The Bagchucker Podcast
Join former NHL pros Chris Mason and Hal Gill aka Mace and Skillsy as they hit the road and share the ultimate guide to life as a "Bagchucker" – hockey players turned broadcasters who’ve packed their bags and traveled the world. Whether you're a die-hard hockey fan or just love the thrill of travel, this podcast brings you expert insights into the NHL, the best travel hacks, and stories from life on the road. From rink-side banter to the hidden gems of cities around the league, Mace and Skillsy mix humor, experience, and the love of the game in this one-of-a-kind show.
The Bagchucker Podcast
Preds, Planes, Trains and Pickleball
Picture this: the Nashville Predators, with a lineup full of AHL call-ups and missing key players, manage to pull off a thrilling victory over the Dallas Stars. Our episode unravels this unexpected win and what it means for the Preds, who might have just turned the tables on their season. We analyze the game’s standout performances, from the incredible defense to the stellar showing by players like Factor and our goalie, while pondering if Nashville's status at the bottom of the NHL standings made them a trap team for Dallas. With cautious optimism, we discuss whether this victory might be the spark the Preds need to climb the ranks.
Ever wondered what it's like to juggle life on the NHL road? We take you behind the scenes, sharing the chaos of travel with humor and resilience. Find out how we cope with lost luggage, unexpected delays, and late-night arrivals while trying to maintain health and fitness routines. There are laugh-out-loud moments as we recount personal anecdotes of dealing with hectic schedules and unconventional workout routines. Maintaining mental toughness is essential, and we highlight the quirky methods we use to keep our bodies and minds in top shape despite the challenges of a broadcaster's hectic life.
As we explore the joys of an active lifestyle, you'll hear about our adventures, from a morning gym session and yoga stretches to an epic breakfast burrito in Denver before a fun pickleball game. We also gear up for a special guest appearance by Ryan O'Reilly, affectionately known as "Snook," whose insights we can't wait to share. His reflections promise to be inspiring, and you won't want to miss them. Sharing the excitement of our journey and the recent Predators' victory, we invite you, our listeners, to chime in with feedback, helping us create content that keeps you entertained and engaged.
Welcome to the Bag Chucker podcast where we break down life on the road in the NHL.
Speaker 2:We're your hosts, Chris Mason and Hal Gill, aka Mason Skilzy, former NHL players, current broadcasters for the Nashville Predators. Lifelong Bag Chuckers, dads, brothers and sons We've seen it all, from the bus rides to the big leagues.
Speaker 1:Each week we'll dive into what's going on around the league. We'll give you travel tips, places to go, things to do and stories from years of living out of a suitcase.
Speaker 2:What do you say? Mace Lobby in 10.
Speaker 1:Just chuck your bags and let's go. All right, welcome back to the Bag Chucker Podcast. We're back. We think it's episode 10. It could be nine, we don't know. We've been on the road a long time. We're kind of delirious. We'll get more into that. But, skilzy, how you doing bud, I'm doing all right, I'm hanging in there.
Speaker 2:Pal Brad's got to win. You know what? You can smile on the bus and smile on the plane, and that's a big release. I got some endorphins going with the smiling.
Speaker 1:The wind helps. That's the happy, that's the adrenaline. We got the happy vibes going right now. But let's just talk about the wind first, because it's been tough for the Preds lately. But you get that wind. You go into Dallas. Roman Yossi is out. You got four guys that started the American League on defense Factor's coming back from an injury, nyquist coming back. You probably think you're going to get beat down pretty good. Dallas hasn't even lost a game there all season, or they're 11-2 or something like that. So let's talk about that game, because that was. We forgot what that felt like, and so did the players.
Speaker 2:That was, uh, that was a really good game yeah, and even being up three, zip going into the third. You know it's like. You know, third period. This should be okay, we got this, but there's still the doubt in your mind. And you have a bunch of young guys I you know. You just called up gravel. He's a veteran, he knows what he, what he Big guy, plays solid defense. But Willsby's been great, blankenberger's been great, del Geisel comes back in the lineup. He's been great. But you're looking at Dallas going. Oh boy, this is going to be a long night because, hey, this is a pretty good team, they have some horses up front and for the Preds to go out and I can't, I guess, against all odds, led by the factor he was a factor by the way he was a beast.
