The Mask & The Mic
The Mask & The Mic brings together two longtime voices from the sports world for real conversation beyond the game. Former NHL goaltender and Original Mighty Duck Guy Hebert and veteran broadcaster Kent French sit down to talk sports, entertainment, and life with honesty, humor, and perspective. From stories behind the scenes to conversations with athletes, entertainers, and influential voices, this is a space where experience meets curiosity — and where the talk continues after the final whistle.
The Mask & The Mic
A Legendary Voice
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A legendary voice. A remarkable career. A masterclass in broadcasting.
On Episode 12 of The Mask & The Mic, Guy Hebert and Kent French sit down with longtime Anaheim Ducks radio play-by-play voice Steve Carroll, who recently called his final game on April 12th — closing out a 27-year run with the Anaheim Ducks and an extraordinary broadcasting career spanning more than 50 years.
In this special conversation, Steve takes us back to where it all began — discovering his passion for broadcasting as a teenager, landing his first radio job, and grinding through the minor leagues where he wore every hat imaginable to chase his dream. From there, we follow his journey to becoming one of the most respected and recognizable voices in hockey.
Steve shares stories from his time with the Ducks, reflects on the moments that defined his career, and offers insight into the preparation, discipline, and passion required to succeed behind the mic. His voice became synonymous with some of the most memorable calls in franchise history — and his impact on the game and the fans will last far beyond his final broadcast.
This episode is more than an interview — it’s a masterclass in dedication, perseverance, and the art of storytelling in sports.
Hi, this is GA Bear, former NHL goaltender, and I am the mask in the mask in the mic.
SPEAKER_03And now it's your turn, Kent. It's my done. Am I done? It's my turn. I am Ken French and I am the Mike in this equation. Um former broadcaster, I guess, still trying to broadcast. Uh and speaking of broadcasters, we're sitting next to our next guest, the one and only Steve Carroll. He is actually in the introduction of the podcast. Uh what, 27 years with the NI Ducks, 50 plus years of broadcasting. We are gonna go take a trip down memory lane with Steve Carroll. And uh we already know we taped it. It's it's pretty darn good. It's pretty darn good Gebo.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean we we use this word, it's gold, and it is really good gold.
SPEAKER_03It is gold, so we hope you enjoy the podcast with the one and only Steve Carroll, who for the first time ever is not saying a word, but that certainly won't be the case on this podcast, and uh Ghee, as we always like to say, and good for us. Thank you. Welcome everyone to another edition of The Master the Mic, Kent French, alongside Guy A Bear. Well, actually, Kent French alongside Steve Carroll, as we uh have a new configuration for the program. Steve O is now, I had to go pick him up. This is talk about a VIP situation here. I we asked Steve, newly retired from broadcasting in the Anaheim Ducks, and I said, you know, Steve O, we'd love to have you on the podcast. Guy invited you on the podcast. We finally got you on the podcast, but I had to go pick you up at the car dealership this morning. Is he buying a new car? Is that so his car takes a digger? And we won't get into this because it's a sensitive subject, I know, right? Like a week after you retire, your cart's gone. And so I get pick him up, bring him to the in-house studio, and uh you can tell that this is uh not a high budget operation, Steve Carroll.
SPEAKER_01Well, I'm looking for an updated check with about$3,000 so I can afford to at least pay a down payment on a new car because I don't think this one's gonna last much longer.
SPEAKER_03Oh God, talk about it. I mean, I was on this, yeah, whatever.
SPEAKER_02Hey, Steve, we're working on creating a budget so that we can pay our guests at some point. So hey, hang with us, get our ratings boosted, and uh you know, keep looking in the mailbox. I got a watch.
SPEAKER_03I got a watch that I got from high in high school. I'll give it to you.
SPEAKER_01All right. That'll help.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's uh that's our giveaway now. Whatever we have to do the pawn shop, whatever we have laying around is our is our giveaway sticky fingers in that I gotta tell you, I already like this show a whole lot. Oh it's off the rails, man. This is kind of how it rolls. And and by the way, uh yeah, I have new audio equipment. You're sitting, we're sitting next to each other for the first time. Hell if if this thing is recording or not. I hope everything goes okay. I don't know. But um, you know, let's just assume it is, and we'll continue. And let's uh kick this thing off by saying, first and foremost, congratulations. Congratulations on 50 plus years in broadcasting, 27 with the Anaheim ducks. Um, what a hell of a run you had. How are you doing? And I know that's a loaded question because all you've done is broadcasting. That's your that's been your life, and now you are home while the team is in Edmonton. How how are you doing?
SPEAKER_01Well, if you want me to be honest, no, lie to us. Hey, this is kind of listen, this is raw.
SPEAKER_03This is raw and unfiltered, and hopefully recording.
SPEAKER_01You know what? I don't think you ever get used to when you have a job that you love, you love the people you're being around, and it's something that uh you've always thought about because I believe me, guys, I was never good enough to play any kind of sport except step ball, and then I was breaking windows in the house next to us, hitting the tennis ball against the outside of the steps. That's my claim to frame. So I had to find, you know, something else to do, and it was broadcasting. And I'll tell you something, I have no regrets. It took me a long time to get to the higher levels of the different sports, but when you start at age 14, which I did, I was looking it up the other day and go to a broadcast school, you never think about something like this happening or really and truly getting an opportunity to work at a big league level, regardless of the sport, whether it's baseball or hockey. And I loved college sports, football, and basketball, but I can't say that I've really had a bad day. When your team's losing and you're close to the guys, you kind of suffer along with them. But just being able to broadcast sports, number one, because I wasn't good enough to be an athlete. That had a lot to do with it, but uh just do something that you have a passion for, and I have no regrets about it. I wish I could have stayed on a little bit longer, but uh hey, I'm around people like you two guys, and uh maybe be doing some work down the line for the Ducks organization. So you know what? You can't ask for anything more than that.
