Stanley Cup Final & Bravo TV

From Bravo TV to the Stanley Cup Final to the U.S. Open, Episode 19 of The Mask & The Mic covers a little bit of everything from the world of sports and entertainment.

Guy Hebert and Kent French kick off the episode by recapping a memorable weekend at the Newport Beach TV Fest, where Guy and his wife Sarah attended an event honoring Bravo TV's Andy Cohen with the Variety Creative Impact Award. Surrounded by Bravo personalities and television stars, Guy reveals a surprising guilty pleasure that may catch hockey fans off guard — his regular viewing habits when it comes to Bravo TV.

The conversation then shifts to the 2026 Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights. Before the series began, Guy and Kent believed goaltending would be the defining storyline given the incredible play of both teams' netminders throughout the postseason. Instead, through the first three games, offense has stolen the spotlight as goals have come in bunches. The guys discuss what has changed, whether the trend will continue, and what adjustments each team needs to make.

They also examine Carolina's decision to replace Frederik Andersen with Brandon Bussi during the third period of Game 3. With Bussi making his first appearance in nearly two months, the question becomes: Should he get the start in Game 4, or do the Hurricanes turn back to Andersen?

Finally, the guys head to the golf course to discuss one of the biggest stories leading into the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. Seventeen-year-old phenom Miles Russell earned his place in the field, but almost as much attention has been paid to who was carrying his bag during qualifying — Charlie Woods, son of Tiger Woods. Guy and Kent discuss whether Charlie will remain on Russell's bag for the U.S. Open and the potential benefits and challenges that come with one of the most recognizable names in golf being part of the story.

From hockey and golf to television and pop culture, Episode 19 truly paints with a broad brush.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, this is GA Bear, and I am the Mask and the Mike. And what what a show we got for you. And some of it revolves around this hat I'm wearing.

SPEAKER_02 0:09

Yes, it does. I'm Ked French. I am the Mike and the Mask and the Mike. And uh yes, we a lot to talk about.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

Gebos wearing a hat from Yes, the US Open at Shinnekock Hills. Yes, we'll talk about that.

SPEAKER_02 0:21

Yeah, and uh we'll talk a little Stanley Cup final. It was not a goalie battle, as we had predicted, and we will talk about Bravo. Yes, get your Bravo con on. Yeah, I mean cover it all on this podcast, and it is a podcast we like to call The Mask and the Mic. We hope you enjoy the show. We hope you enjoy everywhere that we go, and Gibo as always, and good for us. Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of The Mask and the Mike, Kent French alongside GA Bear for uh another wonderfully entertaining conversation about whatever is on our minds, Gebo, and uh, you know, yeah, one of the last things that you said in our last podcast, you had a big weekend coming up or a big couple nights coming up here in Newport Beach. And I'm just gonna let's just kick it off right there. Jump off the cliff, let's get into it. What in the world did Guy and Sarah a bear do uh this past weekend?

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Well, I did give you a teaser, and it was going to be the Newport Beach TV Fest. Yes. And uh right down at the uh Leto Marina Village at the Leto Theater. And I I was able to go last year and represent the ducks and show up and do a little carpet walk, and then uh again was able to go this year and uh great panel of celebrities, right? And and but listen, my wife and I are big fran fans of Bravo and the Bravo universe and uh Andy Cohen. If you know Bravo TV and you know all the housewives of every city uh and a couple other shows, uh Andy Cohen is the guy. And watch what's live with Andy Cohen, usually uh is after each episode, so we'll have a couple live uh interviews with some of the things. I love this.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

It's the guilty pleasure of Guilla Bear. Like you and your wife know Housewives on Bravo, Andy Cohen fan.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

I love that. I started to watch with my wife and I got dragged right into it, right? And and now it is. It's a um, it's a guilty pleasure, certainly.

SPEAKER_02 2:23

Fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Um, but yeah, so we got to go see Andy Cohen, um Sammy Glance with the Ducks, uh, the publicist, my publicist, your publicist, Ducks publicist. Uh give Sammy some credit. Uh, she was able to hook me up with some VIP tickets once again. And uh as a representative of the team, it's always nice to be able to go and and support uh the local um big time events. So uh VIP section, it was a huge line to get in, so much so where we grabbed a bite to eat before we went over to Lido Theater. And as we walked over, I mean the line of people stretched Frenchie down the street, really, around the corner, down a couple blocks, and it was everybody who had tickets, you had to have a ticket to enter. It was sold out. That's how popular Andy Cullen is. Look at Bravo and Andy Cullen.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

I mean, do they like Bravoans?

SPEAKER_00 3:17

Like, what do they call? Do they have like a name? Yeah, they're like well, the celebrities are called uh Bravo Levities or Bravo, you know, put Bravo and celebrity, Bravo Bravo Celebrity, yeah, something like that. Yeah, um, but they do have a Bravo con, which is like a Comic Con, but it's uh it's a Bravo con where they have you know some of their favorite, you know, housewives or or whatever from and they'll be um you know, sometimes it's in Vegas, sometimes East Coast.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

I love you said that because now you you're you're you're jogging the memory. I was in a city covering the ducks, I don't know what city it was, and we were post-game somewhere or having dinner, and all of a sudden all these people come in with lanyards on that had Bravo on it, and it was Bravo Con. It was a thing. Like, yeah, you're right. Like, oh my god. Okay, all right, I'm in. I'm in.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