Speaker 2:They got it done and you know, I think, just good performances all around Marcia. So that's two games in a row that I've liked his game. You know he's been playing well. You know, like I think we're on to something. Now the question is can they keep it going? Because I want to keep smiling.
Speaker 1:mace and it was great, and then he was amazing like max sirs had the analytics on it that he got it in at least six times on the uh the radio broadcast, which is impressive but he made that many saves we're were talking about him all night, he was good.
Speaker 1:How does that happen? And just how does a team that is completely down on their luck? Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong, and you go into Dallas and the odds are even more stacked against you. You can't score goals. You got shut out by Montreal. You got one against Ottawa, we'll get into the road trip after you go into dallas. They give up nothing at home. They score almost four games. Uh, four goals a game at home. Or is nashville a trap team? Now what did? Did dallas say?
Speaker 2:oh yeah, for sure yeah, like was that?
Speaker 1:is that part of the equation?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think they're looking around like these guys are awful, they can't score a goal. No, yossi, yeah. But on the other side you have a bunch of guys that are like I don't think you know, it takes a team to win and I think there's been a lot of cases where it's like I'm going to do this, I'm going to make the play, I'm going to stick handle through this guy. They turn it over, it goes the other way. I think they knew the Preds did that. They had to go play as a team. They got, you know, four defensemen we just talked about that weren't on the team to start off the season. You got to protect them. You got to make sure pucks get deep and it's to a man Like everyone knows that you got to play the right way and those guys played well.
Speaker 2:But I think they set up a game plan that Burnett put in that made them look good. So you know, credit to everyone involved. I thought they played a hard game. But to your point, yeah, it is a trap game. They're at the bottom of the NHL. I'm laughing. How many awkward laughs have we had?
Speaker 2:You know where it's like, like I can't cry. You know it does no good to get on air and for us to talk about hockey and start crying. So we do this awkward laugh like it's all gonna be okay just wait, guys, it's gonna turn.
Speaker 1:it's gonna turn. But that that could be a game though, that that really could be a game that turned. But again, you gotta let's see more. But that was probably the first game where I think everybody on the team contributed in a positive way and I really think the first two periods they they were by far the better team. I thought dallas, obviously they're gonna come on the third and say hey guys, we were horseshit for the first two periods, let's go go, we get back, we can score at will if we want, but they fought him off. They gave up that goal, which I didn't necessarily think was a great goal by Onanen. Maybe he didn't see it, but right after that then he makes two big saves and then they buckle down even more and then I thought the last seven minutes of Preds got back to kind of carrying a little bit, which was impressive and they also had two goals one offside, yeah, that's right, and one you know where, uh what a snipe too, by the way yeah, wills, wow, and that doesn't count.
Speaker 2:Oh, I felt so bad for him and then, you know, forsberg is wrestling with ottinger, so that that is a good call both good calls, you know he's gonna pop that one in and he's feeling good, but you know wasn't to be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so huge win. Obviously different mindset moving forward. Let's see if they can do it against Colorado, another tough opponent We'll keep an eye on. I expect to see Wedgwood in that. I think Juice will be back in the pipes, but it'll be interesting to see how Wedgwood is. Oh, Wedgie, oh Wedgie. Wedgie's done great since he's been in Colorado, so sometimes a change of scenery is all you need.
Speaker 2:I think it's good. That was good Like right now it looks like a good trade for everyone.
Speaker 1:For. Both.
Speaker 2:Get a younger guy, you know.
Speaker 1:And Wedgie could be the guy there.
Speaker 2:Avs, get a veteran guy who can be a guy to go to guy.
