This week in the The Biz Dojo, we connect with Canadian Elite Basketball League CEO, and former CFL player, Mike Morreale.
We'll talk about his path from player to executive, and the lessons learned along the way - including leadership insights from two of the incredible coaches he had along the way. We'll explore what it takes to build a start-up, and what to expect as you navigate your first years in business. Along the way, we also touch on innovation in sport and the Elam Ending.
Mike will also take us through the importance of trusting your team, and the benefits you gain as a leader in doing so.
Then, on the podium - sponsored by Beyond a Beaten Path - we'll talk about the top-3 game ending plays. We don't just have one special "field reporter" for this one, but two!
It's another doozy of an episode.
The Biz Dojo - Podcast, Production & Professional Coaching
Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter
This week in the The Biz Dojo, we connect with Canadian Elite Basketball League CEO, and former CFL player, Mike Morreale.
We'll talk about his path from player to executive, and the lessons learned along the way - including leadership insights from two of the incredible coaches he had along the way. We'll explore what it takes to build a start-up, and what to expect as you navigate your first years in business. Along the way, we also touch on innovation in sport and the Elam Ending.
Mike will also take us through the importance of trusting your team, and the benefits you gain as a leader in doing so.
Then, on the podium - sponsored by Beyond a Beaten Path - we'll talk about the top-3 game ending plays. We don't just have one special "field reporter" for this one, but two!
It's another doozy of an episode.
The Biz Dojo - Podcast, Production & Professional Coaching
Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter
Welcome to Episode Two of season two
JP Gaston:on Tuesday,
Seth Anderson:on a Tuesday with Mike Murali CEO of the Canadian elite Basketball League. And, you know, I think CFL legends are, you know, he was a Canadian of the Year in 1998. And won a couple of great cups, you know, had a pretty awesome career. And I go pretty deep on his personal journey in terms of sort of how he went from being a player to becoming an executive within the CFL pa and then ultimately transitioning into the role he's in now as CEO of the Canadian elite Basketball League. And it's pretty, pretty cool journey, I would say,
JP Gaston:yeah. And neat to see somebody who's changed, like, it's a big leap to go from player into an executive on the Players Association to a completely different sport. Those aren't, that's not a, you know, typical progressive, you know, you move into, oh, no, I'm the captain of the team. Oh, now I'm the offensive coordinator. Now. I'm the coach. Now. That's just that's hopscotch going from one to 10.
Seth Anderson:Yeah, and, you know, you hear you definitely hear that version, a lot more. You know, people go into coaching, they go into media, sort of day one right after they're done playing, but make the leap right into an executive role is not something you hear every day. And so I thought that was pretty cool. And, you know, the other thing that was really interesting to me, as we kind of got into the interview was just hearing more about the CBl. And really, it's a startup. And, you know, from the outside looking in, like it's super professional, right, like, they've got great branding and marketing, and they're in, you know, most of the big markets across Canada, sands, Calgary, they're working on it, but they're working on it. But you know, from the outside looking in, like, I wouldn't necessarily associate it to a startup. But when we get into talking about it, I mean, one of the parallels to that, and, you know, The Biz Dojo, you know, it started basically back in the napkin over over breakfast, very similar to our humble beginnings,
JP Gaston:if you will, yeah, we're just, we're just a couple of years away from being in every city.
Seth Anderson:But I think that's something that people can kind of take away from it is, you know, there's the personal journey that Mike went on, which I think is inspiring, but also, startups come in all shapes and sizes and forms, but a lot of the things you have to have to overcome are very similar.
JP Gaston:Well, and even, you know, if you're working on, you're working on projects, or you're working on a certain brand, it all applies like it might even if it's in the startup space, it's all things that you need to be aware of, and understand and push towards and overcome. The other part of the conversation I thought was interesting was the conversation around coaching and taking away different things from some of the different. I mean, he's a Hall of Famer himself or future Hall of Famer himself, taking away from some Hall of Fame coaches, that he's had over the years, some very great lessons and how he worked it into his own style, and his in his own way to kind of become a leader.
Seth Anderson:Yeah. And it was, it was kind of cool to kind of get to work that through with him. Right. Like when we talked about sort of, he ended up a tight, loose, tight. And, you know, I think he mentioned that he never really thought of it that way. But that was very much his style. So that was, that was kind of fun to kind of go on that little bit of a journey there through the conversation. Yeah, I think another really cool part of the conversation was, you know, when he started talking about that first time that he kind of had to let things go. And that that's something we all go through as executives, right, once you get to a certain level, and you're sort of used to doing things, all the time you're very hands on, that's how you you were successful, to get where you are, and there comes a certain point in time where you kind of have to let go and trust the people around you. And, you know, I went through that I'm sure you've been through that. And it was just kind of cool to hear him sort of recount that. And then ultimately, they ended up getting to an even better place than he was expecting, which is tough to conceptualize sometimes. When you're, you're going
JP Gaston:through it. Well, yeah. And it's not even, it's not even that you have to let go, you can, you know, a lot of times you can hold on and you can still be successful. But finding that extra gear, finding that extra little thing at the end and being able to get more out of it because you gave it to somebody and because you were able to instill that trust in them and probably have a little little panic attack on the inside because it's the first time you're finally letting go of something and letting someone else take the reins, but it's what you need to do as a leader and I think Mike walked through that beautifully.
Seth Anderson:Yeah, empowering those around you. You know, that's, that's the key to success in my mind, right and hiring great people and then, you know, giving them the support and the enablement to do their thing. You know, that's when great things really start to happen. So really, really looking forward to seeing what becomes of the CBl in the years ahead. I know I'll be you know tuning in and hopefully you guys enjoyed this conversation with Mike and we'll keep our eyes on on how it grows over the next little while here.
JP Gaston:We'll be waiting in Calgary waiting in Calgary. You know we're not sure where what doors yet, but we'll be waiting outside.