I I mean you got to tune in just so you know what I'm talking about. Yes. Um, but anyways, so yeah, so we were able to uh go to the VIP line, which was great, and get right in, and it was awesome. We got there, we were only a couple rows from the stage, and uh if you watched anything on my Instagram, you could see the posts uh being very close to watching Andy Cohen and very cool. Like, and it's just a great forum. And of course, he had uh several of the Orange County housewives uh on location, and so they were there, and at the end of the night, they went up and and uh gave Andy an award, but they were up there taking pictures with Andy Cohen, and it's just really cool because he gave some insight to a lot of the shows. There's also you know, Summer House, which I alluded to in the last podcast that there's a lot of stuff going on, a lot of drama and husband and wife and separation and summer house a show. I don't know if oh yeah, oh yeah, summer house is a show, summer house, yeah. So I don't know what that is. I didn't know it's about 10, I think it's about 10 season all the seasons in. So, but uh Kyle and Amanda or married couple. Uh I'm I'm gonna get off track here for a second, but married couple having issues, you know, it's a summer house. They all go to the Hamptons, they all live in uh New York City, they go out on the weekends, they have a share house, it's been going on for years. Um, some some of the people have changed over time, but consistently this one couple has been there, I think, forever. And uh, as it turns out, uh marriage not working well, show ends for the season, and then there is the uh drama of a hookup between one of the other housemates and Amanda, and uh is not turning out well, so you can tune in for the final uh I think the final episode is gonna be the third episode of the reunion. So uh Frenchie, you gotta at least tune into that just to see them come together.

SPEAKER_02 6:07

Surprise. My surprise face that something went wrong.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

Now, who what's the name of this couple that you're talking about? Uh Kyle Cook and Amanda and his wife Amanda.

SPEAKER_02 6:16

So would they be at this this event?

SPEAKER_00 6:19

Uh they were not, and because it's so toxic right now in the Bravo verse of what's going on, and this guy West, something or other, is the guy who she is now in a relationship with. And they're they're separated, so it's not like there's like a cheating scandal, but there's all these questions about the timeline of when this did happen, and everybody who watched this past season, uh, as you can imagine, are being uh their own detectives. We're all going back into those episodes, going, Hey, I see something funny right here.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

Did you unscripted, right? As I as I I mean, it's quotes, my air quotes going on. This is unscripted. Yeah. Well, God forbid everything would go well. Yeah. Because why would you watch it if everything went well? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

But this is uh, if you remember from another reality TV show, um, there was another married couple that had a similar issue, but it was actually cheating while they were married, and uh it it it it blew up. And it was of course another Bravo show. So so it's gone down a similar path. Uh, but yeah, I I'm hoping for some more clarity in the final reunion show. But uh as I dig digress, as I love that often does nice sidebar there. That was awesome. Uh but yeah, it it's it's completely uh mind melting, but it's so entertaining to watch these shows and and take a look at the lives of other people and uh thoroughly entertained. But uh, we had a wonderful night. Uh happy to be back at NBTV Fest 2026 and look forward to going back next year and see who was there. I didn't get to go back um on Saturday, I think Saturday afternoon or Saturday evening, they had uh the Survivor cast. There were, I think, six, seven Survivor cast members there, including uh Aubrey, who was the winner of this year's season 50 Survivor. Wow. Uh Ozzie, who's uh one of the big fan favorites, was there as well. So um it's a lot of great stuff. There's a lot of Mindy Kaling received an award um for what she does in her writing and some of the shows. So if you are in tune with any of the, you know, not just reality TV, but TV, um, they honor a lot of great people. Did you and Sarah so you walk the red carpet? Uh this year I did not have to walk the red carpet. And it's uh it's not even a red carpet. I think it's a some other carpet.

SPEAKER_02 8:51

I wanted, I wanted, I wanted some reaction from Ghee and Sarah A. Bear walking the red carpet. I think that'd be fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Yeah. She never wants to walk any of the carpets with me. She's like, that's your deal. You go ahead and do it. So um, but yeah, it was uh, I mean, it was great. It was uh you know, some local celebrities cruising around. So got a chance to uh including yourself, local celebrity, including yourself, yes. Uh but yeah, I I I mean it's really well attended and it kind of piggybacks off of the uh film festival, the Newport Beach Film Festival. So I think it's uh it's great for the Orange County area.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

Now, is Andy Cohn going to be on our podcast anytime soon? That was part of your assignment. Gee bear, boots on the ground, passing out masking the mic business cards. Like who who do you get?

SPEAKER_00 9:38

Who do we have? Well, you know, I'll just say it's uh it's a work in progress, French. You you laid the groundwork, you sprinkled some seeds out there. Hey, we're gonna put feelers out there. You know, it's uh we're gonna have to dip into our budget, and uh it's gonna it's I'm gonna be in New York shortly, so maybe I can continue to work on that angle.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

Yeah, I know. Yeah, we don't even have hats yet, Geepa. We don't even have budget.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

And that is that's in the process as well. So hey, it's just a big stay tuned. It's a stay tuned, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:12

Well, I love I love the quote unquote reality TV. I do this makes me think of a story I had, and I hope I get it right. Like uh so I don't know when it was back in the day. We'd I'm not sure. So when I was doing uh sideline the ducks, we'd have all kinds of people come through, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Oh, we oh not to interrupt you, but I will, but as we please as we had celebrities on our set for the pregame intermission shows, uh some of these same people have been essentially on our on our show with the ducks, yes. So so yes, I'm gonna spec we have.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

We have crossover, right? Crossover Ducks Live back in the day was you know quite the uh we we uh covered all spectrums. We had a broad brush, we we we we had everybody on. Um, but way back in the day, I interviewed, I I hope I get this right, Lauren Conrad from The Hills. Remember that show? Yeah, yeah. Laguna Beach. Yes. So I asked her as we're having this interview. I said, so the upcoming season, what can we expect for the upcoming season? You know, what's the storyline gonna be? She looks at me like I have three eyes. She's like, I'm sorry, but it's a reality show. We have no idea what's gonna happen next. I'm like, oh, right. Oh, that's right.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

Well, if it so I so I way to do your homework, Frenchie. Well, hold on.