Speaker 1:So, you know, I hope it works out for both teams. That's that everyone's happy then. So, okay, we got the happy uh stuff out of the way, let's, let's go back to the I don't even know what to call it. It's just the last few weeks, obviously the preds eight games without a win. Um, the travel schedule that's been out there. Bruno's talked about it, trotsky's talked about it. It has been an absolute shit show. It's almost funny. Just to put it into context, we're on the road trip and we'll get into the details of what went down, but it was like everything that could go wrong went wrong, not only on the ice but off the ice. It almost became funny. We were delirious by the end of the trip. But I want to start with you, because you've had uh and this is all the stuff people don't know you're a broadcaster.
Speaker 2:Explain what the what, what happens? Right, because people just assume, hey, you jump on a charter, you go. Well, okay, that should be the case. Toronto to montreal you should be in your bed after a game in montreal. After the game in toronto, you should be in bed. What? 12, 30, one o'clock, like that latest, what would? When do we get in 3, 30?
Speaker 1:3 30.
Speaker 2:We had no pilot on that one the pilot didn't show up, and then the. And then there is, we had to de-ice, and so it was just like one thing after another. And then Montreal, which was great. We had the train ride from Montreal to Ottawa. That was really refreshing.
Speaker 1:I've never done that before in the. Nhl and that was really cool. But again you're getting in late. It's like two in the morning, three in the morning, you get into bed and you got to play again and things. Everything sucks and we lost luggage.
Speaker 2:We got to tell the the the luggage story of, uh, lindsay and barn Lindsay rally, as you guys know, and Nick Barnowski, who's the immediate PR head of our team, and just completely rattled, Lost their luggage so they had to wear the same clothes to the morning meeting the next day, which Barn didn't have any hair gel, so his hair looked like it was fluffed up and looked like it was just Looked like he went on a complete bender and Lindsey with her game outfit was not exactly suited for morning meetings so normally we're in like workout gear, sweats or whatever, going down to interview coach and see the guys and all that kind of stuff, and it was just it was.
Speaker 1:it was a reason to laugh. It actually made it like a little more enjoyable all this stuff, because it was just one thing after another, but that's a lot of stuff and then Ottawa to Nashville.
Speaker 2:We had to wait forever on the plane. The plane took forever. Then, when we landed, we had to go through customs. I wasn't in bed until what? 3.34?.
Speaker 1:Oh, later than that that was like a 4 or 5 in the morning. It was crazy, it was nuts. We almost had to stay in.
Speaker 2:Ottawa, and that was we had the time change.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's with the time.
Speaker 2:We gained the hour back, but it's funny, I feel for these guys, because it's hard playing hockey and it's really hard when you're stuck on a tarmac for three hours or in a plane sitting in one seat. My body is not handling this well, Mace.
Speaker 1:My body does not like me Well, especially when you're losing, I'm not even playing, that's what I'm going to get at, but you're feeling the after effects of playing for many, many years in this league, the way that you played the game. So let's say, to start this trip, this is not the funny thing. But we're going to Toronto and you got, uh, a shot. You got a little thing before. Got a steroid shot in my back, yeah, trying to epidural, or was it?
Speaker 2:uh trying to alleviate some uh nerve damage. I have, you know, wear and tear, everyone has it, but I just have a lot of it.
Speaker 1:So, um, that's funny because you like you train hard, you work, you work out hard and you can do some really like rigorous grueling things in the gym. But if you walk for too long, like you have to the other night, you're like, okay, I gotta sit down, like I gotta sit down, so we get into toronto and you gotta, you just got your shot. Everything's kind of feeling good. You're kind of a bit it's still bugging you a little bit, so you got treatment. Uh, you got treatment as soon as you get into Toronto. Tell me, tell me about that whole process there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I have my whole team up in Toronto cause I played there and kind of gone around Mike pre bag. You might've seen him um treating Forsberg in the uh, uh, whatever the show was the face off.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so Prebeg treats me and his team up there uh, with Mel is like he has a crew up there, and so every time I try to get there. Of course the players are going so they take precedence, but I try to sneak in and get my treatment in and get touched up. And you know, whether it whether it's acupuncture, ART, chiropractor, whatever they do, they do it all. So I tried to get healed up and of course we say this after. I just told you about the whole road trip like okay, I got treated up, but then I was sat on a plane for four hours and a bus for an hour and a train for four hours.