Seth Anderson:I'm excited. I'm excited to take Take my kids to an eventual Calgary 88. Maybe it's everything that we'll see what what they end up going maybe that maybe that may be something new. But whatever it ends up being let's, let's dive into our
Voiceover:day on the pod. We talked to the CEO of the Canadian elite Basketball League, and former CFL player, Mike Moore reality. We'll talk about establishing a startup, the benefits of trusting in your team and how leadership lessons drive success. So welcome to The Biz Dojo, season two, Episode Two on Tuesday, with these two hosts, Seth Anderson, and JP Gaston. Well,
Seth Anderson:welcome to the dojo. We're super excited to have you, I really appreciate you dropping by. We talk a lot about leadership. You know, we've had a lot of entrepreneurs on the call. And I think what's really interesting about your background is you've got not only the leadership, you've got a professional sports background, but now you're in this new venture, which you've described off the top here really, really as a startup, but just as sort of a starting point. You know, looking back, you had a very accomplished CFL career to time great cup champ outstanding Canadian of the Year in 1998. And then you you jumped right from retirement straight into the business side of things, right. And you see that jump often made by athletes and a lot of times into coaching or general management, but you kind of went a bit of another direction you've got into the CFL PA, the marketing director than the president. How did that transpire? Well, what was your motivation to get into the business side? And particularly the the PA side of things after you stopped playing?
Mike Morreale:It's a great question. I mean, I went my career first started, within my second year of being in my second year, I actually put my name forward to be a player Rep. So that was my first kind of introduction to the PA, I just always believe that it's important to help the players, right, like I know, I'm not a union guy, per se. But I do believe that there's a great way that people can work together and accomplish everyone's goal. So I certainly did that, you know, to help my teammates and make sure they're getting the information they needed. And that built over time, during my play days to become an executive member, a member at large. And then when I entered my forced retirement in, you know, kind of year 13, it just kind of fell off, right? There was just no more football. So what do you what do you do, and I was fortunate that I got into a little bit of coaching at McMaster as a kind of a soft landing, so to speak. And then this opportunity came about, I was one of the group that started a marketing arm for the players association called pro players, which is modeled off what they did called players Inc, in the NFLPA. And we hired a guy, actually, to at that point, to run that business. And it just wasn't working the way we had hoped. So it just so happened that it getting rid of the one guy coinciding with me retiring, and then it opened the door for this new rule, which was not a player rep anymore, was the VP of marketing and business development. So really, my role from there was working alongside the players, but understanding the collective bargaining agreements, how it relates to the teams and the league's intellectual property rights that the CFL pa had, and how they're being utilized by the teams, and really finding ways to create money for the players off the field. And that intrigued me and became, you know, such a blessing in disguise, whereas I went from being feeling hopeless. You know, when I retired, I was 36 years old, to this door opening, and really continuing exactly what I enjoyed doing. And that was that entrepreneurial spirit and creating things to move forward. I'd always done that in my career, whether it was running charity events, or football camps, or I owned 12 restaurants during my playing days as well. So it kind of kept me I was always looking for different avenues, and it can be well rounded. Very interesting. So
Seth Anderson:when you when you look at that sort of right place, right time a little bit, I don't know if there's such thing as luck or coincidence, and we could probably talk about that for an hour. But I like to think of it as a preparation meets opportunity. And that's a lot of time where success can come from. If you look back to your playing days, and being a leader of a football team, are there one or two sort of leadership skills you think you learned as a player that helped you be successful once you got into these executive type roles?
Mike Morreale:I think so I think the trust of your teammates, that was something that was really important to me, that they knew they can count on me on the field, but also count on me off the field. And my career really took off when I went to Hamilton and Hamilton was my hometown. So I had a you know, a vested interest in in really making it work not just for me, but for my teammates in the community and the rest of it. So that's probably one of the things that you know, as a player, I was I was a tough nosed player, I would be able to kind of take a hit and keep going and, and that's kind of how what I bring to the business side is you know, I'll get dirty I'm not afraid to go down and muck it up, and I'll take some shots. But I want to protect the people behind me and see if we can't move the ball forward. And it business is really no different. It's a little bit more complex. But everything I learned about business truthfully came from the sport itself, I would say nearly 100% of it in what I went through the trials and tribulations, the moments, the coaching, I received the interaction with different people from different walks of life, really set me up for success later on,
Seth Anderson:does it surprise you now, if you were to, you know, sort of transport back to being a player, how transferable those skills you were learning at that time would be to the business world, like I imagine, you know, we've had a few guests that have been athletes. And I know, we have some listeners that are sort of, in that phase of their life where they're transitioning from being a player to a coach or, or an executive, but you probably don't realize in the moment how transferable those skills are going to be to your next phase at life.
Mike Morreale:I don't think I really grasped that early. Because my goal was to play football as long as possible and be as good as I can be. And I didn't worry about if I was learning off the field, maybe as much as I was learning on it. But, you know, it presented opportunities to me because of, you know, playing football and being an athlete, that allowed me to grow beyond just going out every day, and suiting up and playing and coming home again. So it started allowing me to branch out into other areas that interested me. And I really didn't know what interested me, truthfully, until I kind of got exposed to what it was like to be a public figure. And I'm not Sidney Crosby, but in my neck of the woods, I people knew who I was and still know who I am. And, you know, it was, that was a learning curve for stuff off the field. But sometimes you again, to your point of luck, or coincidence, I mean, every all the luck that I had was based on something I did previously, I just didn't it fell into place. Because somehow I worked on it, whether I realize it or not.