SPEAKER_02 11:36

So I pivoted and I said, Let's just say it was scripted. What would you like the storyline to be? Oh, so that's a true professional right there. See what I did there? Yeah, yeah. So yeah, it went well. Just yeah, obviously, that was my uh that was probably the extent of my entertainment reporting at that point in time. But yeah, so uh well, good times, man. That's fun. I'm glad you got a chance to go and uh some of your uh some of the feelers can, you know, maybe Andy will show up on the show one of these.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

Maybe, maybe, just maybe. I'm throwing it out here and we'll talk to our people, but maybe the mask and the mic podcast can be like representatives next year. Sammy Glance. NBTV. Let's go.

SPEAKER_02 12:19

Let's we want to be there with our headsets on. Let's go right on the red carpet or whatever color it was. Now, something that's well, this is actually in your wheelhouse, but Bravo. A lot of people didn't know Bravo is in your wheelhouse. I was gonna say, let's transition to something in our wheelhouse. Well, obviously, Bravo is in your wheelhouse more so than mine, but um Stanley Cup final. Full swing. Yes. Oh my goodness. You and I both said goalies were gonna be a difference maker. I guess they they have been. Yeah, they have. I mean, technically they have been a difference maker because it's not the amount of pucks they're stopping, it's the amount of pucks that are going in the back of the net. But I mean, did you uh well I know the answer. Did you? I was gonna say, did you see this coming? But I mean, what what do we have here? I circled it on my paper. Um, the first three games, the two teams have combined to score 25 goals. That's the highest total through three games in a final since the Islanders and Minnesota North Stars GA Bear, they had 30 through three games back in 1981. What is going on with the final this year?

SPEAKER_00 13:31

And you're talking about uh two of the best defensive mining teams, right?

SPEAKER_02 13:36

Uh, the best miners in the postseason, too.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Yes. I think it's the qu first of all, I think it's the quality of chances that are, you know, so you don't need to have 40 shots on net if you only have seven scoring chances out of those 40, right? It becomes a a good night for a goaltender, gets in rhythm, um, feels the puck, feels really confident, sees the puck often. Um, you know, the games where you're getting 20 shots and you're getting 12, you know, good goal scoring chances against you, those become way more difficult. And I think that's what it is. There's been these turnovers that result into grade A scoring chances, and then they're making good on it. And then I think that, you know, I'll speak first for Freddie Anderson. Freddie has not seen a lot of work in the series against Montreal, so he had to be really good about making those, you know, one or two key saves, which he was able to do. And then in this series, very similar, not giving up a lot of shots, but the quality shots with the quality players who are getting those. I mean, I won't get into Mitch Marner yet, but if you want to talk about uh Mark Stone and Shea Theodore and Barbashev and uh Jack Eichel, and you start going down the list of the guys who are real scoring threats, um, oh, and there's another guy out there who I think he's got, well, let me think, he's got 13 goals in the postseason and he had 12 all season long. Brett Howden, uh, he's become an incredible goal scoring threat. Great stuff. So I think that's uh, you know, I think as the turnovers and the opportunities that are out there, it it's it's going to the guys who are scoring. Um Dorifiev, who was been has been great all playoffs, but he's been silenced a little bit in this series so that it's been spread out for their goal scoring. But um obviously Mitch Marner has made a uh a huge impact in his first season with the Golden Knights. And um, you know, the goaltenders, I said, hey, one of those two two guys are going to be your con Smythe winners. I I really felt that either Freddie would stand on his head or Carter Hart would. And you know, they both haven't played terribly. Uh Carter Hart, I think, has made some really key saves once again and you know, been able to, you know, keep games close. I mean, uh, you know, the the comebacks and the wild swings of emotion, you know, having leads of uh two or three goals and then four-nothing lead, and then you know, within like, I don't know what, 90 seconds, it's it's a one-goal game. Um, you know, weird goals, tip off a defenseman stick. You know, those are the things when you shoot the puck at the net, you just never know what's gonna happen. And of course, everybody saw the the game winner in the double overtime. I mean, Shay Theodore shoots it, doesn't even hit the net. It comes off the kick plate and unfortunately hits uh Bussy in the back of the foot, back of his pad, and goes in the net. So um, but all that wrapped into one thing is yes, I'm surprised. Uh, it's gonna be really interesting because as we are doing this podcast right now, it is prior to the game tonight, and we don't know who's gonna start net right now for Carolina. Will they go back to Freddie? Will Rod Brindamore just say, hey, listen, Freddie is my guy. He's earned it, he's a veteran. Uh, we know that he's gonna be able to stand tall for us. We have to be better in front of him, but we do expect him to make that key save when we really need him to make a save. Or do you just lump a whole ton of pressure on Bussey and put him in there thinking that he played great and he's got no scar tissue? So, you know, you throw him in, yeah, scar tissue for a bad bounce, but otherwise he played brilliantly. So do you roll the dice knowing it's game four? And that, you know, if you don't win, then you go home and you can go back to Freddie Anderson. Um, hey, that's why the the coaching staff and the NHL they make the big bucks, they have to make these really important key decisions uh on momentum, on confidence, and it'll be interesting to see which way they go. Um, you know, obviously for Carter Hart, he will continue to be the backstop. Um, you know, getting out of that double OT thriller with a win, uh, no change in that for the Golden Knights.