SPEAKER_02Well, I mean, no doubt, and congratulations again, Steve. It's uh as Frenchie said, and as everybody said over the last uh couple months, that an incredible ride for you. But I want to welcome you into the world of being a retired person, because as you know, all of a sudden one day you're working, doing the thing that you love, and then all of a sudden it's uh hey, you're done. And whether it's by your own choice or the choice of the organization, um, a lot of times and and and the athlete side of it, it's you have a shelf life, and and at some point you're just not young enough, you're not fast enough, uh, your skills start to diminish, and so then you're you know kind of faced with the decision of uh is this the time for me to hang up my my gear? So uh it it's safe, Steve. Just let me I'll I'll tell you, it's safe on the other side. It's given me, and I'm sure yourself, it's gonna give you other opportunities, um you know, to a be around the team, be around the game that you love, and of course, uh to do a lot of other fun things, much like appearing on the Mask and the Mic podcast. You can find that on Apple and Spotify. It's a shameless plug right there. But yeah, but moving forward, you know what, you know, I and I know you have a lot of goals and and we've discussed it uh, you know, kind of privately. If you could do something and you could do whatever you wanted to do, is there one thing that you would want to do in kind of your post-career? I mean, for me, it was trying to sample something different, which was not playing the game, it was moving into what you've both have done for years and years and years, it was broadcasting. So if you could just pick something, I mean you could be a rally race car driver, you could be uh a skydiver, you could be whatever you could be. Is there something that you've never thought like, hey, I'm gonna give this a try because now I have the opportunity.
SPEAKER_01Well, some of those things you just mentioned, none of the above. I don't know if I could do it, first of all. You know, this might sound really different, and I'm speaking from the heart when I say this, but in years past, when I worked in all these cities and I was in nine, I think it's ten different states when all is said and done, including California, one of the things that I enjoyed, and I realized that maybe I'm supposed to be around for that, is I liked working in community relations for the sports teams I was with. And I had some family people that we lost and uh some young kids that I got to know. And wherever I've been, I've told them up front that call me, let me know. And I enjoyed, you know, just being around someone that might need a cheering up or they want some good words coming away, and uh started some uh jobs with visiting kids at hospitals, going to different events, speaking. You know, I didn't ask for any money, I didn't want any, but doing those type of things because when I was going up through the minors, and that's 33 seasons, you're doing all of that. You're not getting paid for it, but you know what? I felt good after accomplishing some things that I wanted to do, and that means more to me than anything. The money, the actual broadcast, what I've done, and it's something that I still want to pursue because if you can make somebody else happy that's going through a tough time, a kid that's sick, you know what? You've done already maybe a lifelong uh service because you're gonna see them smile, and you're also gonna be able to uh get to know them. And then it takes maybe anything that's going wrong in your career or in life, and you start realizing, you know what, I've got it pretty good. I've been pretty fortunate, and I really have uh to be able to do all the things I've been able to do. Uh, I can't ask for anything more.
SPEAKER_03Well, that's why you're such a great fit for the NIM Ducks organization, as we all know the Samuel Ellies and what they're able to do in the community. And so moving forward, as you mentioned, um we are certain you're gonna be part of the organization in some capacity, and and that would be certainly something that you thrive in, is that space of the nonprofit space. You've done such a tremendous job in it so far. I can't see how you would not be included in that moving forward. But I do want to ask you, though, you mentioned 14 years of age is when this whole journey in broadcasting started. Like why yeah, you alluded to the fact that you didn't have maybe the athleticism to be a professional athlete, which I'm shocked at, by the way. Which I am not shocked at, just so you know. Um, but how how and where did this passion uh for broadcasting come to you at such a young age?
SPEAKER_01Well, maybe it's because I couldn't do anything else. You know, I don't know. Uh no, I'm just kidding right there. But I've always been enthralled with that. And my life early on, even when I was seven or eight years old growing up in St. Louis, I never missed a Cardinal baseball game, a big red football game, the NFL team they had there, the St. Louis Blues, the St. Louis Hawks, St. Louis University. I loved listening to people doing sports, whether it be the radio or if you're watching TV, and I thought, you know what? I'm not good enough to be an athlete. What's the next best thing? So I got involved in writing articles for like school newspapers when I went to high school in uh St. Louis, and I just became enthralled with, hey, this isn't a bad job to have. If you enjoy sports like I did and you're getting paid for it, maybe it's something I ought to get into. And I went to broadcast school for it, wound up in 10 states, and I don't think honestly, you know, we have our ups and downs. Uh teams have good years, teams have bad years, but I don't think I've had a bad day in the broadcast booth because for those three or four hours, you're just focused in and doing something that you really, really love, and you don't care about anything else as long as you're doing the job, and that's the next best thing, closest, in my opinion, to being at a ballpark doing a broadcast. And, you know, I'm just grateful for all those opportunities. And I should write a book because I think it would help some people because it helped me writing to myself, saying you need to do this or get away from this. But no, seriously, I've always had a passion for this, and uh I love the athletes no matter what sport it is. Now, some might think that I'm a little too crazy about professional wrestling, but uh I actually got to do some uh TV editing for that sake.
SPEAKER_03That's like another podcast right there. Steve with a WWE.
SPEAKER_01But I got out of the way when a guy was being tossed against the ropes, and I'm there doing like production for the guy that's doing the play-by-play, and this guy, 300 pounds, comes at me. I'm going like this. I turn my head, I say, everybody all right. They go, No, I think uh this this guy standing outside the ring there, security guy, might have got bumped by an arm. And so I actually left to go help him get back for the treatment. But hey, you know, I have to tell you, this is fun because I could write seven, eight books right away on everything I've been able to do, but it's all good. It's all good.
SPEAKER_02Well, yeah, I mean, I see first, uh French and I are signing up for that uh limited edition book because I I think it would be just absolute gold. Uh I mean, I think, and a lot of people, and I I love to hear your thoughts on this. Like I spent time in the miners. I was in Peoria, Illinois with the St. Louis Blues, and uh some of my favorite memories, some of the things I learned most about myself, most about my my game and where it needed to go, things I needed to improve on. Uh we're all encapsulated in my time in Peoria. And I think that the appreciation that you get from being in the miners, you know, you're on long bus rides and you're grabbing your own gear and you're hanging the wet gear, helping out the equipment guy because there's one equipment guy. There's not equipment guys, and it's like one trainer, one equipment guy, there's one radio guy. There's usually back in my day, there was a head coach, and sometimes we didn't even have an assistant coach. So it was a limited number of people. So, you know, you got your hands dirty, and everybody pitched in. It was a real team and community kind of bonding. And when you made it to the NHL, you know, it was you you really didn't take anything for granted. And so, I mean, I I I can assume that you experience a lot of those same things, and I'm sure you got your hands dirty helping out uh in all facilities, gear, radio stuff, uh, probably pushing a team bus out of the mud, I can assume.