JP Gaston:And a lot of the business world, you're supporting people who are on teams that work together, that all work towards a common good. What's it like to be a leader on teams who compete against each other constantly in there. And there may be some, you know, some bad blood there, but you're you're having to support them, every single week, as you move into these kind of senior management positions. What's that like supporting people who might, you know, be at each other's throat on Sunday, and then on Monday morning, they're trying to work towards the common good as part of the PA, it's interesting, you know, you, you,
Mike Morreale:you try to bridge that gap. And it's a sensitive gap, especially when I was playing being a union rep on a football team, it's not the most glamorous position, it's a position that almost gets you fired, right. So, you know, I took that under with the understanding that I put myself in between management and the players that I may lose. But I think if you're truthful and honest and open, no different than my role. Now, you know, I have to oversee seven different teams and all the executives on those teams and the players against each other, and our staff, I know what it's like to be now on the league side. And I don't like to be on the team side on the player side. So that's the kind of got that just by my experiences. But he's got to do the dance a bit, right? Because you're trying to put everybody with the mindset that there's a common goal here, you know, there's a lot of stuff that happens underneath it. But as long as we're aligned in our moving forward, no different than sitting down for a collective bargaining agreement with the CFL, or trying to put together a league and getting all seven teams to go in the same direction. You got to repeat it, you got to show the direction, you got to prove to them that why and you got to, you know, have to trust people to follow you. You have to be a true leader. They look up to you and you can't let them down and then sometimes that's a lot of pressure. But it's kind of what makes my wheels tick
Seth Anderson:coming up to the CFL. You know, just thinking off the top of my head. You know, Hamilton there were some pretty legendary people that I'm sure you were around Ron Lancaster Danny McManus, Darren Flutie come to mind Was there anyone from a leadership perspective that you really learn from provided mentorship or a peer that, you know really, you really vibe with or whatnot over the years a
Mike Morreale:ton of great teammates. I mean, I was able to play with five or six Hall of Fame. quarterbacks though I'm blessed in that respect, in Hall of Fame receivers, and no linemen and you name it. I had some tremendous coaches, the two best coaches I ever had were couldn't be any more different. But they were very influential on kind of how I look at things. So first was Don Matthews. Don Matthews in Toronto, and in 96. Don was the brashest guy you could imagine and it was his way or the highway. But if you were his guy, he rode with you all the way to the end. So he was a more relaxed type of Will you have all the fun you want. But on game day, you got three hours to perform, and I expect you to perform at the highest level. And you knew if you didn't you were gone. There was no gray area with Don. But he treated us like grownups. He treated us you know it to me what was the early part of my career so that would be my second year in Toronto. He was a really big influence on I didn't expect coaches to be like that and they expect you can Take off your helmet lay on the ground and the coach come over say, what do you think about that you like that a most coach would be like, get off, get off your butt stand up, helmet, your hand or chin strap up and etc. He just had a different way of dealing with us. And we responded, he let us be men and be kids at the same time, but we came to perform. And then there was Ron Lancaster Ron was they called him a little general. He was it's sometimes silent but deadly. And the times that he spoke he was profound, right. And you didn't want to let Ron down. Never want to let Ron down. And some days, you know where Ron stood. And some days you wouldn't. But he came into it and said, the guys in this locker room today started training camp are the same guys, I want come the end of November after the Grey Cup. That's kind of unheard of right. But he would ride with guys if you prove to him that you could do the job. And he's one of the greatest quarterbacks that were played when the greatest coaches ever played maybe one of the greatest broadcasts that ever broadcast you ever listened to kind of some of those tapes, but he was so completely opposite to what Don was in somewhere in the middle. I think I found who I am, funnily enough, I never really thought about it in that way. But a little blend of both because I can be utterly relaxed and carefree. And then at certain times I can be as driven as anyone. And I think I've just picked it up, you know, over the years about what things that made me tick and I use them to my advantage,
Seth Anderson:would you say that I'm just kind of putting the pieces together would you describe your leadership style as a little bit sort of tight, loose, tight, like tight on the objective. And so
Mike Morreale:we look at North flexibility. And it used to be that I did all the work because I didn't trust anybody to do it like I did it. But as we made tremendous hires here at the CBl, and they've allowed me to, to lean on other people. And it's great, it really, it helps them grow. It helps me grow in different ways. It separates me from some of the things that I probably shouldn't be involved in, because they're just there to minute to the details. But how we get from the idea which, you know, I'll present the idea. And then I'll present my expectations in the middle. It can be free flowing, and how I, you know, allow people to do or how I relate with my staff is a lot more relaxed than most people, but they've heard me explode a few times. It's one of those things that you know, it's very rare. But it's profound, and I kind of it, same thing, right? I learned from the quietness of brawn. But when he spoke, I was like, Oh, I better I better step in line. So there's been very few of those times with the PA, it was all it was a little bit different because I was almost on the island. So I really didn't have we had our executive team. But a lot of the decisions day in and day out were made by me. So it's almost a one man show. So sometimes I want sometimes I lost based on the decisions I made, it was a really interesting time. And I learned a lot from that job because it was really kind of a new, right a new way of approaching the CFL PA, but all those things taught me as well as when I stopped playing. And when I stopped being the president of the Players Association, that time period from 2014 to 27, or 2018. That's what really made me where I am now because I had to do things that I didn't want to do. It wasn't the fun of games anymore. It was get to work and put money in the bank. Right? And maybe I didn't like it not every morning, but it created and it brought me to where I am now.
JP Gaston:Did you find that there was like a transition a slow transition into the sort of tight loose tight? Or was there a moment where suddenly you let go of something you never thought you would have let go of? And you saw it happening in front of you. And you had that realization that hey, it's actually it's okay that I let go of these things.
Mike Morreale:Yeah, I didn't start happening until you know, with a PA I was very hands on with the CBl, I think it was a moment. I think it was the relinquishing of something, and it ended up being even better than what I anticipated. Right. So when you when you tell somebody to do something, they come back with even better result, you're like, Oh, well, this is kind of good. And, and slowly over time, and, you know, we don't hit home runs every time. But I would tell you, our staff works their butts off to get the result and 99% of the time, it's exactly what we hoped for. And I rarely have to get involved. But I like to I always like to be part of it. And I like that, you know, my my team can bounce their ideas and concepts and discussions off me just for an ear. And generally speaking, they're already in the right direction, right? I just I just kind of guide them along the way. But there's some good cop bad cop, no doubt about it, that you know, my VPS the bad cop and he does it well, and I'm the good cop. I 99% of the time. I'm the good cop. It's just my nature and I kill you with kindness, but it's nice to have that balance.