Speaker 2:You know, it's just like it's just really hard to get healthy. And, Mace, we've been talking about the workouts we've been doing, like trying to. You know you have to do a workout, you have to do some activation or something to keep your body in stretching. You know, I know you have, we can get into your workouts. I have my own weird stuff that I do, but it's just, it's just a battle. It's just a battle to try to keep up with your body at this point.
Speaker 1:We. You have to do it because you're not getting enough sleep. Like sleep and when you go to sleep is such a big indicator of what is the circadian rhythm.
Speaker 2:What is that? What is it? Is that? Am I saying that right? Yeah, is the circadian rhythm what is that?
Speaker 1:what is that? Am I saying that right? Yeah, the circadian rhythm is, you know what they recommend. It's your body's natural state of when you should wake up, when you should go to sleep, and there's a lot of different factors in it. So when you get up in the morning, yeah, they say that you should get like immediate, immediate, uh, you know, go and go outside and have the sun on you, so your body gets in that natural rhythm. But there's absolutely freaking zero chance of us having any kind of natural circadian rhythm.
Speaker 2:I wore an aura ring for a while. You know like.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, Don't. Even I took off my. I had a watch that did it, and it was it was like hey idiot, what are you doing? Go to bed. Why are you drinking so much?
Speaker 2:What are you doing? What is wrong with you? You're dying. Go to the doctor. What's wrong with you? Your system is all messed up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's crazy, but it honestly shows you the I don't know the resilience of the human body, because even more so when you're playing and I think we talked about this a little bit before but you, just your brain just tells you like, okay, I gotta, I have to battle right now, I have to go kill people, I have to do what I do. You do it, you just find a way and then you're like, okay, what's? Two days later, there's no chance you're even close to recovery, especially after that trip like there's no way. No, there's no way. Everyone in that room, everyone on that team is probably playing at like I would guess 65 max percent of you know your energy levels and your reserves and all that kind of stuff, muscle capacity, anything of your full potential. It's your brain that's willing you through that and that's that's the crazy thing about this.
Speaker 1:And even like, what was the other day? We went, uh, in dallas. We were feeling like we were feeling the effects of it because we went home for a day and you got to do everything. You got to be super dad. You have to do a promo for channel news five. You've got car problem, tell me, you get home all of a sudden you got the engine light coming on.
Speaker 1:You got to take care of it.
Speaker 2:No, so the thing is is like I want to drive my son, you know he's 13 years old. I want to drive him to school and you know, you know my wife and is a sweetheart, and says I'll take you, I'll take them, don't worry about it, but I want to be there. Right, I haven't been there. I get that little, you know, 10-minute ride to school and we talk and have fun at school and whatever. I'll pick you up after and, of course, the engine light's on, and so I have so many things to do and I'm like I I can't afford to lose a vehicle, well, you know. So I bring it in and so I have to sit there for three hours waiting for him to change my thermostat on the suburban, you know like, and then I'm going, okay, I got some work done while I was doing that, and then it's like it's just, it's one, one thing after another.
Speaker 2:But I will say, mace, we were talking earlier as I felt like I got into in two days at home, we had the game, you know, two, three nights, two days um, I felt like, okay, reset, okay, I'm ready to go back on the road. And then we got on the plane and the plane was delayed to Dallas and then we ended up way too long hanging around. We didn't get in until dinnertime. So you know I missed happy hour. But you know these are the things we have to battle through.
Speaker 1:It's funny though it is, and the hits keep on coming, Then they go beat Dallas. But you and I yesterday were like okay we didn't get our.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's unbelievable. I thought that game could go either way. It could be a 7-0 just shellacking, especially the way Dallas is there. But that's the funny thing about that's what I love about sports is you never know and you know what's going to turn with these guys, whether this turns into something that's a game and this whole start of the year and the travel stuff. That could be a pretty damn good story if they find a way to fight their way back into a playoff contention kind of thing. But that's a ways down the road, but it's been a good story. And then you and I go do a little mini workout and then we hit the sauna and the cold and that lake. I felt unbelievable after that. I was like holy, I feel like a new man, yeah.