SPEAKER_01Uh, I stayed away from that because I only had one uh pair of uh new clothes for an eight-day trip. So I knew that I better not ruin those. But no, you're right. And uh the years that I spent in the minors, and it was like 17 and 17 basically for football, basketball at the college level, you got hockey, you got baseball, but you worked in the office all day long. You weren't making a whole lot of money either, but you're traveling with a team. Fortunately, when I was in Des Moines, uh we had shorter trips that only lasted, excuse me, a four or five hours. But some of those eight to nine ones and even getting up early in the morning for a plane ride coast to coast, even in the National Hockey League. And uh, it's rough. And uh quite honestly, I was single during those times and probably a good idea because I wouldn't have had much of a life. Uh wife go, where are you today? Don't forget you got to do this when you come home, so I didn't have to go through all of that. I just waited till I moved to the next level because I knew I might have some time off.
SPEAKER_03Smart man. Thank God for Rhonda. Yeah, uh yeah. She's the best. Oh my gosh. Um when you talk about broadcasting and the minor leagues, what was your very first broadcasting job? And what do you remember about it?
SPEAKER_01Oh boy. Well, I worked for four different stations in St. Louis doing the sports cast at night. One of the stations was affiliated with an additional station that I worked for. They were in rooms right next to one another. So how old are you at this point in time? Uh I look like I'm 40, but I just turned 70. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03No, how old were you when you started?
SPEAKER_02Oh uh He was 40 and it looked like 70.
SPEAKER_01Hey, can we cut that part off?
SPEAKER_02Uh anyway, yeah, we'll have our editing bay take care of that.
SPEAKER_01Honestly, honestly, 16 is when I started because I went to a broadcast center and I had some uh sports people come in and you'd have a disc jockey come in. And growing up as like a seasoned ticket holder for the blues and the football cardinals and baseball, I always wanted to be around, and I just pursued it, and the broadcast school at the time had connections with you know small market stations because that's where most people start. And uh, you know what? That's great for you, too. You start at the bottom level and then you gain respect for the people that are in that, and then one little thing leads to another. You're learning how to broadcast football, baseball, basketball. You're doing the news report. I'm there at five o'clock in the morning. And oh, hey, I have to tell you this, it's just brought up a story. You got to hear this one. Yeah. My I went to broadcast school in St. Louis, and there's a town 60 miles south of there in Farmington, Missouri. It's a farm town, and I got a job there, and they told me they want me to come down to be like a disc jockey and do news. So the GM of the organization, his name was Terry James. I'll never forget it. And he lived in the house across from the station. Now, Farmington, Missouri is a town of like 12,000, 13,000, and you're lucky if you get a wake-up call down there if you're late, which that's what happened to me. The first day I was on the air down there, before I'm supposed to interview a guy like Digger Phelps, some of these big-time college basketball coaches, Al McGuire. I'm late. So here's how I knew I was late. I got up around seven o'clock in the morning. I was supposed to be on the air at 5:30 and looked out, and the sun is shining. The sun is shining. I'm what a horrible feeling that is. I said, my career probably just ended before it started. So I get in a car. I must have been doing, I better watch, somebody might be listening. Uh I did about 50 miles an hour for like a mile to get to the station. And so I walk in and they have a speaker outside, and you have to turn the station on and off when you're working in a small town like that. Oh, there's some funny stories there I could tell you too. But uh I'm I get out of the car and all of a sudden I hear the station on the air. It's coming out of these large speakers, and I knew that the GM of the station lived across the street. So I walk in front and I see this glass window, and I'm seeing this guy kind of lean back, sort of you know, looking like, oh, so you made it. That's what I kind of thought. So I go in there, he says, Are you ready to go? He says, You were supposed to be here at 5 30 in the morning to do a farm report of all things. I I had a hard time pronouncing names of different animals back then. Seriously, but it was the start of a good career. So I walk in there and he gets behind where the board is. He goes back, leans back, got his feet up. This is exactly what he said, son. You'll never make it in this business if you're late for one day of work. Shouldn't let it happen. He says, I know you're new here, so let's see if we can work on that. And I thought for sure I was gonna lose my job before the first day of work. And that's just one of the many stories there because you're doing high school football or basketball at night, you're waiting for all the guys to come back, you're getting in at one or two in the morning from Flat River, Missouri to Farmington, and it's raining pouring, and you're trying to find your car, you don't know where it is, there's mud all over the station. So uh I survived that. So I knew right then and there that I would have a career because the guy let me go, but you can't let that happen again. And I took his words, and uh I think I might have been late because I had a car problem one time in all these years I've been doing it, to be real honest with you. I've almost been on time.
SPEAKER_03Guess what? And I gotta say this because Steve Carroll, the joke, the running, fun, ribbing Steve Carroll joke is that Steve Carroll is on the bus like an hour before it leaves, where whatever city we're in.
SPEAKER_02So yes, I that was where I was going because the few times I've been able to travel with the team, and Steve, of course, I'd be like, hey, what time's the bus? And they're like, Oh, if you see Steve, that means you're an hour early. So I always I'm like, okay, well, Steve's on the bus. I have a lot of time to go get Starbucks or something because there's there's plenty of time. But as we all know, when you're scared straight by being late, you know, I mean, we've all been late for something, and I can remember in St. Louis, my rookie year, same type of thing. Brian Sutter was our coach, and he's like, hey, bus is at 8 a.m. Beyond it or beyond it. And that was his two words. And I came out with my roommate for the eight o'clock bus at like, oh, I don't know, 7:59, no bus. And we jumped in the cab, raced to get to the airport to meet the team. We get there, get fined because we missed the bus. And uh, we're like, well, it was eight o'clock. And he's kid, it's DNHL. Eight doesn't mean eight, eight means you're late. So much like you, I was I was there early to get on that team bus.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there's one other thing. When you're in the minor leagues, for who's ever listening to this, and I'll just tell you something. I was in the minor leagues for a long time, and 33 seasons, and you don't know if you're ever gonna get another job or a chance, but you you've got to go through that. But the one thing that was difficult is in those situations, you're not only the broadcaster, you're doing public relations, you gotta be at work the next day, game night operations, you got to go get the stats for the coach before they leave. So you're still on the air, and you see three-quarters of the team already on the bus when you walk by the door, yeah, and then you're hustling and you're sweating when it came to baseball. It was like did that for many years. And then the players get on you. They're going, Come on, Steve, what are you doing? Holding up the bus. Come on, let's go, let's go. And the coach stood up and said, No, he's doing some stuff for me. Everybody was quiet, but uh, it puts you in a lot of uncomfortable positions. But uh you know what it you know what it did, guys? It uh made you closer to the people that really matter, like general managers of minor league teams. And I think the players respect you too for doing all the additional work. And the other part of it is you become, I think, a better announcer when you're doing that because you've got all this information that you got yourself. You don't have to count on anybody else to print stats from how or whatever it was back then. Yeah, and it's It it was okay. You get used to it after a while, but I will tell you this at this level, boy, we get a lot of help up here. And uh I think I throw a party for all the PR directors in this league because they're on the ball, every single one of them, especially in hockey, and that saves your life too. It gives you some breather and maybe have a second helping of food at lunch, too.