Seth Anderson:So sort of pivoting gears a little bit. You know, when I first came across your name, and I didn't even dawn on me that you know, you're Mike Riley, the CFL legend. How does this transition into basketball happen? I mean, I think it's it's it's not something where, you know, I'm sure you woke up one morning and you're like, I'm gonna go do basketball. What was Journey like and how did you end up with the CBl? Well, I
Mike Morreale:always thought, you know, I always kind of dreamt about a, you know, some sort of executive position in the CFL, I just felt I'd put in the hours, there was nobody that it really had that well rounded look at it from being being a player to being a player rep to being a president being an executive and, and being on the broadcast side and all that stuff. But, you know, when I brought up that kind of gap from me ending being the president of the PA in 2014, and really starting the, the CBl, probably in 2017 ish, 2016 behind the scenes, I had to reinvent kind of who I was. And, you know, I took some roles that I wasn't happy about, but need to pay the bills, and it really, again, all that work that I put in, being a player, being out in the community, doing all those things, really helped me survive those couple years, two, three years of just kind of felt like I was floundering until again, call it luck, call it coincidence, I ran into well, who is now the founder of the CBl Richard Petco, by chance through another job. And he recognized me for my football days out of Toronto, actually not not Hamilton. And he told me about his involvement with the river lions at the time. And we just started reading a friendship and talking about the issues he was having, and how would you do it this way? And what what do you think, and he actually pitched me to be the Commissioner of the league he was playing in, which was the NBL. I met with the ownership group and just didn't feel like it was a good fit for me. And I let Richard know that I didn't think maybe was a good fit for him at this particular time, but I just didn't see it. And that really started the brainchild of Okay, how would you do it? What would it look like and the CBl was born, you know, four or five years ago, just over casual conversation, because I worked at a company that he bought some for me from it was just a chance meeting. But all that work I'd done leading up to it really positioned me well for for that meeting, to take it from there and make something out of it. So the CBl came out of randomness in some respects. But the timing was perfect, I was certainly looking for something far more exciting and creative. He was looking for an operator that he didn't have to have any hands on decision making. And basketball was a was a perfect, final piece of that puzzle. I mean, I'm so glad it was basketball over other sports because of the way basketball is trending because how it's far more than just a sport. It's a cultural event that brings with it its own music and fashion and lifestyle and art and food etc. And we really created the CBl to be more than just basketball. It's it's an entertainment package wrapped around basketball. So yeah, it's amazing sometimes to, to think of what I felt like, you know, sitting at this desk, four or five years ago, to meeting Richard to starting the CBl and just sit here now being able to create the CBl to how myself and our executive team feel is the best value and the best way to do it. And to see it successful. It's, you sometimes forget all that crap he went through, right, it just goes away quickly. It was during It, it, it was bad. It was it was tough, but it builds the character.
Seth Anderson:Everything starts small. So you're starting basically, you know, back in the napkin breakfast type conversations, I imagine. When's the moment when it hits you that man this is this is a real thing. Like we're, we're doing this like, was there a moment? Was there a sort of a time where you're like, all this work, all that effort? All that preparation meets this opportunity? And like this is this is it?
Mike Morreale:Yeah, you're right. It was their first meeting that you know, Richard kind of took it to step two and brought in some of his staff there with nagraj was at a coffee shop. And we were making notes on a napkin. That's that's kind of how it works and just sharing stories. And I remembered leaving that day. And he said, Okay, well, if we do this, you get to hire this guy. And I looked around I said, Who the heck is this kid, right young kid at Brock University happens to be our VP now and his, you know, a superstar. And I'm like, well, we don't even have anything What am I hiring this guy for? So it became him and I him Josh coasters his name, sitting at a at the boardroom table where I sat for two years at the river lions office and just started to make some headway into what this might look like. And I can't recall exactly the timeline from kind of getting in that office to it being real. They I would say within a month or two, you know, there was a full commitment from Richard to run with it after we had kind of presented our thought process. And then from there, it was like, okay, Richard, I need help. So we need to I need to attract some of the best available talent in terms of executives that I can that are well rounded and we found the right people, and they helped us get to the point where we felt comfortable to launch and away you go. I mean, it's, it's, it's kind of a little bit of a storybook, and we still got a lot two chapters ago, but it's certainly an opportunity that these opportunities will come around too often, you know, it's just coincidental that, you know, the CBl and the CPL kind of started around the same time and are very similar in many respects. And I know most of the majority owners, certainly Bob young, quite well. But that doesn't happen a lot. It if it does happen, it doesn't last, right. So these are really, these are really incredible points that at one point, I look back and say, Man, that was, that was awesome. But when you're in it, you just got to keep moving forward.