Speaker 2:So let's dig into that, because I find this interesting. Because you know, when you're on a team, you go in the locker room, the strength coach has you know this, that, and you go through all the same thing, right, and so you go, you rip out your workout and you go skate, or you skate and then do your workout, whatever it is, and I'm in the gym with you and you're doing all this weird shit and I'm doing all this weird, different, weird shit and I'm looking over, I'm like.
Speaker 2:I'm like what is he doing now? Like you're jumping around you. You look like a, a chimpanzee jumping all over the floor. And what did you call it? Animal yoga, it's called animal flow he's. So mace is doing animal flow and I'm trying to. I'm doing like hip thrusts, like looks like old. Uh, aerobic exercises with jane fonda hip thrusts yeah, you're well.
Speaker 1:You're just always like you're. You're rifling one after another. You get some good functional movement like you're. You're pushing it hard, like you're doing a bunch of stuff at a small amount of time. It's pretty self-preservation.
Speaker 2:I need 20 minutes. I need 20 minutes every day. If I don't get 20 minutes, I I my body seizes up. I just have to do, and usually that's like a 10 minute warm-up and 10 minutes of me just throwing weight at wherever I throw it lifting it or pulling it.
Speaker 1:You do it non-stop though you. You do like you get it. There's zero rest for you.
Speaker 2:I I take rest between my stuff yeah, I like to just get it through, like I like I want to get my stuff and get it done, um, but you know it's interesting cause we, we should. You know, I, I've got so many different things from people along the way, like a strength coach, mike Boyle, my strength coach in Boston, and then Maddie Nickel, my strength coach in Toronto. You know, um, pierre Allard, all these guys I'm always getting something, and so my workouts for the most part look like chopped up bits of all their workouts jammed together, and then I'll mix and match and put them all together at the end and then you know whether it's Pilates or yoga. I got to get back into yoga. I was doing yoga for a long time but I got to get back into that because you know the hips and back, you know they need that stuff.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I got to take you through this one that actually really got me back into like training and working out and doing all this stuff and physical fitness. You've always been pretty consistent with that. For me it was like a battle. I'd always do stuff but I never really had a plan. I was like never. I was like I do it because I'm like, okay, I gotta do it because I don't want to, you know, get out of shape or whatever.
Speaker 1:But I did this one which was it's called flow 60. It's this guy, michael chang, not the tennis player, but he's a. He's a different guy. It it incorporates like this jumping stuff and like hitting your body and trying to drain, like the get the lymphatic drainage, and then he would do uh, then there was a stretching component of everything and it's like you know, 30, he's got different ones.
Speaker 1:You can do it for 60 minutes, 30 minutes, whatever you want, but it's it'd be for somebody that's not a gym rat or that doesn't have a lot of experience, but a way to feel like I feel like get the passion, like the great benefits of it. So you're feeling good, you do the lymphatic drainage or hit your body or loosen up all your stuff. Then you get into, uh, stretching, you know, then they'll do like, uh, either air punching or or squats and and some, like you know, side squats, just stuff that anybody could really do. You can have assistance if you're older, not in great shape, and it's something that anybody could do, and then at the end they end with yoga and breathing.
Speaker 1:And I just thought that was and it's easy to do, it's not really physically demanding, it's what you want to put into it, and that kind of really like sparked me. So I think obviously it's such an important part of everybody's general health, but you know, everyone's at different levels. But but, like you're saying, so now I'm like I want to learn different things, I want to lift some heavy stuff, but I also want to, you know, make sure I'm not compromising my flexibility and my movement and just trying to incorporate everything. But you know, the more that you have some great strength coaches and the more that you learn and can incorporate different things, I just think, the more the barrier. But you've got to find something that works for you, right.