SPEAKER_02Well, that's hey, that's a whole nother story about Steve and his endless appetite that I've witnessed. But yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_03It gives you episode two. I think Steve learned how to ration ration his food. He just ate for four people and made it last for however long. But no, you both have said it, and it's and I've been very fortunate, you know, to have that support, but you guys saw it firsthand, and you know, Gibo, the training staff, the coaching staff, it was light, you know, it was skeleton crew, and for you, Steve Carroll, the same thing when it comes to PR, you had to do everything. Um, and and you have an appreciation. I mean, you have an appreciation as you get older and you get in these other spots, and I think that's super important. And and when you talk about your career and your path, what was your favorite stop in your minor league career? And tell me why.
SPEAKER_01Okay, well, I'll tell you, I was single at the time when I worked in Nashville, Tennessee. It was awesome. I like Nashville. Seven years and I had seven jobs at one time. What? I know you're not going to believe this, but I'll reel them off for you. Nashville Sounds baseball, Nashville Knights East Coast Hockey League. I worked for the Nashville Banner and the Nashville, Tennessean as a writer during that time. And then I got a job doing Vanderbilt Football as the color analyst. I mean, I I wasn't an expert on football, so I had a I had learned. And then I did Vanderbilt Basketball, and then Larry Schmitto, who was the GM of the Nashville Sounds, took over and bought another team from a new league called the Global Basketball League. They were called the Music City Jammers, and because I worked for him under five teams, he let me do all the broadcasts. So I had no life button. How the hell did you have time to eat? You love to eat. How the hell you don't even have time to eat. That's a true story. That's a true story.
SPEAKER_03Seven jobs?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and the job with the newspaper wasn't just collecting scores at night, but I began to write. And in a couple of cities I was in, when you're still in the minor leagues, you're doing everything, and uh you've got access to the players, so they want you to write a few little quotes. But I enjoyed writing the columns, and I have to tell you guys, and I'm serious about this, not trying to be funny, but I have so much respect for writers, not only in sports, but in the news, guys that have been around and women who've been around. It's it's a tough thing because you got to be careful at the minor league level to not get on people, if you know what I mean, because it's minor leagues, and you don't want people talking about you that way, too, if they say we didn't like what you said or something like that. I think I think maybe only one time that happened to me, seriously. And uh, you know, we had a conversation and uh it was over with. Guy and me got along very well the next day. So a lot of respect for those people, and uh, you know, how they do it and how they got access to all the players and that is beyond me. But the good thing is, and what we do for a living, there's so many different venues, so many different things you can do in broadcasting. It's not just about doing sports or anything like that, but uh, you know, I did disc jockey work too. I told you that I had this I know I know you're not gonna believe this. I got the resume and the letters to prove it. I don't know what to believe. I worked at four nightclubs in St. Louis, Missouri when I was first starting out. I could name them off too. I could tell you.
SPEAKER_02Steve Carroll, if they were opening during my time, I might have uh I might have heard the silky, sweet tones of one Steve Carol.
SPEAKER_03Think about we saw some pictures of Steve Carroll in the Gematron when he was being honored, and Steve Carroll was a sexy man back in the day. He had the the dark, the full head of dark hair and a mustache, and had a little bit of uh you know, steel wool going on there. I mean, you were you were steel wool. I don't know if Steve knows what you're talking about.
SPEAKER_02Listen, I can only think of Austin and Austin Powers as exactly. Uh I can think of only two people who can actually well no, I'll go with three people now that can actually rock a mustache. Probably the top of the list, Tom Sellick.
SPEAKER_03Yes. That's where I was going with that. Absolutely. Megan P.
SPEAKER_02Steve Carroll.
SPEAKER_01How about Sparky Lyle? He had a pretty interesting one, didn't he? And the handleborn mustache.
SPEAKER_02Was that the uh no um Raleigh Fingers? Raleigh Fingers with the little, yeah. Uh and then Joel Quenville. Joel. That's my that's my top three. I'm sure there's some others, but yeah, it is hard to rock a mustache. Steve, you've done it great. Uh hey, I want to segue into something uh other than that.
SPEAKER_03How can you segue out of nightclubs? My goodness gracious. Go with that.
SPEAKER_02Well first, I mean, are there any of the nightclubs um in the let's see, I turned pro in '89. Oh, you might try down this road. St. Louis 89 to 93. Uh, were you were you uh silky, sweet tones of any of those establishments during that time?
SPEAKER_01Did you remember the Godfather's restaurant out in Floreson? They used to call the disco Goombaz. Do you remember that one at all?
SPEAKER_02I did, I would say no.
SPEAKER_03This is called the Mask of the Mike Deep Cuts. Yeah, yeah. The B side.
SPEAKER_01I worked at the mill that was out in North St. Louis. But here's the thing: I got to know all the disc jockeys and everything in town by doing that. And they're actually the ones that got me into the disco work because they had to work at night. So I was getting uh work three times a week, and uh I did that for about two years. And then when you meet other people, they go, Hey, can you come and you know we got a birthday party coming? That's that's the best part of what I've been through is to meet the many people. I did news for three years and I was covering fires, shootings, and stuff like that. You'd be up all night, and I worked for three different stations doing that in Illinois. So, but you you know, this might be difficult for people to understand. First of all, when you have no talent to be an athlete, then you're looking for what am I gonna do down the line? And somebody said, Why don't you go to the broadcast center in St. Louis? And I did, and I ended up working for two of the disc jockeys. Gary Records Brown was one of them, had a famous oldie show, and I just I just fell in love with what I was doing, and I never knew that it would wind up like this, to be real honest with you. But uh, you also have to put in the time too. You have to pay your dues. A lot of people want the jobs right away, and they ask me, they go, How did you get this? And they go, Well, I'm not gonna spend that much time. Well, all right, we'll see you somewhere else, maybe at the bank or something like that, behind the counter.