JP Gaston:I love that it happened in Agra as a former resident of St. catharines. And I know that the league is operating in kind of what I will call hometown cities, those those smaller cities with tons of commitment, it's not just the major cities, but even Hamilton, I would say a large city, but it's pretty spread out people in Ontario know how spread out it is. It's it's a bunch of small cities kind of connected together. So what's it like to work with teams that are trying to put these locations in kind of the perfect spot where you can pull in people from all of those, those small centers that surround it rather than, you know, the in the States, you've got the New York's and whatnot, where you like, you've just got fans? Yeah, it's,
Mike Morreale:I mean, getting this up and running and deciding what cities to go to first and what cities to add next, and where expansion plans are going. It's like drinking out of a firehose, it just comes at you fast, and you try and like be trying set criteria, that makes sense. So you know, top 15 minutes, the power of these, you know, size of venue, accessibility, the venue, population, you know, minor basketball, participate all this stuff. But then you got to pull the trigger. So we left out like a city like Ottawa, we didn't start within when we started, we added auto, after a year, we needed that time, but to make sure that we, because that's a big market, right, and it's a very influential basketball market, Montreal, Quebec, we're going to get into, you know, we'll probably announce it this year. But we'll get into 2022 against that Francophone market want to make sure you got all your ducks in a row. So they have their challenges. But when you're when you're starting these individual teams that don't have any local ownership, they just have a staff members that work for us the local ownerships based out of fold, and we're starting from scratch creating everything from New, I always tell my staff how proud they, you know, I am of them, because we're able to accomplish everything we accomplish without any real boots on the ground, no real deep ties that community, no real connections, you know, to the corporate side, or the business owner that owns other businesses and economies of scale and all this stuff. So, you know, when you try to attract people, and you're trying to build the league, at the same time, there's only so many people and so much time and so many hands and feet that can get you where you got to get to. So sometimes you miss them. And sometimes you'll over overlook things, or sometimes you don't get to them on time. And we took the focus of it's important for us revenue is incredibly important. But establishing the brand, establishing the teams in all their markets, and ensuring that they're running properly and effectively. And they have community outreach, and they have awareness was far more important than making sure we broke even in year one. Because we are investing in this business, this is a multiple year investment that won't stop, we'll continue to do it, we had to do it this year with the summer series and then COVID left to do it, you know, in 21, under we don't know what type of constraints. And then, you know, we're hopefully off to the races in 2022. But these last couple years have taught us a lot. And if anything, it's allowed us now to really dive into those markets a little bit more, because we've taken advantage of the time. And even though we can't be physically out in front of people, we can still connect with people and we can still grow our brand. It is an ongoing process. It never ends. I'm hoping as we continue to expand and we sell some of our existing teams that we've we sell to those owners that come in and they just switch goes on and it shoots up to the roof. I want everyone to be successful. But it was early days are still early days, there's still a start, we're still a startup, we're still in our growth phase. And I think we're approaching our tipping point now we're ready to take off. So that centralized ownership structure that you started with with the league, the plan, then as you expand and grow, would be to sell off individual organizations to owners or Well, it's how it's gonna work combination of both. So everything was set up, the league was set up to again, make sure that it was done consistently across the league that across the country. And it was done effectively. And all the rules and regulations are in place so that when we hand it off, it's good to go. So the existing teams, you know, obviously we've discussed people about purchasing existing teams, so new local ownership groups coming in expansion teams, we're looking for external partners, but we're also you know, we expanded Ottawa corporately, we'll probably expand to Montreal corporately, but that may change in the process, because there's people that want to be involved. But we feel we don't want to be stagnant in our growth because no one's lined up now. Because we know what it's like to start teams. We know that's like the Create the brand and greet the league. And we know the value we've created from year one to now. And we know that when it's time to introduce new local ownership, that it will be the benefit of everyone.
Seth Anderson:Make sense? No, I think it's very open minded to have both those models. And I think there's a world where both those things can work in I mean, the CFL kind of operated in that way, in some ways, because I try to think of the gentleman's name he owned the Argos and the the lion surfboat.
Mike Morreale:David Ray, like David Bailey, yeah.
Seth Anderson:So I mean, sort of similar and just didn't restrict themselves and it ultimately helped the league. But just looking at the product now and doing a little bit of research, you guys have embraced the Eelam ending, which I love the all star game last year. I thought that was amazing. And when I think back to watching the Raptors playoff run, the last two minutes of the final game against Golden State was like the worst thing I've ever I was just like, yeah, exhausted. So I love the lamb ending. What was the inspiration behind bringing that in? And what's your is your plan to keep that in there full time. And that's going to be how the league is run. And, and what is sort of the fan feedback, Ben about that so far?
Mike Morreale:Yeah. So yes, it will continue, continue, hopefully into our foreseeable future. It's a it is really it's funny, because we introduced it this year at the Summer series, and it was great success. And we had Nicky Lim, the professor who created this, he's he's a Mensa guy. So he's like brilliant beyond belief and the numbers guy and we broke down every single game, and compared it to like 3000 other NCAA and NBA games based on timing and possessions, and you name it. And I already knew it was a better way to end. And the stats just proved that we live in an era of data and stats. So it was nice to have that as a backdrop. But for me, it was we always claimed to be a new basketball experience. So there are no really believes in Canada with the exception of us. It's a different style game. We want you know, we play music throughout our games. It's it's very much a an event, like I talked to an entertainment package. And I felt that the eliminating having watched it at DVT, which is the basketball tournament, they've done it sure about three years now. And seeing it go mainstream. I'd already been talking to Nicky limit this time. And Jonathan McGarvey heads up the basketball tournament, they have the rights to the long names we were just discussing about, you know, I was trying to figure out how it worked in real life. So we've been working on that for what a year and a half before we pulled the trigger. And we felt that with the summer series with COVID, it was a perfect time to try something new. We had a captive audience. We had no fans in the stands, it just be a great time for us to get it in there. work out the kinks. And we were so impressed with how it worked, because it really becomes last bucket wins. Right first tonight. Let's get there. So what you notice is the game is so free flowing, right? It just lends itself instead of, you know, hack, a Shaq and timeouts and you know, 30 seconds can turn into 10 minutes. It's crazy. Elan eliminates that because it's in the trailing teams interest of score. And it's in the leading teams that just the score as well, right there has to be and for the trailing team to play a lot better defense and they can't fall. They can't put people to play. And they can't do all this stuff because they're against the target score. So when we saw it in the NBA, I knew the NBA just doesn't dabble in stuff, right? They they think long and hard about it. I knew there was more. I wasn't worried about whether the NBA did it or not. But it sure did. Allow me to think a little bit more broadly about Okay, listen, this is I shouldn't be hesitant about it. Let's just make the jump that we did. And I think within the next five years, you'll see Elan ending used in the NBA and the overtime periods probably the start and then morphed into it the game somehow over time, it's just about being different, right? They once we get fans in the stands, that's really when it becomes even better because it really is a fan driven type environment. Because everybody's cheering towards the target score. We're hoping that their team comes back. And it gets rid of those lopsided blow outs and all this stuff and it just comes down to pure basketball and it's sometimes the basketball you used to play as a kid growing up, right? And that's what's that's what's fun about it.
Seth Anderson:That's totally what made me think of, you know, you're playing with your buddies in the backyard and next bucket scores like that's, yeah, that's some of the best basketball I've ever played. To be honest.
JP Gaston:I've been down by 50 and one.