SPEAKER_02 17:41

Oh, I mean, this is must must-see TV right now. I mean, it's it's unreal. I mean, it uh yeah, and unfortunate for the goaltenders, it's turned into must-see TV. You just don't know. I mean, any lead is not safe. And we'll get into the goal scoring a little bit more as you mentioned, Mitch Marner and what he's been able to do. But I want to stay on the theme of goaltending because when you talk about Carter Hart, um, you know, when Torts came on at the end of the season, he basically gave the keys to Hart the last six games. He went six and oh, and he had some momentum going in the postseason. But you look on the other side of the equation when it comes to Keynes, and Freddie had been the guy. And so Brandon Bussey comes in, he hadn't played for two months, Gibo. I mean the job of a backup goal. Unbelievable. So you and I were talking about like so when Freddie during a game doesn't see a lot of shots, as you alluded to in Montreal, like how do you stay mentally in tune, mentally sharp? You know, you you talked about visual visualization, a lot of things that happened between periods to stay sharp. How in the hell is Brandon Bussey, how did he stay sharp to come in? And he had a whale of a third period. Uh, as you mentioned, it was a bad bounce at the end of the game. But what do you what what can you say about Brandon Busy in the way that he was able to come in? Granted, it was a period, but it is the Stanley Cup final. Yeah, I mean I mean this is a huge, I mean, he's on the biggest stage and he hadn't played in two months.

SPEAKER_00 19:01

Well, I think the the key for is is you know the changing goal for a variety of reasons. Maybe Freddie should have made one or two saves. And but when it got to be four, you know, I think any coach is looking at the goaltender for, hey, you know what? I'm probably going back to him for the next game. I don't want him to give up any more goals. I don't want to dent or chip away at any of his confidence any further. So let me get him out of the game. Uh, we've got nothing to lose. A lot of times you change goaltenders, it changes everybody knows, right? Everybody in the building is like sex everything. Yeah, you know, listen, it's gonna we're gonna put him in and we're just gonna see one, how he does and how he responds, but two, how the team responds, right? Because usually it's kind of a lift for a team. They're like, okay, hey, we got to play a little bit harder because he's quote our backup. Um, you know, let's see if we can change the momentum of this game. And I think it's usually a win-win because that that goaltender gets some live action in case you do need him in another game. And then, you know, for him, I think his mental state of mind is just like, you know, every every practice, you know, coaches are saying, like, at any moment, we might need you. Like, you know, goaltender could go down and make one save and pull a groin or a hamstring. Uh, you know, something could happen, gets crashed into, hurts the body, uh, uh, concussion. Any and all that is possible. So as you sit on the bench, which that's been me in my career at times, where you are just locked in, you prepare like you're playing that night and every night. And, you know, during the course of the regular season, you might be a little more loosey-goosey in in February or November. But right now, throughout the course of the playoffs, uh, I can guarantee you that you know, he's sitting in all the meetings, going through the power plays, making sure that you know uh he is ready to go. And and you can see, I mean, he was. He gets in there, and oh, by the way, he's got to stop a penalty shot. Mitch Marner gets a penalty shot, right?

SPEAKER_02 20:52

The guy with the hat trick.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

Yeah, and the hilarious thing is, and I I I know we've all seen it and heard it, and and still I can't really process that. Marner didn't know that they changed goaltenders. And the big thing is is that Busy is a lefty, so he is the opposite hand of Freddie Anderson. So when you go down on a goaltender, you already kind of have a preconceived notion of what kind of move you want to make. And the fact that, and I don't know, I wish I like I wish I could call somebody in Vegas and say, like, okay, did the coaching staff not know? Did the players on the bench not know? Or was just Mitch Marner didn't know? Because usually you see a Frenchie, the guys go to the bench, they talk to the backup goalie, they hey, you know, what do you think? You know, uh low blocker or five-hole or you know, whatever. And you know, so there usually there's a little bit of communication about that. So the fact that he got down and was doing his post game press conference and go, yeah, I I I didn't know Anderson was at the game. I mean uh it's incredible. So, uh you know, with that being said, that it it and because that the goaltender catches with the different hand that the move he makes is way different. On a lefty goalie than if he went down on Freddie Anderson, uh the opposite hand. So uh, but I think that obviously that big save got Busy into the game and made him feel uh obviously confident. But uh yeah, tremendous job by him. I mean, I I wouldn't be surprised if you know they roll the dice and and put him in tonight. Uh I think the only worry for me is that if you do do that, you know, what does Freddie Anderson's state of mind go? Right. Because he like he knows he's gonna have to be ready, you know, but when you lose that net, especially in a Stanley Cup final, um, you know, you feel like, okay, I I obviously have not played to the level that I expect and the team expects and the team needs, but yeah, it then all of a sudden to go back in, possibly in a game five, you know, obviously you're very motivated, but you you just you wonder about the you know the goaltender's head. And certainly there's there's a lot of space in here. And sometimes we think a little too much, and that's the last thing they need Freddie Anderson to do. So um it's gonna it's gonna be dynamite whoever plays, and it's you know, I mean, it's shaping up to be hey, a 2-2 series going back to Carolina, or all of a sudden Vegas has got a stranglehold on the series.

SPEAKER_02 23:17

Yeah, and and let's stay in the goaltender's head for a moment. I know maybe that's dangerous for me to say. So yeah, as long yeah, um when you talk about this the mentality during the postseason and and what is at stake. So Freddie, you know, as you mentioned, maybe the couple saves he should have had, he didn't. It was time for a change heading into third period. But on the other side of the ice, you have Carter Hart, who was cruising, and then all of a sudden, Gebo, three goals in 39 seconds. Not in three minutes, not in three minutes just to make it. Not in three minutes. Yeah, no, I know, but let's let's the reality is it was 39 seconds. I mean, that was the fastest three goals in the Stanley Cup final. I mean, what is Carter Hart was he looking over his shoulder at Tortorella going, are you gonna yank me? Like what is he thinking? Does he at that point uh in the competitor in him obviously wants to stay on the ice, but is he even not even glancing over? You know, it's kind of I equate it to like a pitcher on the mound, not looking into the dugout if things aren't going well because they want to keep the ball and they want to get that final out. What is Carter Hart thinking after a sequence like that?

