The Steve Warne Project - Ottawa Sports Talk

Should the NFL look at a draft lottery or bring the hammer down somehow on the Philadelphia Eagles? That was a total tank job on Monday night, giving Washington the final NFC playoff spot. Are the Leafs seriously thinking of using Joe Thornton on their top line? Imagine demanding to be traded after your employer, who won't have any customers this season, gives you a two year deal worth 10 million...

We talk about what we did over the holidays. We discuss how TV shows like Schitt's Creek and Bridgerton are both modelling acceptance. The NFL Playoffs are all set and they include Cleveland!! And Tim Stützle has hockey fans in Ottawa pumped for the new season.

2020 was a year like no other and will be forgotten by no one. Meanwhile, a few athletes had fantastic years, despite the world's challenges. Jim has some random trivia about 2020 and we also review some of the other sports moments.

At the World Junior Hockey Championships, Canada has won the last two games by a combined score of 26-2. Is this poor sportsmanship or something they have to do? Houston's JJ Watt knows his team is way out of the playoffs but gives a long speech about effort and continuing to play for the fans. Troy Aikman needs to start watching Tony Romo to see how it's done.

It's all "whatever" today as we sip egg nog, play some Christmas tunes and, of course, we're visited by the ghost of Christmas past.

Jim somehow doesn't know how fantasy football works. We discuss how pro sports that don't embrace fantasy, gambling and other things will continue to lose the younger audience. Provincial officials are all focused on their own provinces, all doing their own thing. It's hard to imagine they will ALL sign off on an NHL Return to play plan.

NY Jets blow their perfect 0-13 Season and a chance to draft Trevor Lawrence. A new NHL Season will harken back to the days of the NHL's Original Six. Roughly the same length of schedule and, for the All-Canadian North division, only six opponents all season long. That's it. Six.

The NHL and NHLPA have officially approved their return to play plans for January 13th, but how will they make an all Canadian division work when every Canadian NHL city is a hot COVID mess right now. Ontario will reportedly go into maximum COVID lockdown measures starting Thursday. Alberta is already there. BC won't NHL teams fly in or out. Quebec and Manitoba governments both describe their situ...

We discuss our fondness for The Eagles and bad concerts we've been to. The NHL is expected to approve ads on the sides of player helmets. How far will the NHL take this? Will ads completely take over uniforms? Tiger and his son are in this weekend's PGA father-son tournament, now known as the PNC Championship. Henrik Lundqvist will miss this season with heart issues. Jaromir Jagr will never stop.

Jim provides insight on the latest info from the Walter Gretzky case. Could Trevor Lawrence say no to the sad sack New York Jets? Steve has to figure out a way to keep his offended cat from attacking his daughter's cat that's here for Christmas.

Walter Gretzky's house in Brantford is famous. It's the childhood home of Wayne Gretzky and basically a Gretzky museum. Walter is famous for his trusting nature, allowing people he doesn't know into the home to tour the place. Back in August, someone robbed him...Grrrr. Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA's reigning two-time Most Valuable Player, has signed a multi-year extension with the Milwaukee Buc...

Cleveland's MLB team plans to Dump the "Indians" Name, but not until 2021. They do NOT plan to call themselves the Cleveland Baseball Team. Braden Holtby's goalie mask controversy is a bit puzzling. We discuss a scene from the classic holiday movie: A Christmas Story.

Wayne Gretzky rookie card becomes the first card to pass the $1 Million mark. Some great Paul Coffey Stories on the 25th anniversary of Coffey becoming the first NHL defenceman to score 1000 career points. Colorado's Stanley Cup Architect Passes Away; As expected Wayne Gretzky's rookie card becomes the first card to sell for over $1 Million.

75th U.S. women's open is underway in Houston Texas…all eyes in these parts are on Brooke Henderson….who at 23 is already the greatest player in Canadian golf history… Temporary NHL realignment plans are taking shape. The alignment currently looks like this according to sources: Bos-Buf-NJ-NYI-NYR-Pha-Pgh-Was Car-CBJ-Det-Chi-Fla-Min-Nas-TB Ana-Ari-Col-Dal-LA-SJ-STL-VG Canadian teams Paul George ge...

The federal government has given the green light to the Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, a key step toward launching the largest inoculation campaign in Canada's history. Childhood Christmas gift memories… Gary Bettman: "If everything stays the way it is, we're probably going to have to have a Canadian division and realign in the U.S., and we're trying to focus on dealing with all of those chal...

The U.K. rolled out the first coronavirus vaccines to the public on Tuesday, making it the first country to inoculate people with a treatment that went through full testing. New details on the NHL’s return to play. Owners will not seek to change anything about the collective bargaining agreement they struck back in July. Both sides targeting Jan. 13 start to season in order to get 56-game schedule...

Boston TV reporter interviews Flames legend Jarome Iginla about bad weather and road conditions and has no idea who he is. New York Jets fired defensive co-ordinator Gregg Williams. Seconds away from their first win, the New York Jets took an unnecessary gamble on defense -- an all-out blitz that resulted in a touchdown and a 31-28 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Instea...

A Vancouver Sun story on twitter indicates the Canucks anthem singer will be attending an anti-mask rally. Canucks owner appears to fire him via a twitter reply. Happy 30th to the Ottawa Senators. The NHL awarded Ottawa's expansion franchise on December 6th, 1990. Is a Wayne Gretzky rookie card really worth a $1 million? With the passing of a 1980's TV sitcom star, we look at the top 5 sitcoms of...

Referee Wes McCauley is sometimes a bit much. Best referees are the one you don't notice. Patrick Roy's trade from Montreal happened 25 years ago this week. Apparently, the Habs were planning to trade Roy even before the fateful game where he got shelled vs Detroit. It's time to stop retiring NHL numbers. And movie theatres may not be long for this world.

Evander Kane wants to fight YouTube stars. LeBron gets PAID.

The NHL is out of time to return on January 1st. We talk food, specifically perogies, gnocchi and pasta. And how the hell could F1 driver Romain Grosjean be mentally ready to return to racing already???

Rogers Centre will reportedly be replaced and we look back at some great moments in that building. The Ravens and Steelers get delayed yet again due to Covid. A Dad points fingers at Tim Horton's, saying they're not properly distributing the most valuable cards. Tim's says that's not true.

The Broncos get worked over by the Saints after losing all 4 quarterbacks. Pat Mahomes and Tom Brady meet once again. Mike Tyson fight is a snoozer and the awful F1 wreck that somehow Romain Grojean walks away from.

We discuss the latest on COVID: In Alberta, it's a new wave of shutdowns, including some schools and Team Canada's U-20 team shutting down for 10 days. In Ontario, there's a restaurant owner who was arrested today for refusing to close his doors to diners and that's sparked many anti-lockdown protests. We also get into The Match 3: Charles Barkley and Phil Mickelson vs Steph Curry and Peyton Manni...

It's Jim's Birthday so we discuss the day we met and our days on the TSN morning show. We remember soccer legend Diego Maradona. COVID postpones the best NFL Thanksgiving Day game as cases in America continue to rise to alarming levels. Former Leafs star Rick Vaive has a new book out with some very funny stories including a classic about Harold Ballard's dog.