The Neutral Zone

On today’s episode, Paralympic wheelchair racer Austin Smeenk joins us to discuss his career and his experience at the Tokyo Paralympic games in 2022 Canada was recently announced as one of the host countries for the 2026 World Cup. Approximately seven games will be played on Canadian soil between the cities of Vancouver and Toronto. There are reports out there that suggest Edmonton was a front ru...

On today’s episode, Joshua Watson joins us to talk about the Athletics Ontario U20, Open and Para Provincial Championships. Unfortunately, the event was mismanaged and Josh tells us why this shouldn’t happen in the future. We continue our fifth-year anniversary with additional discussions surrounding the show and its proudest moments. Plus, we bring you the final results from this year’s Junior Na...

On today’s episode, The Neutral Zone is celebrating its fifth anniversary! We take a look back at changes to the show, some of our hosts’ favourite moments and some of our favourite guests. The gang will also be joined by one of the originals, Bret Wills and their first technical producer, and summer student, Nick Liske. We put a wrap on the Canada Cup wheelchair rugby tournament and we preview th...

On this week’s episode, Brock Richardson talks about his experience at a regional Boccia competition and a rule that could drastically change the game for individuals with dexterity deficiencies at recreational and competitive levels. Canadian women’s National team member Claire Buchanan gives us the breakdown of the 2022-23 Canadian team that was recently selected. Plus, the panel brings you up t...

On today’s episode, we give you the results from the 2022 Canadian para ice hockey championships that took place in Leduc Alberta. Our very own Josh Watson fills us in on how he did at the latest track and field event, the Johnny Loaring Classic, in Windsor Ontario. Host Brock Richardson previews his first Boccia event since 2018. We bring you up to speed on the Stanley Cup playoffs and Colorado’s...

Para sport TV Creator and play-by-play guy Nicco Cardarelli stops by and gives us his impression on the 2022 Parasport Games. Brock and Josh also weigh in with their thoughts on the event both as medal presenter and athlete! The battle of Alberta is on for the first time since 1991! We will break down the first game and preview the rest of the series. The Toronto Maple Leafs suffer another first r...

The 42nd addition of the Ontario Para Sport Games are taking place from May 13-15th in Mississauga, Ontario. We give you all the details about this event and check in with and our very own Joshua Watson, who is competing in Para Athletics. The Toronto Blue Jays have been scuffling recently, how much of that is due to their own shortcomings or is it bad umpiring? The panel debates. Plus, as the Sta...

In another Moral Questions segment, we explore the topic of transgender athletes. We will take an in-depth look at a recent interview with Caitlyn Jenner where she breaks down why she believes transgender females should not compete with males from a biological standpoint. Vancouver GM Jim Rutherford says he will offer head coach Bruce Boudreau one more year behind the bench, but does he deserve mo...

Paralympic snowboarder Lisa DeJong has only been involved internationally for a year! She joins us to discuss her early success. Can the Toronto Raptors season be considered a success after their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal? Does Pascal Siakam really deserve to be viewed as part of the core of this team moving forward? As the NHL playoffs are jus...

Two-time Paralympic snowboarding medallist Tyler Turner drops by to discuss his experiences at the Beijing Paralympic games and the debut of para-snowboarding. How much of the Toronto Raptors first round playoff struggles can be pinned on the officials? The panel takes an in-depth look at their opening-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers. And, as the NHL season winds down and teams prepare...

Ari Shapiro, host of the podcast Whiskey and Cream, stops by to preview the upcoming MLB season. Through a generous donation, Sanjay Malaviya, a Canadian healthcare technology entrepreneur, gives $5000 for any Olympic or Paralympic athlete who received a medal at either Tokyo or Beijing. This is the first time that Paralympic athletes will receive any money. For Olympic athletes, this money will b...

We wrap up the Canadian blind hockey championships and the cruiser sports para ice hockey champions Day that took place over the weekend, where both Claire Buchanan and Josh Watson took home some hardware! Former Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk passed away earlier this week. The panel discusses his legacy and success as an owner. We continue our conversation surrounding the MLB and this season...