SPEAKER_00 24:33

Well, I think first and foremost, if you go back and look at those goals that were scored against him, uh it was more of a team issue. And Shay Theodore uh in his postgame kind of alluded to the fact that, you know, hey, we're up for nothing, you know, you kind of feel like the sense of urgency is gone, you feel like you got it all wrapped up, you know. Like I said, one one goal goes in off his own guy. So it's like, well, I mean, there go nothing you can do about that. The other two, like you're thinking looking at some turnovers and some shots traffic, and you're like, you know, could there have been a save? Sure. Uh, you know, but the fact that you give up as a team, those opportunities consecutively, you know, they were they were on coast mode, you know. I mean, they were dominating, they were dominating, and I think that was almost kind of like the prior change. Unreal, yeah, dominating, and then the change in momentum of all of a sudden giving up, you know, a goal and then another goal, and then it was like, okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, you know, we had this in the bag and we were ready to cruise on and you know, have an easy night. So, you know, I think that was uh you know a lesson learned for for Vegas that you know, listen, Carolina's not gonna roll over. And as a goaltender, Carter Hart, I think he's got to make sure that, you know, whatever I can do to make sure that I don't give the other team any momentum, right? You give up a goal, you know, you have to be able to try kind of what do you call it? Like we should try to quell, you know, that momentum. We had to stop it and negate it, and and whether we're you know covering up loose pucks, uh, you know, or making those critical saves. But yeah, it's it was really more of a team thing because I think that Vegas just really tried to shut it down and and were they really thought it was gonna coast to an easy victory, which they should have, but they didn't.

SPEAKER_02 26:20

Oh yeah. I mean, I I've and I've never seen anything like that, and rightfully so. Obviously, it was you know the quickest scored three goals in a Stanley Cup final. And and when they got to overtime, Giebo, you're just thinking Carolina's got this. They got it to the they got, they tied it up, they get it to the extra period, and they were coming. They had all the pressure. Um, I you know, honestly, I did not watch. I was getting updates from my wife, who usually doesn't watch non-ducks games. So I was getting text updates. I was I was working, and she's like, hey, like this is awesome. Are you watching? You're paying attention, you know. You know, I'm like, is Freddie out? And then finally she's like, Yeah, Freddie's out now. I'm like, okay, like what's what's going on? So, and then they were coming in the in that first overtime, and give Vegas credit, man. They they turned, they they held held their ground, Carter Hart and the guys, you know, because Carolina at that point, they they they smelled blood, they were coming, and then it was crazy. The fact that they got into that second overtime, then it all of a sudden you felt like okay, Vegas now has a chance, has a chance to to salvage this thing. Um, but you mentioned Mitch Marner at the start of the Stanley Cup conversation, and and last week when we were talking about this final, it was two ex-Toron Maple Leafs going head to head, and Freddie Anderson and Mitch Marner, and Marner getting a new lease on life. Um, again, another crazy stat coming out of this thing. I mean, Mitch Marner has uh the most points by a player in his first seat playoff season with a new team, um which is which is crazy, right? 28 points he's got. And I mean, what he's been able to do, and then scoring that hat trick, it was the fastest hat trick, six minutes and ten seconds in the Stanley Cup final. Guess who the previous record record holder was? Uh Wayne Gretzky. Maurice Rocket Richard. Okay. Back in 1957. I mean, what we're seeing here is insane.

SPEAKER_00 28:14

Yes. And I think that that record of points uh for a player in his first season, right? I I think was in uh Richard at 26. Could have been maybe Corey Stillman. I think I read Corey Stillman, I think with the Canes uh many years ago. I think he had 26 points. So yeah, it's an incredible feat what Marner's done. I think it's obviously his second hat-trick in the Stanley Cup playoffs, right? He had a hat-trick against the ducks in round two. Yes. Um, you know, obviously, you know, the con Smythe is in his hands at the moment. I I don't really know if uh anybody can wrestle that away from him. And and you know, and hey, and what we say, and good for us, uh I mean, you know, good for him and good for Mitch Marner, right? I mean, you think about all the controversy, all the pressure, everything that he's gone through. I'm listening probably like you, I've read so many articles online and Instagram posts and all this stuff about people who just aren't happy for Mitch Marner, right? And it's hilarious because I will read it and it'll be like on the Yahoo webpage and whatever. And so it's an actual article for something. And I'll I'll go into and be like, uh, who wrote this article? And I'll have to dig through to see who the person who wrote the article, and then you go into the comments, and then all the comments are uh obviously a Leafs fan, you know, because it's like, well, Mitch Marner's gotta, you know, take responsibility for why he was so terrible in Toronto in all those years and wasting Austin Matthews' prime years. And I'm like, okay, obviously this is a uh non-objective point of view because we all know, I mean, there's great players in any sport and never win, right? You just you have to have that supporting cast, you got to have the right dynamics, the right chemistry. And he's slid into a place that you know one expects to win, will do pretty much anything to win, and they've got a great supporting cast, right? Like they've won the cup a few years ago, so they know how to get through the grind, and Toronto doesn't. And you can put all the great players there, and and in until they win, you know, they don't know the path to get there and actually win. So um, you know, hey, on a just a hockey level or whatever, I mean, I'm happy for the success of Mitch Marner. I mean, I you know, I I don't have, you know, as a Ducks fan and a former player, I mean, I didn't play against Vegas Golden Knights because they didn't exist, but with the rivalry that exists between the ducks and and Vegas, certainly I'm not rooting for Vegas. Uh, you know, we talked about being big fans of Freddie Anderson and my relationship and and friendship with Rod Brindamore, and and you know, so I'm kind of pulling for the the canes. I it's just great hockey to watch. Uh, but yeah, I just uh I just find it funny that you know people are still digging up things on Mitch Marner and and and I I can't remember this guy's name. And it came out, he was in this article about being a former teammate of Mitch Marner. And I read the guy's name, and I'm like, I I've been around hockey all my life, and certainly as a player, broadcaster, fan, and I'm like, I've never heard of this guy. And he just ripped Mitch Marner about you know disappearing in the playoffs and being a ghost and this, whatever, and you know, wasting everybody's time, and uh he has to be accountable. And I'm like, who is this guy, right? So I Google him, I go into Wikipedia and Google him, and you know, it's a guy he had a cup of coffee in the NHL, he was a tough guy. I think he had like eight points in his entire career. He played like 107 or 117 games and you know, had 230-something penalty minutes. And I'm like, I don't really know if you're the guy who can throw shade at Mitch Marner and you know, his time in Toronto or his time in Vegas, because sometimes when you're slinging mud Frenchie, like I feel like you have to have you know some credibility. And like if he wants to throw shade at some other tough guy, well, then maybe there's credibility, but um certainly not throwing shade at uh at a superstar player.