Seth Anderson:You know, when you look at Canadian basketball, obviously, the Raptors winning a title is huge. I know in Calgary, my son played in the south district last year and I want to say there was like 1600 kids that were registered for basketball. So it was like approaching hockey numbers. Yeah. You know, you see Raptors gear everywhere you go. You turn on TSN and Sportsnet. any given night and you know, there's a feature or or something about a Canadian NBA player, which is great. However, I would say there's a gap when it comes to anyone who's sort of not in that NBA stratosphere. It's it's tough to get awareness on them like you don't know the guys who are playing overseas, the up and coming. college kids. The women All that kind of stuff that are in the game, do you feel a bit of a responsibility to Canadian basketball to showcase some of that and get more of that out there for the public to consume over the next few years?
Mike Morreale:Absolutely. I think it's a combination of showcasing the talent, the incredible talent, we have hundreds of pro players that play outside the NBA and make didn't do very well. But they're unheard of right. And they're gone. They're kind of go into the abyss and they come home 810 years later, and they got to reinvent themselves. But we wanted to be that spot where they can, they can reinvent themselves at home and start thinking about building their brand after basketball and showcasing their talents in front of fans, friends and family and the community. And then at the same time, develop the next generation of talent and not just your sports talent, we have a relationship with you sports, but you know, officials and scorekeepers and broadcasters and support staff and coaches and you name it, we've created an ecosystem that employs you know, during the season, you know, two to 300 people, all of which didn't have this opportunity before the CBl came around. So I'm well aware of, and I've gone to battle with some of the bigger networks about you know, we can even get a box score online and we can't get replays but and it's a lot of it is just breaking down the stigma, right? We got the big four, we've got the NBA, the NHL Major League Baseball, and then there's that drop off. So and I think a lot of it, you know, in this country has to do with us being Canadian sometimes and poopoo it on our own ideas. But we're it's changing because we're starting in the Raptors started 25 years ago as the Grizzlies. And then the Vince Carter effect is really the group of players that play for us now we're the Vince Carter group. And now you're going to get the you know, the Kyle Lowry rafter effect moving forward, but we've seen, you know, memberships for minor basketball go up 50 to 100%. You know, across the country, I think there was an additional two or 300,000 participants from last year to this year. So it's working, and that noise is being heard. And the talent is out there, we can't hide that talent, our opportunity is to showcase the talent and get people behind it. And they'll be very impressed with the talent where we started in 2019, which I thought was was awesome. We graduated to this year and added 75 players, all new players at all high pedigree. And what we're able to do, I can tell you as we get ready for 2021 our access to players is going to be tremendous, because there's players that had to play, you know, on renew salaries overseas, or you know, the G league is moving to a bubble with a lot of reduce game. So there's gonna be people that are itching to play, right, they want their next contract in Europe or whatever it may be the NBA, etc. So our talent level will increase again. And we're going to do everything we can to showcase and we have some plans that will unveil in the next coming few months to kind of roll out how we're going to really showcase our athletes and not just on a four month basis, but on a on a 12 month a year basis.
Seth Anderson:What do you think the ceiling for this is Mike like, do you see this as being? You know, when people think of football in Canada, they think CFL. Is that what you're aiming for basketball in Canada, they think CBO Yeah, I
Mike Morreale:think we've you know, I've said it a few times, we want to be the CFL of basketball. And I think we want to operate differently, we're structured differently. But you know, we want to be community driven, we want to be culturally significant. And we want to really roll out what people have been wanting to see for a long time. You know, there's not everybody loves football or hockey. You know, a lot of the population if you look in the stands doesn't look like the population of Canada all the time. If you look in the soccer stands in a basketball stands, it tends to, you know, trend differently. And it really for, for newcomers to this country, and people that have been around here forever, that haven't had the ability to call, you know, a National League their own. We're kind of showing people that, hey, we're creating a little subculture because of it because of what basketball brings with it. And I think, you know, we try to connect with music and artists and and and all these people because basketball is more than a game and it's and it's a global global game as well which is always on the top of my mind as we look to grow. You know, I
Seth Anderson:have two young kids and you know, I think back to me growing up and have albery jersey on my wall and I was a big hockey fan and I look at my son's wall and he's got a Jimmy Butler jersey, my daughter's got Sue bird and you know, I've taken them to a couple NHL games and they never talk about them but we went to a Harlem Globetrotters game a couple years ago obviously pre COVID and they still talk about that so yeah, I think you know kids are super into it. And if you especially if you're including the music and I think about you know the fortnight generation I call it with my son like on a tick tock and all that stuff. You can incorporate that stuff into it I
JP Gaston:mean, you're growing a generation of fans and they're not going to care whether it's NBA or CBl or whatever. It's great basketball and, and that's that's really cool. Basketball is kind of unique in that you've only got a handful of guys at most On most teams that are recognizable, the rest of them are kind of elite athletes that do great things. But even in the NBA, you don't get to it's not like a hockey where you've got, you know, 75 guys coming out on the ice, or football, where there's just a whole lineup of guys waiting on the sidelines, and then they all get a chance on the field. So I can only imagine that there is a really, really deep pool of incredibly talented players.
Mike Morreale:Yeah, it to your point about players. I mean, we have such a deep talent pool, and but it's limited, right, because I tell our gyms and coaches guys like there are only 49 starting spots like that, you know, if we mandate seven starters, or seven active roster, players per team that are Canadian 49 players, that's not that's the competition for those spots is intense. And really, as we expand, there'll be more spots. But truthfully, the pool underneath is getting so big that any one of our teams can play all Canadian and not miss a beat any one of you know a lot of what they did this year in their first year, maybe the semies. Saskatchewan did it in won the championship in year one. So it can it can be done. And that tells a story too, right. And along the way, you know, I always need to kind of bank, kind of the people that got to the point, not just the players and coaches. But you know, think of all the people that in the grassroots level that are putting on programming and try and get kids active and learning the skills of basketball. We're just a platform for them to be showcased. all the hard work is done beneath us. Right. And we want to participate in that grassroots development and start building towards this CBO Academy models and really, really grow that and keep our players here. It's a good problem to have. It's better than not enough talent.
