Hump Day! Another day closer to the weekend – Friday can’t come soon enough. Sid was still absent from the radio show today. From his twitter feed, it appears he was hanging out at the UFC 129 press conference. Let’s hope for some good sound bites Sid!
If you’re Canadian and love hockey, you can probably already guess how today’s podcast was going to start. As Uncle Timmy said, “The Canucks/Blackhawks series is the reason you watch sports. It’s the ultimate reality t.v show.” And if you caught the Canuck rant from Tuesday’s show, you’re aware that Tim basically predicted a VAN city win. “Have faith in the rant, have faith in Uncle Timmy!” – Tim Micallef
Don’t Be Callin’ Me Weeksie!
Today’s first guest on Tim and Sid: Uncut was Mr. Kevin Weekes, retired NHL goaltender and now colour commentator for Hockey Night in Canada. Before we get into any of Tim’s interview with Weekes, I first want to comment about the awkwardness that occurred pre-discussion. Tim, upon saying hello, asked Weekes if he could call him Weeksie. Weekes gave a hesitant, “Sure, for the radio show.” And then what seemed liked someone trying to bring a laugh to the interview, Tim responded in a Jamaican accent using the nickname “Weeksie”. Silence…….silence…….more silence. The pause may have easily of been the fault of the connection and Weekes might not have heard him, but either way, I burst out laughing. Way to go Tim!
To start off the conversation, Tim asked Weekes what he thought about Luongo’s comments regarding the game 7 win being “better than the Gold medal game” in last year’s Olympics. Weekes seemed to agree with Luongo and his response had some rationale to it. NHL players didn’t compete in the Olympics until 1998, so it’s still relatively new. The Stanley Cup, however, has been around since the early 1900’s and has been a dream for some of these guys since they were little. It truly gave worth to how important the Cup is to some of these guys – even if they do play for Team Canada periodically. The boys chatted some more about the Canucks and the possible matchup with Nashville. Weekes feels the ‘nucks better step their game up because the Predators are going to bring it – not a team to take lightly. Conversation then drifted to game 7 for the Boston/Montreal series. Weekes was quite impressed with the Canadiens speed and the ability to execute their style of play, but he believes Boston will win game 7 in OT (3-2). As I’m writing this, he was pretty much right as Horton just netted the winner for Boston.
Facts from Medium “Sexy” Pizzo’s update:
1. Little talk about nicknames – Tim likes the idea of adding ‘er to the end of names.
2. Pizzo is not a big supporter of people who attend sport games and then proceed to run onto the field. However in the case of the streaking quadriplegic, roll little guy, roll. See video below.
3. Another NFL’er, Jason Hunter was stabbed this week.
4. Jimmer Fredette is starring in reality show tracking his move from college to the NBA.
5. You can’t say PIMP on radio?
The video regarding the “out-of-control” (sarcasm) wheelchair streaker.
Jason Whitlock @WhitlockJason
Tim’s second guest on today’s show was the one and only, outspoken sportswriter for Fox Sports, Jason Whitlock. Jason got a chance to plug his new podcast – he loves it so far, likes the flow of conversation and the ability to speak his mind without constant interruption of commercials and re-introductions. First off, Tim approached the recent podcast Jason had with Grant Hill. Whitlock’s podcast with Grant focused on Hill’s injury struggles, the mis-management of said injury, and the Fab Five documentary. If I got anything out of this part of the interview, it’s that the media can definitely have an impact on both players and their families. When Rose used the term “Uncle Tom” in the 30 for 30 doc., it appears that Grant was unable to comment prior to release and when your kid is calling you up asking what an “Uncle Tom” is? It can be pretty dis-heartening and insulting to you as a person/man. I can see where Grant Hill was pissed off at the comment by Rose and the rest of the Fab Five.
Another great part of the interview was the discussion on whether or not athletes in the NCAA/college sports should be paid. Whitlock felt that while we weren’t on the verge of change, he believes people are realizing that change is needed. It just depends on whether or not we can get rid of this “Bullshit System”. The Bullshit system being mainly the media. Tim made a great comparison to the baseball steroids scandal. Baseball was at an all-time high during the late 1990’s and when Canseco released his book, Juiced, I’m sure there were some pissed off people who didn’t want that popularity to decrease.
Near the end of the interview, Whitlock seemed to focus on the media and it’s ability to spin a story in order to make money. He also focused on his belief that the public, management, and the media definitely seem to exploit NCAA athletes. He brought up the book “Unsportsmanlike Conduct“, written by Walter Byers. Byers served as the NCAA executive director from 1951 to 1987 and was responsible for keeping intercollegiate sports clean while generating millions of dollars each year as income for the colleges. In his book, Byers exposes the history and present-day state of college athletics: monetary gifts, questionable academic standards, advertising endorsements, legal battles, and the political manipulation of college presidents. After this interview, it’s definitely a read that I’ll look for. If you click on the title of the novel, the link will direct you to Amazon for purchase.
Rapid Fire
I think Bronsteter was pushed for time today; interview between Tim and Whitlock took some time.
– Buying Snooki’s book “A Shore Thing” vs. Reading the book on transit and actually making it to Chapter 11: This wasn’t quite answered because Tim pretty much hates anything to do with Jersey Shore and that ended the conversation.
– Which Sports Venue has the funniest name?: Overstock.com Coliseum was mentioned. My pick for oddest venue would have to be Mall of America Field at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
– Have you ever pawned anything?: I’ve never pawned anything yet. This quickly went to discussion on how History channel have begun horrible shows. i.e. Pawn Stars, American Pickers, and Swamp People. Noon capped this segment with a great line, “Fat people can’t get out of their houses.” (referring to some of the documentaries aired on the History channel).
Full CSI HORNS for this show and the Tim and Sid: Uncut team. Tim rocks out another 10. The interview with Jason Whitlock is definitely in my top 3.
Sid and Tim: Cut 