SPEAKER_02 32:20

Well, it comes down to uh people like that are just trying to get attention, trying to get themselves out in the media, trying to get re clicks or whatever the hell you call it. That's why that's why I'm not mentioning his name. I'm glad you didn't mention his name because we don't need to give him any more press, and he's he's already gotten. Um, but what I like about Mitch Marner, regardless of what you think of him, I like the best players being the best on the biggest stage. Because you have players out there that are just the best when it comes to talent, but sometimes they are, you know, uh, you don't you don't mention their name on the on the top stages, right? The the the biggest pressure situation, sometimes they don't show up. And I love the fact that you have the best player or one of the best players with the talent, and he's able to perform at a high level on the biggest stage of his profession. I find that fascinating. I find it awesome to that that an athlete can do that, right? Like when you were, you know, pitching shutouts in the postseason, the first one for the ducks, you know, like that's just stuff that you you dream of and you want to you want to show up and you want to be at your best in the biggest moments, you want to do it for yourself, for the teammate, and for the city you play for. Um, I think that is is cool, you know, and I and I've always I've always enjoyed people like that. And and you become polarizing too, like a Mitch Marner. Uh, I'm not comparing him to a Tom Brady because obviously Mitch Marner doesn't have a ring yet, and Tom's got seven, but Tom's another guy. He he stepped up in the biggest moments and was at his best. When his team meeted him, and it was I, regardless of what you think of someone like that, I respect and appreciate that. I think that is fun to watch and incredibly fun to talk about. So good on Mitch Marner. I do have, you know, me and my stats that I I look up here.

SPEAKER_00 34:05

We know we're stats people. We we love our stats.

SPEAKER_02 34:07

I I want to to ask before we move on to to one other topic we want to hit here on this podcast. If if in fact Vegas were to take a 3-1 lead, teams at 3-1 in the final are 38-1 to finish it. Do you look at I mean, do you think regardless of what the stats are, is this a must-win game for Carolina tonight in Vegas?

SPEAKER_00 34:34

I it's not a must-win because they could still just run the table after this game. So they're that good. They've shown that they can come back. Yeah, and and and I think that, you know, for I think it's I think it's almost more important for Vegas if you're a Vegas fan that Vegas holds serve, you know, they were able to get out of, you know, Carolina with a win. Probably arguably should have come out with two wins. Didn't happen. Controversial goal. I know another, you know, a couple more controversial non-goals. Um, I should I should say in the first game, um, in that game two, controversial, no, no goal called, and then two more no goals. So um that's a whole nother conversation, which we'll have later on. But yeah, I think Vegas, you know, for them looking at, you know, okay, if we win tonight, we essentially can yeah, have home ice advantage. If we lose tonight, we lose home ice advantage for the remainder of the playoffs, right? All of a sudden it's a best of three. Two games are going to be in Carolina, and that is a very difficult building to win in. Yes, they did in game one, but they also lost a fairly good lead in game two. So I think um I I am a believer in stats, Frenchie, and I guess that's a long-winded answer to think that when you when you when you look at the stats and you see the historical value of teams, you know, going up 3-1 and the success that they have, uh, I I am a firm believer in that. So I I you know I do think that for Vegas it's really important game, but I do think it's pretty critical for Carolina to tie this one up.

SPEAKER_02 36:09

I agree. I agree. I think Carolina's got to take this one and even it up and get back to and get back to uh Carolina. All right. Um, Father's Day. Yes. Coming up. Yes. On June 21st, if my if my dates are correct. And and Father's Day means something very special. Means a lot of things to live. It means a lot of things. But you know what? As as fathers, a lot of times fathers like to to golf. And you and I do like to do that, and you more so probably than I, but uh, you are wearing a hat that um exemplifies the significance of Father's Day weekend on the PGA tour, GA bear in lightness on on the hat you're wearing right now.