Seth Anderson:On that expansion front. You know, I saw you guys put out an article with CBC,
Mike Morreale:I think last week, looking at a bunch of different communities, Calgary on the radar thinking about that, looking at that. Alberta is Calgary is high on the radar, I will say that we we have not dove into Calgary in in a profound way. Just because of other COVID doesn't help. But you know, and then I think I mentioned to you that the stadium issue is or the arena issue is trying to get a handle on what's happening there. But yeah, it makes perfect sense to go to Calgary and it's a great markets, repass ball market, it's great sporting market, I spent some time there and that there for about six months and was just amazed by the amount of stuff to do and the facilities and the rest of it. And certainly having a team in Edmonton is is a great rivalry right off the bat, right and helps us from West Point of View and adding teams, it'll, it'll come there's no doubt about it. I think within two to four years from now, you'll see us at 12 teams, I really, really strongly believe that. But a lot of things need to continue to go right. And that's why every day I wake up and make sure there's no fires to put out and see where we go next.
Seth Anderson:I got to think if you can navigate through a global pandemic and come out the other side, or you're gonna be stronger and
Mike Morreale:take years off your life, but it's a good start.
Seth Anderson:All right, well, we'll look forward to you know, catching the CBl this year. It's a summer league, correct. Like that's your guys's timeframe.
Mike Morreale:Yeah, yeah, yeah, spring summer, we start that typically in May and go through the end of August and we'll release our schedule in that in a relatively short time. So
JP Gaston:right now is really when your busiest day, despite what people might think it if they're listening right now,
Mike Morreale:despite what people think. Totally my buddies, thank you when I go over Hey, are you still working? Like what do you do in the offseason? My oh, my God, I came out of this conversation. But it's it's people don't need to. It's a job that very few people have. Right. So how would they know? Yeah, right. But it's it. This is the fun part. This is where the bread is buttered. Right. The games like we say they just let the players play. That's easy. It's the all the other stuff to get there. Really appreciate the time. This is
Seth Anderson:amazing. Thanks for dropping by Mike. Take care.
Voiceover:Thanks to Mike Moriarty for joining us today. Now,stay tuned to the podium. Brought to you by beyond a beaten path. Visit beyond the beaten path. Duck ca.
Seth Anderson:Welcome to this week's edition of the podium. Very excited. We were not we have not only one correspondent in the field. We've added a second this week. We've got all the areas of Northeast Alberta covered with both Wainwright and Edgerton, Derrick Pfister and Wyatt Watson joining us for riveting version of the podium this week where we're going to talk top three game ending clays. In the episode we just did with with Mike, we talked about the Ely amending and sort of the innovation that they're doing within the CBl to, you know, engage the fans and keep it exciting. So we thought we'd build on that and this week's edition. And I know, you know, all of us sort of being from a, you know, 25 to 35 year old Canadians, I think the 2010 golden goal. Sidney Crosby was a big moment for all of us. So we took that one right off the board. And you know, there's some other iconic moments for sure. Bobby ORS goal where he's kind of jumping through the air. You know, there's a bunch of stuff that like that, but we kind of kept it within the things that we've watched, I would say over the past few years. And and I think maybe just to kick off real quick. Where were you when when the golden goal happened,
Derek:Derek oh actually went to the score to I was driving home from the rank. We had a game at the exact same time. I was in my vehicle listening to it on good old radio,
Seth Anderson:on the radio. That's sometimes that's the best though.
JP Gaston:That's classic northeast Alberta to your listening.
Unknown:And when Canada won in 2002, at Salt Lake, I was in my vehicle again, go into a hockey tournament. So I have yet to see Canada when a well no, when they want. Yeah, we didn't have four in the morning or in the morning. Boston Pizza.
Seth Anderson:I was at a pub in Airdrie the toad and turtle for that one.
Wyatt:I think like our whole dorm floor in the first year university was all watching it in the floor lounge all together. So quite a group in there that day.
Seth Anderson:I bet I was in my living room. And I remember was it presen it scored to tie the game I just remember like, that dreaded feeling like oh my god, there's they're not gonna do it. And then like that pure elation. Crosby scored that goal.
JP Gaston:How about yourself? JP is very similar as in my living room, probably about three feet in the air with popcorn everywhere. But yeah, it was it was exciting.
Seth Anderson:That's what makes the the moment although you have popcorn going at the in the overtime? Is that how that you took a little break making popcorn? When?
JP Gaston:When popcorn is offered and delivered? I will always take it. It doesn't matter what's going on. If I don't have to leave the couch and it's delivered to me. I'm there.
Seth Anderson:Fair, fair enough. So you know, building off of that, you know, Derek, what are your top three game ending moments?
Unknown:Um, my top three, um, well, I'm gonna start with Jonathan taves in 2007. World juniors, he was one of my favorite players than watching them. And you know, he scored three goals in the shootout and then Carey Price ended up saving them that sense into the gold medal and nothing better than being in the States. So that was definitely one of my top three brothers put that number two, I guess my third one would be Patrick Kane. And I didn't really list is an order. But yeah, another Chicago guy, Patrick Kane, kind of a
Seth Anderson:key element of doing a top three is having them in some order. If you're going middle out, that's fine. You're taking a new approach.
Derek:I wrote it down that way. But then I thought it wasn't
JP Gaston:often often number two is the only one who lost on the podium is number three, and especially in hockey won third place, and number one won the gold medal so he just go on losers first. That's all.
Unknown:Exact. Second one would have been Patrick Kane, when he scored against Philadelphia in 2010 to win the cup. That was game six, I believe it was you know what it was the exact same goal that Sidney Crosby scored, like months earlier to win the goal that we talked about.
Seth Anderson:It was a weird one, though. That one I just remember like, nobody really knew it went in for a couple like it didn't quite have that, like, jump up and down. It was like, Oh, he scored and then yeah, totally, but like the same goal.
Unknown:He same goal. And he threw his gloves off and went right to the goalie and then everyone else just followed suit after. And so Jonathan tabes being my Chicago guy from World juniors or whatever, go into Chicago, then that made me a Chicago fan and that whole team that they got. So that was exciting, because I don't have very many teams that ever win the cup being an auto fan. And then my number one would be Steve Eisman. When he was was at 97 or 9801. I'm
Seth Anderson:one of those. Yeah, it was one of those years. I think it's 97. Because it's when Gretzky was on St. Louis.