Speaker 2:But I also think there's. You know, like I talk to people all the time like what do you do to stay in shape? Like just move, just go somewhere. Like sometimes it's easy. Like like I call it my 10 10 and you guys, I just you do 10 reps of 10 different exercises and you go through it as many times as you can. So you do 10 squats, 10 jumping jacks, 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, 10. What lunges? 10 lunges.
Speaker 2:The other way, you know, like you just keep going through and you know 10 second plank, whatever it is, you're doing something for 10. You do 10 of those exercises and then just do it as many times you can and it takes like 10-15 minutes and you're tired and you feel like you know you're like whoa, that was a workout and then you're done for the rest of the day. It's simple and I do it in my hotel room. Sometimes I call that my double session, so I'll go to the gym in the morning and then I'll wake up and like I need to get going again and so I'll do a quick 10-10. It's easy, but I think you need to be aware that you need to go and do it Exactly.
Speaker 1:And that's the thing is like why I do some of the weird stuff in the hotel that you don't really need anything. But for people that haven't like done it, it's intimidating. You know, I know my parents and my dad and he's always that's been one of his issues about what he used to be in shape when he's younger and got away from it, and there's an intimidation factor and somebody always somebody told me it was like it was with reading is like do you like to read? I'm like, yeah, but I just don't want to do it. He's like, well, just try this, just go read for two minutes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you're starting on your physical journey to say, well, I can go walk for five minutes, don't put it like, oh, I gotta work out 60 minutes every day and then I gotta lift weights and I gotta do this, and so all of a sudden you go, okay, yeah, right, yeah Right, because you, you look at social media and it's intimidating for everybody. I don't care if you, we know we're professional athletes, we know what to do, but it's a different part of our life. But for someone that doesn't just say, yeah, I can go walk for five minutes, he's like all right, all right, three days you have five minutes a day. That're saying you start seeing the benefits. When you start seeing the benefits, that's when you're like okay, I'll lift up some weights, I'll do the 10 thing I can do 10 of these, I'll just pick a lightweight. And all of a sudden, that's when you get the consistency.
Speaker 1:That's the key is the consistency in doing it. It doesn't have to be this like, oh my God, instagram workout of this Jack guy or this girl that's in incredible shape. It's like, hey, just go walk. Okay, go lift something now. All right, put on a weight vest and go walk for 10 minutes, you can do that. And then all of a sudden you're like, okay, now what can I do? And it's invigorating.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like it's the same conversation with your diet, right? It's like you don't need to. You don't need to cut out carbs. Just skip the fries. Yeah, Just skip. Just skip the fries that you were going to have for lunch and get a salad instead. Like that's like baby steps, Like you don't need to go kill yourself, Just get it done.
Speaker 2:Workouts are the same thing for me, I think, and I feel so much more energy when I do that. You know we went down to the gym this morning and, you know, did our quick little workout. I did a little yoga stretch in the room, got everything. All my bits and pieces are back into place, I hope, with my back and hip we're going to play pickleball now. We're going to go play. Well, I crushed the biggest burrito. How big was that breakfast burrito I had?
Speaker 1:That's play well we. When I crushed the biggest burrito, how big was that breakfast burrito I had?
Speaker 2:that's the biggest burrito I've ever seen in my life, like sam's number three. I don't know if you guys, if you're not familiar with denver. We're in denver. Sam's number three is downtown and it's like a what do you call breakfast diner, but they got beers it's everything.
Speaker 1:It's a good vibe. Yeah, it's like it was, but that's the biggest burrito. I've never seen a burrito that big monster just a monster. So and he leaves like this much. If you're watching on youtube, he leaves this much. At least I didn't eat it all. It's like it was like some of the tortilla leftovers well, that was gluttonous.
Speaker 2:I would never finish that whole thing. No, no, it was good. And then we're gonna go play some pickleball, so all right. So there's my. I did a little workout, little stretch, little, I like kind of a baby circuit and a stretch, and now we're gonna go play pickleball. I call that a healthy lifestyle yeah as long as there's beers at pickleball, right, you promised yeah, there it says there are, it's, it's, uh.