SPEAKER_00 36:51

Yes, well, I this is the gift I give myself every year is uh a hat G4 from uh you know wherever the U.S. open location is gonna be. And uh this year, as you can see, if you can see that, it's gonna be at Shinnecock Hills. And uh what an amazing track. I've only seen it on TV, never been there to play. It's always on the bucket list, of course. Uh, but yeah, for me, that's the weekend that I always try to reserve Sunday to be able to sit on the couch wherever I am. I will this time I will be back east uh in the great state of New York watching. And uh yeah, for me, it's it's a great way for Father's Day to be wrapped up sitting on the couch watching. And uh there's been some really great compelling golf all season long. Uh, there's been a lot of playoffs. Uh, the Memorial Jacks tournament at Muirfield Village uh went into extra holes. Uh Ryan Gerrard versus JT Poston, the youngster Girard versus the savvy veteran JT Poston. And uh, you know, it was on the line was really like a three-year exemption invite to the open championship, the masters, right? You get a lot of perks. Uh, I think like a three million dollar purse, maybe. Um, but it was also for both players a trip to the U.S. Open. I know JT Poston, ironically leading the tournament going into this past Sunday, already had the 36-hole uh US Open qualifier set for Monday in Ohio. So he was if he didn't finish first or a solo second, he was going to the qualifier on Monday after a grueling week at the Memorial Tournament. Uh, luckily for him, he was able to make a huge birdie on the 18th hole to tie it 12 under. And in French, you know what? Let's go to extra holes. And he had a birdie putt from almost the same spot in the first playoff hole, and he pushed it a little bit wide right. And uh any Buffalo Bills fans might remember about pushing something wide right. Um, sorry about that, Buffalo. But uh on the second playoff hole, both guys uh long, long putts for Birdie, and uh JT Poston was able to kind of snuggle it up there to a couple feet. Um Gerard missed the putt, made bogey, and poston made the putt. He won. He won. So he got the sleep in on Monday and not due uh the qualifier. Also actually just uh pulled out of the Canadian Open because he's gonna give himself a little bit of a break before him US Open. So uh I'm sure a lot of our fans that listen are were were watching the golf and uh really really great golf. So the US Open, you're gonna have your favorites, uh Scotty Scheffler, Rory McElroy, um you know, Jordan Spieth. I always root for. He's he's struggled past my mom's favorite speet a bunch of years, but he's just uh, you know, he's kind of Phil Mickelson-like because he's generally all over the golf course. Yes. Uh so he's really exciting to watch. And then um, but yeah, you got Justin Thomas. Uh, you know, we could go down the list, and there's some really, really great young players uh that have burst on the scene and some other guys who have uh really coming into their own in their uh mid to late 20s. So uh exciting week. So I'm excited. Uh hopefully you get to tune in as well. We will see.

SPEAKER_02 40:13

We will see if my if my daughter lets me tune in. This is what we're doing on Father's Day. I don't think I don't think I'll be watching. It'll be on in the background for sure. But so the only now remind me, Gibo, my my movie trivia history. I'm gonna throw something at you. One, I'm sure one of your favorite movies, one of my favorite, is Tin Cup. Yes. Is that the is that the US Open that he's qualifying for? Do you remember?

SPEAKER_00 40:35

Oh, I don't know if it was the US Open.

SPEAKER_02 40:39

That's a good question. So the reason I bring that up is though, because of the qualifying and how difficult it is to qualify for a I did I did not even get into the qualifying round this this this time round. You didn't you didn't make it, but you will. But you know what, Gibo, you're wearing that headset. I think you're gonna be on on the course with a microphone. I think that is your future interviewing these golfers. Because I mean you are you are in tune, right? Um, so there's 700. Check this out. This is the qual more stats for you, by the way. Um 715 players at 10 sites from coast to coast in the US and into Canada, vying for only 43 spots. That is insane. Yes, and the reason I bring this up, so you mentioned uh who won the memorial? JT Poston. Remember that name. He's going. But of course, you know, just kind of looking at the news of the day before we came on our podcast, I was I saw a little headline here and I clicked on it. Uh, and you had been aware of this, Gebo, of course, because you're in tune to the golf world knowledge. Miles Russell. Don't know who that is, but he was among two 17-year-olds who earned a spot into the U.S. Open. He was playing uh at a Florida qualifier. He's the number 10 amateur in the world, and the reason it caught my eye is because who was catting for him? Yes, who was that guy bear?

SPEAKER_00 42:03

Well, I I hit I hit the buzzer and I got the answer right earlier in the um, and which was off camera, of course, but it was Charlie Woods. Tiger Woods' son was caddying for him, and a lot of people will say, Well, why wasn't Charlie out trying to qualify as well? And uh, I don't know that answer. I don't either. He was um I know he hasn't played all that well until recently, but um exciting time, I'm sure, for him to be able to caddy for a a a good buddy at 17 and and qualify. So um it'll be interesting to see who's on the bag. That's the question, right?

SPEAKER_02 42:39

So therein lies the question, my friend, because he was asked that very question, Miles Miles Russell was about who will Charlie be on your bag. And he's like, I don't I don't know yet. But by the way, both of these 17-year-olds are are going to Florida State to play golf from my uh my extensive research. But back to uh back to the U.S. Open. Two things, Gibo, I want to want to ask you. Charlie Woods obviously will bring a lot of attention to Miles Russell on that golf course. Not that he didn't in the 36-hole play-in, but is but he said Russell said it kept it light. Can you imagine having one of your best buddies on your bag as a 17-year-old playing in a tournament, just playing and having fun and keeping it light and loose? And and what about bringing him with you to the US Open at Shinnecock? My goodness. I mean, that would be great. So that's one positive. And then on the other end of the spectrum, you know you're gonna have a lot of fanfare. The cameras are gonna be on. Tiger's probably gonna be there at some point. He might be, who knows? He might stay away. Who knows? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, he might stay away.

SPEAKER_00 43:43

He he probably hasn't called us back. I don't know his status.

SPEAKER_02 43:47

Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, exactly. I think he blocked her numbers. He blocked her numbers. I think that's probably messages. Yeah, I I don't even I don't even check anymore. Uh what do you think? Do you think Charlie will be on the bag or should be? On the bag for Miles Russell at the U.S. Open.