Unknown:St. Louis. Yeah, right. Right. Well, yeah, so that was one of the reasons why it's such a goal. It was game seven overtime. And anyone that's played hockey, you always the rule of thumb is don't turn over the puck at either or blue line. And there was Wayne Gretzky, the greatest player in the world turn the puck over at his own blue line. And I went to Steve ijzerman and he went bar down What a shot and ended the series right there a great shot. Yeah. rockem sockem eight. You're gonna pull them up.
Seth Anderson:All right, well, thank you for that list. All you went heavy on the hockey but you know, all all great moments there. JP Would you land on?
JP Gaston:Well, I went a little heavy on the hockey but I'm gonna do my list in 321 order for me 97th grade cup, Saskatchewan with the 13th man on the field, Montreal, you know kick kicking, kicking wide and then getting a second chance at it and winning all all because they don't know how to count to 13 so that was that was my number three. Number two the 2013 NHL playoffs were Bergeron scored in ot to cap off a comeback against the Leafs they were Boston was down three, three games to none and it was a very exciting series for the next four games as Boston worked their way back. And then number one I went less less of a you know, very specific last second sort of goal thing but I wanted to give some goaltender love because they often don't appear on these lists. So I'm gonna I'm gonna throw some goaltender love to just some he bugs the emergency backup goalie Scott foster coming in and and winning for the Blackhawks. And then more recently, David Ayres, the 42 year old Zamboni driver who had a kidney transplant just you know 10 years prior comes in for a period and a half in a fairly close game between Carolina and and his home deemed runaway bleed. So he played the team he's usually cheering for and pulls out the deluge so that was that was a pretty exciting as a goalie those were those were two very excited but I wasn't even watching the Chicago game and as soon as I heard there was a bug in I you know, stop what you're doing go watch TV.
Seth Anderson:I was thinking about that Boston Toronto series. I'm 95% sure that we were playing ball hockey why Derek and I when that comeback happened, and we were watching the score on the bench and couldn't believe it when the Leafs blew that but that's, that's sort of the story of the last 50 years for them. No, no, we were if we were mid game, if I recall, but anyway, why? Where I know you've we're gonna break free from the hockey exclusive lists and you've got a little bit of diversity in yours. Yeah,
Unknown:I think all my hockey ones got stolen between Crosby and tames shootout. But my third one I had was the 2016 wildcard, Blue Jays in Baltimore, with Encarnacion ones walk off of the year after Battista, that big backflip, I think and then the next year was gone two years that it was finally okay to be a bluejay fan. So that was that was a good one.
Wyatt:Second one, I put that 2018 tour championship golf where Tiger Woods won his first tournament and I don't know how long after all, all his goings ons, and when he's walking up 18 and all the whole crowd is following him down the fairway kind of iconic shot that everyone's gonna remember for a long time.
Seth Anderson:But it was amazing even you know, or was it last year when he won the masters and like wasn't necessarily an end of moment but like who wasn't watching that?
Unknown:I was gonna say Tiger even when he even when Tiger one there. Well after his father passed away, and he won on Father's Day, a major vows and that was pretty iconic to Sure. And then the first one I have been an avalanche fan in 96. I'm not sure if I really remember it but I definitely remember watching it over and over on 1999 powerplay VHS video by you recruits triple overtime winner to sweep john vanbiesbrouck in Florida Panthers what a moment that was.
Seth Anderson:Yeah, I was 10 years old and I watched that intently. I became an avalanche adopted fan for a couple years. And that was that was a great moment for sure.
JP Gaston:Most people call them bandwagon ORS
Seth Anderson:bandwagon adopted. No great. laughs thanks, Wyatt. And for me, my top three. I didn't even cheat on this one. JP, I've just got a clean three.
JP Gaston:You're gonna think of one halfway through and be like, Yeah, but I would also add this one.
Seth Anderson:No, you know what I'm gonna I'm gonna keep it clean. And I've got most sports represented. So I've got number three, the kawhi Leonard shot. You know, Lyndon, I remember he was he was standing in the basement and he didn't really know what I was doing and all of a sudden I just like jumped up and down. He's like, What is going on? I actually scared the scared him. I got so excited. But like that was like being a raptor fan. Basically, since you know Vince Carter days like way back when the Grizzlies left. You just used to them losing in those moments and I just kind of was like they're done. It's not happening. And to make that shot and if you go back and watch it like just like Joellen bead is like, huge and right in front of him. So anyway, that was that was crazy. Obviously, number two is Alex burrows game seven against the Blackhawks so going against your Blackhawks there Derrick. Game six was sort of the opposite of the you know, they had that they were up three games to one Chicago came back tied to the series, game seven over time and just clap on from the top of the slot there by burles to win the game and I remember jumping up and down in our dog at the time Grizzly I think he bit my brother nip that got a little out of hand for a minute there. And then number one for me my first sports memory is the Joe Carter home run. And my my dad jumping up and down. Like he wasn't very tall. I think he was like five, nine or 510. And I swear his head hit the roof of when that when that ball went over the fence to win the World Series for the Jays there. So
JP Gaston:that credible moment.
Seth Anderson:Yeah, you were you're a little bit older than me. So you would have been probably enjoying that a little bit more. I just remember that moment. Like, specifically.
JP Gaston:Yeah, yeah, no, I, I remember sitting on the couch with my dad, my dad. My dad is the classic father who sits and watches baseball and falls asleep and his head goes back and the only time he wakes up is when he hits the wall. But if you try and change the channel, he'll know the score. You'll know everything that's been going on somehow magically. So he was he was super excited as well. It was it was a great watch.
Seth Anderson:Awesome. Well, that is that is it for this week podium. Thanks to Derek and Wyatt, you know, friends of the show for popping on correspondents in the field. Great to have you as always, when we put in the podium onto our social platforms tomorrow. So let us know in the comments, your top three game ending moments for a chance to win a personalized gift from beyond a beaten path. This week we're doing an engraved watch so you get a personalized pick a watch from the beaten path. And yeah, an opportunity to win. We're gonna let the winners know or we're gonna release the winners this Friday on chopping it up with Seth and JP on Facebook.