Speaker 1:I showed you the uh. They have a bar area there, so perfect, we're gonna play.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're gonna play honestly, is there anything more fun than you know? I like pickleball, I love tennis, but tennis is is like we used to play tennis. Yeah, remember you and I used to go play a lot actually yeah, and I love, I love it, but you were in better shape than I was and my hamstrings started snapping all over the court that's hard on your body, man.
Speaker 2:It was it would wear me out. It it would wear me out. I won't lie to you, my hips and hamstrings are just blowing up after that. But pickleball I can handle and the best part is that you can have a couple beers and hang out, play some pickleball, have some fun. I think it's like, and it's close quarters, so everyone's right there. It's a good time and I know everyone in the world plays pickleball now in the us, so I don't have to tell you guys. But you know, if you haven't played you should go out and try it out well, that's, and that's another one.
Speaker 1:They say there's a lot of studies um done on uh sports that involve hand-eye coordination, racket sports in particular, and it's easy and that's again if you're getting into, if you're looking for something to do with your kids. Any level can play and I know it's getting to. There's a lot of professionals, but when you go in the pickleball community it can be intimidating. But everybody they're so good in that community They'll teach you the rules, they'll teach you how to play and it's not as aggressive or demanding as tennis. You just go hit the ball Once you get into it. We were pretty good there. We got pretty good for a while. We haven't played for a while, but it's a sport you can pick up quick. It is fun, it's a great community. You're involved in every play. It's not like you're running all over the place. It's a great sport.
Speaker 2:A little story about Calgary. Remember, we went out to calgary. We went to this big, it's like a ymca pickleball mecca. They had a ton of courts. And so we go over there and we're sitting and it's packed, there's people everywhere, and so we put our balls in to get the next up and, uh, I go out there. I, I think I was I can't remember who I was playing with it I don't think it was you, I think it was someone else, because you would have been better. But I played against this old guy he must have been 88 with two knee braces and this this little, uh, she was actually speaking chinese, she's, she's out there and she's old, and they kicked the crap out of it. It was embarrassing, I was like, and then they started yelling like because they thought I was serving over.
Speaker 1:No, it was Lindsay. It was Lindsay, it was you and Lindsay playing and Lindsay remember her serve. She didn't serve under. It was kind of like.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, it was sidearm, yeah. So like I'm like, and then you're killing us, like why do you care? Like just play, we're just here for fun. And they were savage, they destroyed us. And the old guy with the dinks over the net, like I'm like dude, can you hit the thing? And he just drop it Like every. Every ball was like two inches. I had to like hit it 10 feet in the air to get it up over the net.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was hilarious.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was we won him over, though.
Speaker 1:We won him over by the end, by our group we have a charming group. We have a fun group. That's why I love going to stuff. We're thinking of stuff to do. There was a beer spa we were trying to get into that was booked, which I've never heard of Every time I come here, it's booked.
Speaker 2:If anyone knows anyone at the Denverver there's a denver beer spa there's and they're always booked and I've tried. I looked out two weeks in advance last time we were here. I forgot this time and it was booked. I was like I don't get it yeah, and it's a place where you go and you they have a tub of beer and you sit in the beer and while you're drinking beer, they have a tap right next to the thing and they bring out. You can get a Kikuchi board, you can get whatever you want.
Speaker 1:I'm just worried that if we go there that you might not ever leave and we can't have it.
Speaker 2:It sounds like heaven. It sounds like heaven. And they have a gluten-free beer like beer too.
Speaker 1:They got everything. Like they got everything. It's like beer having there.
Speaker 2:It seemed pretty awesome and we haven't gotten in. So if anyone can make a phone call, they got a squeezed in. Yeah, that would be great but we'll update you guys.