SPEAKER_00 44:03

Yeah, I mean, in-depth reporting by you. Great content, by the way. And so, yeah, there's a lot of things that come to mind as uh, you know, listen, these kids when they're 17 and they're trying to qualify, they've got absolutely nothing to lose, right? So they're in there, they're having they're competing hard because they want to make it, right? Um, but there's not really the pressure that like some of the pros who are trying to get there. And I I think that, like you said, I think it's about the experience and it's about the fun, and you know, being like, hey, one of these days I want to be able to actually make it to the US Open. Um, so I think that that vibe or whatever connection between him and Charlie Woods having fun, you know, reading putts, doing you know, things that they've probably been doing junior golf forever, I think was probably really good. Uh, I think moving into the actual tournament, I mean, I could see having Charlie Woods a as your caddy like a complete distraction in one sense. Like, yeah, like every photographer wants to know. And so maybe it doesn't become about you as the player, and it's more about everybody wants to know about Tiger's son. And does that help or hinder you as you play in this tournament and try to make the cut? Obviously, you know, 17. I mean, you're you know, in a realistic world, you're not trying to win the tournament, but you're trying to certainly make the cut, um, you know, and have that experience on the weekend, which I'm sure for all of them is the goal for for everybody. So, yeah, it's really interesting. I it will be another cool dynamic to play out and see if you know Charlie does, and and if it does, you know, I it's all based on the relationship, which I don't know about between those two kids, and they'd be like, hey, and maybe it would be a nice distraction that you know the player plays and all the attention is on my caddy, and he deals with that, and I can just focus on player, on on being the player. So um everybody should tune in to watch and see how that goes, um, with or without Charlie Woods. Well, selfishly, I hope he does, just to add it add to the theater. I mean, it's great, yeah, great theater, great drama for and great exposure for younger players, you know, competing in the US Open.

SPEAKER_02 46:19

I think it's great. And and great to have a seven two 17-year-olds going out there. And again, I in this day and age, and again, I don't know, I think Tiger's done a great job, or at least he's really tried incredibly hard to keep Charlie out of the spotlight as much as he can, uh, unlike when Tiger was being Tiger, you know, growing up. Um, but I think these these guys are so they face so much attention on social media. It's such a different space that they're living in that the attention is is part of it now, more so than it used to be. And it's because it's constant, right? It's not you don't you can't get away from it anymore unless you put down your device, which a lot of a lot of us don't do. You know, I mean you if you lock it away, then you can stay away from it, but it's gonna be there once you once you open up your phone again. So I think they're probably a little more um a little more mature than we think. At 17 years old, I think they're a little more used to it. I think Charlie probably is has got it handled, and I and I think you hit it on the head. I think if anything, it would be the attentions on Charlie, not Miles, and they could I can see them having fun with it. I mean, I really I really can. And I really just going out there. I would just love for them to be able to be together um for at its core, two buddies 17 years old, together walking Shinnikok in the US Open. I mean, that's the cool. I mean, that at its core, I just want to see that because I think that would be cool. And I know having one of my best buddies on my bag or being on his bag, whatever, I think that would be such a great experience.

SPEAKER_00 47:48

So I really hope hope that happens uh over the weekend. Yeah, and no doubt that these kids, these athletes in in all sports are way more polished, right? They have, you know, if you're good, and obviously these kids are both great, uh like they they have training, they have media training, they have people, they have teams. They, you know, it's not like you or I like going through high school and you know, all of a sudden like you do something good, and you know, the local news channel says, Oh, hey, we'd like to put you on camera and ask you a couple questions, and you're like a deer in headlights. You're like, uh, I'm on TV. Like, I you know, what am I gonna say? So I I think no doubt about it that you know younger athletes are are are way better prepared uh for this. And because, like you said, because of Instagram and any social media outlets, what they're posting, you know, they're in real time and they are able to set stuff up and and to their advantage, but there's also the you know the backstory of a lot of negativity, people who don't like you. So it is, it's that you know, it's a double-edged sword, you know, trying trying to use the social media to your advantage, but also knowing that there's um unfortunate repercussions of just if you play poorly. Well, look at what we just did on this podcast.

SPEAKER_02 49:05

We went from Andy to Stanley to Charlie. Uh see what I did there? Yes. I mean now I see it. From Bravo to the Stanley Cup final to getting into the US Open. Yes. Come on. I mean, is can you find that on any other podcast anywhere? I I I dare someone, I dare someone else to do this. Come on, we're covering it all. Yes, oh my gosh. Yeah, we're knocking on the door of some really fun guests too. Yeah. I know.

SPEAKER_00 49:36

I know that's the thing is like we give options, we we I will give away one guest, but one guest was just playing a sport over in Korea, and then he was just in Spain and trying to get him locked in, but I I I'm afraid that he will be a little jet lagged, so I didn't want to hit him up right away when he That's a good teaser because I don't think anyone knows what the hell you're talking about, which is actually really good.

SPEAKER_02 50:00

Yeah, yeah. I'm I'm I'm intrigued.

SPEAKER_00 50:02

Like if there is somebody I want them to tweet or whatever, somehow DM and say, hey, at least I think I might know what sport you're talking about if they paid attention to the two locations I just mentioned. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 50:16

We'll see.

SPEAKER_00 50:16

Crumbs, sprinkling the crumbs.

SPEAKER_02 50:18

Just like you did at the Bravo. See if anyone picks them up. All right. Um, well, listen, if you want to see this entire podcast, of course, you can tune in to the uh our YouTube channel, which is the mask the mic, uh, and then listen to us, our wonderful sultry voices on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. So so good to have you with us for the last uh 49 minutes or so. Uh, hope you enjoyed this as much as we did, and we can't wait to have you tune in next time. And got a lot more to talk about, Kebo. But until next time, what would you like to say?

SPEAKER_00 50:50

And I always say, finishing this show, and good for us.