NHL on Sportsnet analyst Justin Bourne breaks down the 2022 Trade Deadline and discusses the winners and losers from the day. On our segment called Moral Questions we explore the topic of classifications in para sports and how it can discourage athletes from playing sports. Baseball’s back! We break down the collective bargaining agreement and some of the rule changes that will take effect this se...

On today’s episode, the Canadian para-ice hockey team won yet another silver medal, this marks 16 years since their last gold medal . We debate what’s next for hockey Canada and its para-ice hockey program. Canadian blind hockey play-by-play announcer, Nicco Cardarelli, joins us to discuss the 2022 Canadian Blind Hockey Championships which takes place from March 25-27th. The tournament makes its r...

Dominique Tremblay stops by to chat about the growth of the Paralympic movement, both as an athlete and now in an administrative role with the summer games. He shares his thoughts on where the biggest growth is currently needed. As we head into the final weekend of the Paralympic Games, Brock, Claire and Cameron breakdown the games and they weigh in on how they feel about CBC’s coverage of the gam...

Chef de mission Josh Dueck joins us from Beijing to give us an idea of how he’s preparing the team for a successful Paralympic games. Kelly and Company’s guide dog and service animal contributor Devon Wilkins stops by to tell us about her podcast called Paralympic update which will highlight the Paralympic Games starting today. The IPC has made the decision to ban Russia and Belarus from the Paral...

CBC sports Olympic and Paralympic host Scott Russell stops by to debrief the Olympic Games and tells us everything we need to know about the upcoming Paralympic games. Plus, Brock, Josh, and Cameron debate why these Winter Olympics were among the lowest in television ratings. Also, are the Paralympic games being spotlighted appropriately on national television?

On today’s episode, we conclude our look at winter Paralympic sports with para ice hockey. Our panel has vast experience within the sport and they will share their stories and experiences! The 2022 Olympic games come to a close in just two days, has this been a success for Team Canada? The panel debates. Russian teenager Kamila Valieva was cleared to compete in the women's figure skating competiti...

On this week’s episode we are going to continue featuring sports that you will see at the Paralympic games in Beijing. This week we feature Wheelchair Curling. Super Bowl LVI is upon us. The big game is Sunday, February 13th. We break down the game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams. We will also have some fun with the prop betting that surrounds the game! We continue the conversa...

In this week's episode Brock, Cam and Claire discuss the details of drug testing at Olympic-level events. Is the process too invasive? What would you replace it with? Also discussed on our Moral Questions segment, What are the ethics of competing in the Olympics in the age of Omicron, where the risk of being infected with COVID-19 is very high. Finally, we discuss the legacy of Tom Brady and his r...

The baseball Hall of Fame announces that David Ortiz is a first time ballot Hall of Famer. He will also be the only member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2022. This means that Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens will not be voted into the Hall of Fame. The panel debates whether or not they will ever be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame! We begin our series called “Moral Questions in the Sporting Commun...

We continue featuring para-sports that will be seen in 2022 Beijing Paralympic Games. This week we take an in-depth look at cross country skiing! We put a wrap on the NFL’s wildcard weekend and we preview the upcoming divisional round and which teams will earn the right to play in the conference championships. Plus, as the Olympic and Paralympic Games approach, the organizing committee says there...

As the Paralympic Games approach, we continue featuring Paralympic sports you will see in Beijing! This week we break down para biathlon. Evander Kane has been released by the San José Sharks after producing a fake vaccination passport. This decision comes in the midst of his seven-year contract, which has now been terminated. The panel debates whether Kane deserves another chance in the league. W...

We kick off 2022 continuing our series on Paralympic sports being contested in Beijing. This week we discuss Para-Alpine Skiing. With the new restrictions being recently implemented across the country, many venues have capacity limits. How will this affect the sports world economically moving forward? Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Antonio Brown recently left the sideline in the middle of a ga...

The former head coach of the United States wheelchair basketball program, Lawrence Johnson, has decided to step down after allegations of emotional misconduct made by several players. What impact will this not only have on the program itself, but on wheelchair basketball as a whole? Team Jennifer Jones gets to represent Canada in curling on the women’s side. Jocelyn Peterman stops by to let us in...