Speaker 1:Uh, we'll update you on how pickleball went and our activities. I think we're going to start trying to do more of that stuff because I tried to get the coaches to go. They've been on a grind. I texted benny and he's like, and I I know how they feel it. Well, but they, those guys, put in so many hours and I just feel for them because that's why sometimes that we go down for media, you know, every morning we're talking about, you know, when, lindsey, we lost the luggage and stuff, and you have to talk to coach, and sometimes I'll just be like I'm just I don't want to bother him because, no, what am I gonna? What am I gonna ask him? What's he gonna say? And you could just see they're running around trying to figure out everything that's going wrong. But, uh, hopefully they're getting some good rest today, but, um, we'll have to do it next. You know what. You know what they're going to coaching, the coaching side of it.
Speaker 2:Like these guys watch video, they break it down, they re-look at it, they re-analyze. You know you play a game and you just you rip through it, right, yeah, and then you you know I used to watch all my clips and everything go back and watch it, but these coaches are just breaking it down and down. I remember pat burns this is before video was even really that big. We the vhs tape that he did rewind, rewind, uh, in 1997. But he called me in and he goes. Uh, he goes.
Speaker 2:That turnover you made in the second, I go, yeah, I can't do that, he goes, he goes. I know you, it was one mistake. I know you did one thing wrong, but, uh, since that happened, I've seen it 50 times. I've I've relived that mistake 50 times. You can't, you can't do that to me again. And I was like I won't do that to you again. Listen to me, though, because every time you do it, one of those I have to watch it 50 times. I don't want to see it again. And so I was like okay, I got you. He laughed about it, but that's the. That's the like when the team is struggling and you're looking at video. No wonder you're exhausted, because every time you look at it you go, oh, oh it like it sucks the life out of you you know, if you see it kills you, and then you watch it over and over again.
Speaker 1:It doesn't get any better yeah, that's tough, that's that's about the balance, right, but it's it's almost like the more things go wrong, the more you're trying to find that little thing. Well, what can I find this time? That's you know. And then all of a sudden it's just like you know, you just got to throw the arms up and just say just go play hockey. Guys, like, just go play, you know what? To do nothing. We've done this over analysis, like we. We've tried, we've said everything. Everything's need to be said.
Speaker 1:I want to, I want to dive in, I want to talk to o'reilly. Next time we'll, we'll end this here. Uh, right now we got to go to pickleball. So, yeah, I want to find out what factor came back and he addressed the team. And he's that kind of guy and I remember we saw him in ottawa. He was out. That was the first game he was out. And he's out there. He's got a sticks. He knows he can't play. He's in a, you know he's he's not moving around really well, and the guy wants to play more than anything.
Speaker 1:But he he made a comment with the interview after the game against Dallas with Lindsay, just saying about he had like time to like reflect, like get out of the get out of the crap, get out of the misery and just say you know what, like? I get to come to the rink every day with my teammates in the nhl. How awesome is that? It wasn't awesome before because you're in it. You can't get out of it. And he comes back and look at the game he has and he addressed the guys and whatever he said. Obviously he's the guy you're listening. I want to know what he said and like exactly what he reflected on, because that had an impact and it does on anybody. If you could get out of that, get out of the misery for a second step outside, it's not that bad.
Speaker 2:But when you're in perspective, it's huge yeah yeah.
Speaker 1:So that'd be cool. We gotta, we gotta get him on because I really want to know what he's saying, because he's, uh, just such a good guy and everyone you talk to that knows him just raves about the character and all the stuff. We see him with his friends on the road and he's just everybody's just just such a snook. Remember old snook? Now it's not a factor. The boys back home call Ryan O'Reilly's nickname snook, so we got to get into that too. He'd be a good one to have on for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's awesome, but yeah to his point. Hey, we're going to the rink and we get to play hockey in the NHL. It's the heck of a league. Gel, it's the heck of a league. Yeah, tell your 13 year old self that, hey, yeah, like you'd be pretty excited about that yeah, so that's that's cool. That's cool that he came back, cool that he a great game, cool that the preds won. Now we keep it going in colorado everything's cool.
Speaker 1:All right guys. Please, uh rate, respond, tell us uh what, what we suck at, what we what?
Speaker 2:you like, love it, hate it let us know topics we want to.
Speaker 1:We're here for the people and this is fun, so let's keep it going. Cheers everyone, cheers guys.