SPEAKER_02I I don't know, but you'll be scanning my groceries.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I have you know what I have no regrets, guys. Uh, it's been unbelievable to do something because my parents always knew where I was. I never got the trouble, and uh, they knew I was either at a ballpark, at a sports event, at a dinner thing, and it it was great, it had a great upbringing, and I love what I do. I always have. I've met some of the best people around, and you know, I'm just grateful for it. Hopefully, uh, you know, I'll be around for another 10 years, 11 years or something, and be able to be around the sports world for a while more.
SPEAKER_02Well, uh, listen, I was trying to segue into something uh else, and I lost my whole train of thought listening to all that wisdom. Uh, but I do have uh being back in the miners, uh I came across some of the best pranksters in my entire life, right? Guys who could chirp on the ice, but some of the stuff that happened off the ice, in the locker room, in the parking lot, uh in a variety of places. Uh like I'll just set the tone in and Steve, I'm sure you've got some some gold for us. Uh I remember coming out, and a lot of the pranks went between teammates, of course, but it also included front office, our head of ticket sales in Peoria. And and I don't know why I said this. So there was always something going on with two of my teammates, I won't name them right now, uh, but two of the funniest guys ever. And so we walked out to the parking lot one day after practice, and there was a car up on cinder blocks with no tires on them, wheels were gone. And we were like, what the hell happened? And so they thought it was gonna be funny because the ticket guy refused these guys tick extra tickets for something. Oh man. To a game. And they said, Well, we're gonna get that guy. And so literally, I don't know how they did it. He said all of a sudden it was like uh a team thing. Hey, everybody's got to go out to the parking lot. So that's one of my all-time favorites. I mean, shoes, my shoes were cut in half, nailed to the wall. I didn't know if it was rookie initiation. I mean, there was you know, hot bomb in helmets. I mean, like the list just goes on and on and on. But the the the no tires and car on cinder blocks was was all time, all-time greatest. Yeah, but I can imagine, Steve, that you witnessed something or maybe pulled a prank or two.
SPEAKER_01No, not me. I would never do such a thing. Listen, it's so you can't. Especially to a coach. I'll just tell you one quick story. This is when I was in Des Moines, Iowa, because that's where I spent seven years doing four or five different things, but I got a call from two of the players. They were with the Cubs organization at the time, and you're going way back to like the Billy Hatchers people of that era. I get a call in my room and I look up, and it's three o'clock in the morning, and a guy goes, I had no idea who it was. Uh, and the lady that connected me from downstairs at work there said, There's a gentleman here who needs to talk to you immediately. So to this day, I don't know who did it, but it was a player. And he actually said, Steve, we're we're catching a bus right now. We have to leave to get to the game tomorrow. They switched the time to one o'clock, so you need to come down here and catch the bus. So guess what happens? I pack everything up. I'm dead tired, and I'm walking, and there's six players out there just rolling, laughing. They were just coming in from a night out, and I'm I'm there going, Oh gosh, I must look kind of foolish here going down here. But they said it was the best joke they ever played on anybody, and that I was a good guy to be able to deal with it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that I mean, that's fabulous. I mean, that is, you know, I mean, it's stories and memories that you make, you know, in the minors that that are just so amazing that you know you can tell that story forever, and it's great every time you tell it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's great. Yeah, I'll just say this if you don't mind. There's a lot of young guys that come up, young ladies, that say, How were you able to spend that much time in the minor leagues and didn't you give up? Well, I told one of them, I said, Yeah, I gave up around 40 to 50 times because they kept denying you said a tape out resume like that. But I said, I have this belief that if you go out and pay your dues, it's an important line. Whether you start in a small farming town like I did with 2000, or whether you're in the middle, say like double-A baseball, you know, the Meyer Leagues in hockey, you know what? Have fun with it. Do it because there's no guarantees you're gonna get anywhere else. But guess what? If things don't open up when you have a broadcast job, or something happens where you know all they got is, you know, to sell different things at the hockey game, or we've got two sponsors here where why don't you hold this up and walk through the stands before the game, see if we can sell a few of these. It's it's okay because to me, the people that have the most experience and can do more than just the normal folks, those are the ones that eventually, I believe this very sincerely, but if you pay your dues, there's always gonna be at least one or two opportunities down the line if you want to stick up with it. And it's amazing how many people I run into that they got this job because they were doing something like that, and the guy from the other team enjoyed their PR work game notes, hired them the next year. He ended up spending there for what, I think five, six years. So more experience you get down at the lower levels, especially of sports broadcasting, the better off you're gonna be because you're gonna open up some doors for you in various items. You might not want to be a broadcaster, you might want to just do PR, maybe some game night operations. Nothing wrong with that, because you're gonna make some decent money if you move up the ladder. So that's just me talking. But uh everything to me was kind of fun because I knew I wasn't gonna be an athlete and I wasn't very good. And I do I was pretty good at slow pitch softball, though. Didn't get hurt, that was another good thing. That's but uh I I just decided to go ahead and pursue that in case I can't find one. At least I'll be happy in an organization.
SPEAKER_03So that being said, with you know these these up and coming broadcasters that you alluded to and you know they asked you how did you make it through the minor leagues? You said, Yeah, I I quit, you know, 30 to 40 times. Was there a time when you I wouldn't say convinced, but thought you were not going to make it?
SPEAKER_01Oh, I'd say, let's see, how many hands do I need here? One, four, five, six. And that never but that never stopped you.
SPEAKER_03And I'm not trying to be funny, but it never stopped you from doing what you love.
SPEAKER_01No, and what I made sure of was I worked for a couple of stations, like I said, doing news. I did weather for two stations, and uh I have to throw this out at you real quick. This boy, these memories are coming back. How did I survive? Our hour one of a seriously I I got I I got a job at a station doing weather at night, and I didn't even know what the word like barometric pressure and all that stuff was. I just went in there and luckily I had some people that worked at night and things like that. And the one night I when I first started, I miscalled like the weather forecast. It was for another area outside the city I was working for. So they were supposed to get storms and the other people weren't. So I went and gave the storm one because I didn't know where the city was. Nobody told me where is this. I I don't know. It was in a small town. It was actually in Tennessee, by the way. And uh I went ahead and did this, and the phone lit up, and they go, Hey, tell that I had a he had like a producer there. I they said, tell that guy who's on the TV that that's another town. It's it's similar in the way you say it, Nat, but we're not gonna get any rain here and not tell them that because it might help them do the weather. Hey, I could write 15, 20,000 books of my life.
unknownI love it.
SPEAKER_03I want to know the story when you finally got the call to uh you know be a broadcaster in the National Hockey League with Philly. I know your your experience there might not have been the best, but just the fact that the time finally came after 30 plus years in the minor leagues, you got your chance. What was that call like?
