s #1 Food & Beverage program if you want a broad education, why he has conquered AL...

LyricVids.com co-founder Anthony Craparotta explains the WHAT and the WHY about Lyric Videos, talks about the inspiration for his rap moniker ILLVIBE [from A Tribe Called Quest], opening for Kehlani and Chris Brown in Croatia, turning an audio artpiece into a visual digitally animated asset, the utility of lyric videos for both current and legacy artists, the challenges of interpreting lyrics when...

Sports Artist David Arrigo talks about his breakout projects for Wayne Gretzky, driving the California coast in a Corvette with Guy Fieri, going speechless in front of Bono as he perused his art portfolio, handling all the detailed minutiae from KISS ‘Manager Al’ [or was it actually Gene Simmons??], his infamous ‘Grinch’ goalie mask for Mike Smith, starting his career with an air-brushed jean jack...

NHL Superstar Bernie Nicholls talks about McDonalds visits with Wayne Gretzky, leadership lessons from Dionne/Messier/Chelios/McSorley/Baumgartner, going from playing hockey in a town of 75 to playing in a city of 10 million, hanging out with Dr Jerry Buss and the Showtime Lakers, golfing with John Candy, Tom Hanks reppin' his jersey on Saturday Night Live, scoring 150 points [!!!] in a single sea...