SPEAKER_01And just so you know, to make me feel better, uh, the same thing happened to me as it did to another person that followed me, and that's as far as I'll go. So, you know what? And I shouldn't say this, but I will. But when I look back, they did me a favor. You know, they said they're looking for somebody else, and look where I wound up. I mean, yeah, that's like a storybook thing, things that don't normally happen, but it took a few years. I had to go back to the miners, but you know what? I wound up in a just a terrific place with great people that own it, uh the athletes, the Kent Frenches of life here. I mean, you can't beat that with the group of people. So uh, but to answer your question, uh I don't know. I I I took one day at a time. I was doing so many things in the minor leagues that I was exhausted by the time I got out of there. I mean, I thought, you know what, if I can't do play by play, I can do PR, I can do other things or you know, game night operations, go visit kids at hospital. And I did all that just to make sure if I'm ever in a situation where I lose the job, I've got some people that I stayed connected with that can maybe help you. Are they in a position of power somewhere else? And they can call you, say, Oh, we kind of lost track of you, but would you be interested uh in coming out here and doing some work? Sure. Sure.
SPEAKER_02Yes is an easy word. Yeah. And when you're offered opportunity, saying yes is the best, certainly the best answer. But so you had your uh dip-to-toe into the NHL, and then so how did the whole you know approach or the way you were able to get to Anaheim come about? I I I know you've told me snippets of how you made it out to Anaheim, but I'm sure there's a lot of people who don't know how you ended up getting the job that, you know, obviously you've held for so many years.
SPEAKER_01I got a call the other day from EJ Raddock and uh got to be on his show and he asked me that same question, and I told him, Do you have about four hours? I said I can tell you stories you just won't believe. But I initiated a lot of things that I did, but how I got the job here, I won't mention names, uh, but I was in New Haven for a couple of years, and I will say Roy Mallocker was there as the GM, and Peter Cooney was an actual agent, and he uh was part owner of the Springfield team in the American League. And by that time, you're about, you know, what 25 seasons into the minor leagues, you're going, I just you give up, you're not gonna get another job. And so uh Roy made a call on my behalf to Tony Taveras out here in California. And do you know the next day I got a call and said we want to fly out for an interview? Wow. And all the time you're busting your butt, you know, trying to get somewhere. I used to go to the winter baseball meetings, I'd have like 10, 15,000 resumes here, handing them out to people like, hey, I can do this, give me a chance. Never worked that way, but it's kind of great, and that's why you stay in touch with people, and it's also why you don't burn any bridges elsewhere, because you never know where that person is going to wind up, and that was like for me. So I came out here and uh I got the job within about a week, and it's like all these times I've been sending tapes in that out, uh one bit of advice for everybody. Again, you don't burn any bridges, but you work hard. And the thing that I learned because I was more interested in the announcing side is you know what? Show somebody that you're versatile, do all the work, do that. Maybe I did it too long. I don't know. You were too versatile. Hey, I had a I had a check coming in. That was the most important thing. And and guess what? You you run into so many people, and the other thing I'll tell you is when you deal with like sponsors and the people that make an organization click that come out and support the team, and I've met so many great people out here. It's I don't even know what the number is, but you never know how somebody like that could be helpful, have a connection somewhere. And I've gotten a lot of secondary and third jobs over the years by just dealing with people, treating them like I'd want to be treated, as just as a fan. I'm a fan of what I do as far as you know, I'm I actually got a job in Major League Baseball. I never thought that that would even happen. But you treat people nice, and uh, I think at one point in your life, this is my experience talking to a lot of people, that I think everybody gets at least a shot, one shot or maybe two opportunities to go on and maybe pursue a dream. Unless they have a bad resume or got into trouble somewhere. But uh, if you go out and pay your dues, you know, I think there's an opportunity out there for you, and you gotta be a little aggressive, be aware of who's got an opening, perhaps. And uh what I did when I was the PR guy in that, I'd go around to the broadcasters in the East Coast League, say, have you heard of anything opening? And it's interesting how some of them are in the same vote you are, because they're trying to get there, but a couple of them took the time to tell me that there was an opening that their family wasn't gonna move, and that led to me contacting the right person, and I got the job two months later. So you you gotta treat people nice in this build in this business, too. It's you just have to because you never know who you're talking to, and it just winds up. I wish it would have been a little bit easier, but you know what? I think you would agree, Gee, as far as all the people in professional sports, I think a lot of them have to pay their dues and go through the minor leagues, but I think it makes you a better broadcaster, maybe uh a newspaper person that was working for the team, program editor. You get that experience and you have more to offer. And if that one thing doesn't work out, you've got opportunities here. And a lot of people don't want to pay their dues, but I just tell them it's it's very important. That's how a lot of guys doing what I've done over the years get their jobs by making contacts and friends. They don't have to do anything for you, but it helps to have that guy in your corner and know that you didn't do anything wrong. Maybe this guy can make a call for you. And indeed, that's what happened.
SPEAKER_03What year did you come to the docs? What year was that first year?
SPEAKER_01Oh god, this is twenty seven for me here. So uh what yeah.
SPEAKER_02Don't make me do the math. I was still playing. So uh I had the chance to be a player when Steve was making a call, and that's where I kind of wanted to go down the road of do you remember your very first Mighty Ducks of Anaheim game call? And do you remember who it was? Do you remember I is anything stick out about that very first? I mean, you've had you know incredible calls, Stanley Cup calls, but just interesting about like your first game here in Anaheim.
SPEAKER_01Well, there was this guy, uh, great guy named Guy A. Bear. He made a terrific save on a shot. I can't remember who it was. One of my first calls back then, and I was going nuts. In fact, I kind of lost control.
SPEAKER_02And I and then we got to get a copy of that that audio, right?
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna go for a walk. I'll be back. You guys can wax poetically on that.
SPEAKER_01You know what? We've always had some really good players, good people from front office down in this organization, and uh just some great players. Uh, you know, I I just think about you know, the Tamusolani's the Scott Needer Myers, the people that were on the winning teams here and the team that won the cup. Uh and they were just so professional. I'll tell you who I ran into just last week, though, and I had a chance to talk to him three or four different times. It was Chris Pronger.
SPEAKER_02And uh he was on the big show here. Yeah, he was. Yeah. Thanks for knowing. Thanks for listening, Steve. We appreciate it. Apparently, he is a follower of the Map Didden Mike. He didn't want to pay for the subscription.
SPEAKER_01Um did he get a gift for being on the show?
SPEAKER_02You'll never know.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay. Well, anyway, it was nice to talk to him. And here recently, with all the things that have happened off the ice for me, I've heard from people like Francois Beauchemet, people that were on those great teams, and even the early going, and you know, they're all great hot hockey people to me, and I don't want to make anybody upset because there's some great people in baseball, the Meyer League's uh NBA, done a little bit of everything, filled in. But the guys in hockey, and I think it's the nature of the sport, there's just something special about them where uh they can be approachable in any situation, teams struggling, you know, going through a rough time. But uh I tell everybody, these young kids, when I go out and talk sometimes, that you know, you you've got to be there and treat people right too. Don't have an opinion on everything, but just call the game as you see it and get to know the players more because they'll respect you more. If they see you at morning skates, they know that you're a hard worker and you do as much preparation as you can. You're not gonna have any problems at all dealing with them. You can go up, ask for an interview. It's the guys that don't want to work too hard, stay at home, and then they're at the uh rink two hours ahead of time asking people all these questions. So that's one thing that I would recommend for uh young kids in any line of sport, uh, you know, and have fun. I have more fun doing stuff like that than anything because you're around the players, you get to know them, and then you get to know the visiting players, and uh that's what it takes. And it's not that difficult to be nice to people. I mean, uh the way the world's going right now, you know, I'm glad I'm in sports because I have something positive to think about and uh just grateful that I've spent all these years in this uh business.
SPEAKER_03What's your favorite call? Do you have one?
SPEAKER_01Like on the game, uh like when we won the Stanley Cup.
SPEAKER_03Yes, I'm talking about like with the Nine Ducks, one of your favorite calls or the stand the final Stanley Cup, you know, they win the cup. What what was what was your first your most memorable call?
SPEAKER_01The main one has to be when we won the Stanley Cup. It it has to be you know, a few years before that, we came awfully close in that, but that's what every broadcaster wants to do. They want to broadcast a World Series win, a Super Bowl win, an NBA title. And uh, but yeah, that was that was terrific. We we've had so many good people come through here, and Gee is right at the top of it. I will just tell you that, not because he's here. He lied. We've oh well he paid me before the game. So now before this. Okay, uh, but anyway, no, we we've been, I think, blessed with uh so many great people here, and even the coaches, you know, some lasted longer than others, but and and that's what's big for people like us in broadcasting, regardless of the sport you play. You show up, and I said this to a kid who called me the other day. You show up, do your work, do the prep, and you've gotta do that because something will happen during the game that you would have known had you been there, and it's not that difficult. If you like what you do, just go. The players respect you, I think, a lot more when they see a lot of you and know that you're there and you really care about the team, the wins and losses. So that's that's part of the job. And uh, I never had a problem with that because I just loved what I did.
SPEAKER_03This podcast is a blueprint for the up-and-coming broadcaster on how you need to act, how you need to treat people, how hard you need to work to make it go in here, and and don't take no for an answer. And Steve Carroll didn't do that for 30 plus years in the minor leagues, and this is why he is sitting here with us today. So, you know, good on you. I mean, I can't tell you how an honor it has been. Um without getting into it too much. Steve has supported my career for somebody he didn't know. We sat next to each other at the ESPN zone doing live shows. I was nobody, I was a cable guy asking Steve Carroll to do shows with me. We went to spring training together. We were in rental cars going up to Oakland, covering baseball. I mean, God knows. And by the way, Gee, I got to tell you this: like on the baseball field, so I know Steve from hockey, right? Both you and I. We get on the baseball field, he's a freaking hero. He's like a celebrity. Other players and coaches that have been in the league a long time, with his minor league experience, he is known by so many people and knows so many people. It is just remarkable. Um, and that says a lot for you and for your career. But I I do want to ask you before we kind of start wrapping this up, is the fans. And I see you interact with them, you lean over the press box, you talk to them, you spend extra time at ducks events. You take time to be with fans, and they showed their appreciation to you on April the 12th when it was your final game. Standing ovation, the players were standing, everybody was standing to tell you how much they meant to you. How much do the fans mean to you?
SPEAKER_01Well, it's very simple. I was one of them growing up. Yeah, I was a fan, and I went through it. Excuse me. I always wanted to get autographed after games, which I did. I still have uh most of them. And you know what? I I was one of them because I went to games everywhere in St. Louis, standing room only for one whole season with the blues, and I just loved sports, and then I'd stand up there calling the play-by-play, even though I couldn't see all the way down the ice. I just guessed at who it was, but I wasn't on the air. But uh, you know, that's the way I've been raised to uh to be nice to people, and you're doing something special that lot not a lot of people get to do, and I'm just fortunate that I've been all these places, and here's one more thing, Ken, I'll tell you. Again, I I mentioned this phrase before, you don't burn any bridges because I don't know how many times when I left an organization, a person, I don't care male, female, whoever it was, how much experience they have or didn't have, you wind up running into them later in your career. And guess what? That might be the person that's the difference between you getting a job and not because you know their background for working with them before. And you you stay close. There's gonna be some people that you don't necessarily uh enjoy being around, but uh I haven't met too many in the sports world, and uh that's what you have to do. You gotta pay the price too. People, I'm just telling you, uh, minor leagues aren't too bad. You know, you go there and have a good time, and you're taking that first step as a broadcaster, if that's what you want, uh, to maybe make it someday. And if you don't have that, you don't really have a whole lot to show the uh upcoming employer either.
SPEAKER_03So yeah, and I I will say this too. Um uh yeah, I I mean kind of speechless at the end here, Steve. I mean, again, you've you meant so much to me, and I know that we, you know, it was so important for us to have you come on. I know this is kind of a difficult time too, because now the ducks are in the postseason for the first time in eight seasons, and you're not there. Um, you know, what what it has been like? Are you watching the games? Are you are you still, I mean, as we ducks lose game one, um, we're not gonna turn this into an analysis of what needs to happen with the Anaheim Ducks by any means.
SPEAKER_01I missed that game, by the way.
SPEAKER_03But yeah, yeah, right. No, I'm are you are you watching, paying attention, and and how what is this experience like for you right now?
SPEAKER_01Well, I'll tell you how much hockey I've been watching lately. I turn on the American Hockey League game of the week. And that's when their playoffs are going on to see some of the prospects. But no, to be honest with you, I've seen every minute of every playoff game thus far. Now, if a team's getting beat like three to one and it's getting near 10 o'clock, and my wife said, Hey, you know, you've been watching hockey. We need to get some sleep tonight.
SPEAKER_02I want to put some uh you know, real housewives or somebody on and enjoy the night.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. But no, I've I've watched every game. I think there's been a couple of minutes of each game when it's been a little more one-sided, but hey, we're we're lucky to be in a sport that has some of the best athletes around. And I will just tell you up front, there's a lot of great people in the other sports, but there's none better than hockey players at every level, and it's just something I learned a long, long time ago. And I think a lot of it is how hard it is to get through, learn how to skate, things like that to get to any particular level. But the game is is difficult to play if you don't have any skill in that. And the people are more uh agreeable. This is my opinion, being with them all the time for years, you're going through tough times. This is the way to judge a player or a person if you're a broadcaster, even if you're not a play-by-play guy. But the ones that cooperate and then when they see you the next uh week or two or you even the next day at practice, they'll always come up and say hello. And guess what? When that time comes up where there's breaking news and you want a quote from maybe a star player, they already know who you are, and you've went and told them that you enjoy it. Chris Pronger was one of them. And uh, you know, he's he's doing pretty well right now. But you make as many connections as you can, and hockey players are right there at the top of the list. And I'm talking about front office people too, uh, officials, got a chance to visit with them over the years, and they're just great. And it's the nature of the sport, too. I can't believe these guys are doing what they're doing on skates. I'll be real frank with you. I had a hard time roller skating, and that wasn't too bad when I was a kid, but uh these guys are terrific, and this has been the most enjoyable experience I've had up here with this organization. They've treated me very, very well, and my only goal now is to, you know, at least be a part, do something away from what I'm doing here if uh they let me, and uh, you know, hopefully be a uh part of this team going a long way and perhaps winning a Stanley Cup down the line.
SPEAKER_03I love it. I love it. Um and Gebo, uh, you know, we all had chatted prior to pressing recording coming on the air, but we had a it was a rough week for for the Ducks family. It was a rough week for the Angels family. We lost two two friends, um, starting with Garrett Anderson, who who by the way you and I had on this podcast, our second, our first ever guest. Yep. Um and I just look back on that and and I we I think we both agree. We saw a side of GA when when we talked to him, just a happy, you know, open he you know, gentleman who doesn't like talking necessarily to the media a lot, but he he talked to us because we're friends. And the way that he opened up to us and talked to us, and um, I I'll never forget that. And and he became a friend on the Angels broadcast, and we sat in the press box and talked baseball, talked family, talk life, and then I know that you had a chance to golf with him, but and you had another relationship with him as well. So it was it, it's one that it's not gonna go away anytime soon in it, and I hope it won't because it hurts. And I just want to give our respects, my respects to to GA and his family.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. Um I actually met a couple buddies yesterday, all friends from golf, and uh we had lunch and uh had a drink in his honor, and and it is, and it's uh great guy, uh, not to get too deep into it, but just you know, that's how precious life really is. Um embrace the people that are around you, enjoy that you're around them, and let people know how much you care and love them. And I think that's something that um is a great message.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'll just add one more thing. You know what? I think we're all very fortunate to be doing what we're doing here. All three of us, yeah, and uh some of the things we've been able to be a part of, and uh that doesn't happen very often. Sometimes you don't even get the opportunity in a lifetime. So the only other thing I would say is when you do get the opportunity, do everything you can, first of all, to get there, but don't ruin it, don't mess it up because it's not a job to me. Yeah, it's going, having a good time, uh, you know, broadcasting games. When I grew up listening to Dan Kelly of St. Louis, people thought I was weird with this transistor up in the standing room only. Like, who are you listening to? Dan Kelly. They go, Well, wait, he's right up there. I go, Well, I can't lay this, you know, down and catch everything he's doing. But they said, Oh, well, that's kind of neat. I said, Yeah, I'm trying to get into broadcasting. So you take advantage of everything that might help you and what you're wanting to do for a living. And uh the other thing, just and I'll be quiet because I like to talk a lot, as you know. Uh be nice to people. Be nice to people because you never know who you're running into. Uh it's happened to me several times, and then uh, in one case, one year later, you go, you remember me, don't you? I go, you look familiar. Well, you spent some time with my two kids. You took them downstairs to the locker room. That means more to not only you and the kids, but also to the families. And if you can make some people happy in this crazy, crazy world we live in, you're doing something nice and uh it won't be forgotten.
SPEAKER_03Well, and somebody that made us all happy too, um, and we'll end with this, was Polly, who was you know, uh security guard over at Honda Center for 25, almost 25 years. Um he passed suddenly as well. I mean, as I mentioned, it was a it was a a rough one, and he was was family, and and you know, we we talk about faces of franchises, and I really believe in my heart that Polly was the face of the ducks, it was the face of Honda Center for all of us who knew him, who he greeted us every morning when we go in for morning skate, when we go in for the games, whatever it may be, Polly was always there with a fist bump and a smile, and he was the larger than life, Gebo. I mean, he was somebody that uh, you know, I uh we will I will always see his face every time I walk in that building from here on out.
SPEAKER_01It's hard to believe. It's hard to believe, but uh, you know, maybe rest in peace, and uh there's not gonna be any like him ever again. He was one special man.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah. As you said, tough week, but uh hopefully this podcast will give some people some comfort, and uh we will miss both of those gentlemen dearly.
SPEAKER_03Um well, Stevo, we're gonna miss you hearing uh your broadcast, but we're not gonna miss you because you're not going anywhere. God knows you'll probably be on this podcast again. Oh we we got so much more to talk about. We have, I mean, my goodness, we're only an hour into this thing, and we probably you have so many stories. It could it could fill up three or four hours, as you know. So uh thank you for being here. Thanks for doing this. We really truly appreciate it. We appreciate you and everything you did for for the organization, but more importantly, for what you did for us, really, and being our friend.
SPEAKER_01Well, you two guys are special too. Enjoy being around you. You're good people, so you want to be around people like that. And uh, yeah, let's do it again. Uh I don't want to stray too far from the world of hockey.
SPEAKER_03No, you won't. You won't. Uh, don't forget, ladies and gentlemen, you can uh check out the Mask the Mic podcast. It is on uh YouTube. You can see our smiling faces at the Mask the Mic. And then also we're on Apple Podcast and Spotify as well. Gebo, uh good stuff, man. And um, you know, good having the legend next to us as well. Absolutely. Thanks again, Steve. Appreciate it. No problem, as we always like to say, Gibo. And good for us.
SPEAKER_01Uh good for me, too.