So, uh, what do you look at coming into tonight for these two?

Yeah, I, I would love to be able to pick the Lions.

You know, my, you know, I vacation in Detroit.

My whole family is from Detroit.

It's really rough like the last couple weeks with me saying Michigan didn't deserve that extra second on the clock and now the Li- But, uh, I worry about the Lions because it was a, it was a tough week one.

They had to run Jahmyr Gibbs 29 times.

Their defense, even though I like the Saints, I think they're a real sleeper, uh, their offense is really good.

Um, what did you make of the Green Bay Packers and a kind of a collapse, or is it just a great comeback by the Carson Wentz-led Minnesota Vikings?

Jason, how are you doing? And did you partake in that schadenfreude?

I will say that I have a habit of saturday night usually you know the night before the game i finally get to the point where i can consume com content of the other team you know like all my work is done and saturday night i'm just fired up for the game so let me hit up see what some of the what the cold speed reporters are saying some some of the people that do what we do are saying man they were awful confident and cocky you know i always get a kick out of the lamar stuff how they see lamar um but this was more like You know, I'm looking at the Ravens receiver room.

They got nothing like their passing game has nothing.

And DeForest Buckner, that was the one that, you know, I was worried about.

DeForest Buckner versus Vega Ioane and Jovan Gwynn advantage there.

Yeah, we saw that.

But no respect for the Ravens defense and bringing up how Steichen put up 38.

Yeah,

Is that you, Jason? Or do sometimes you get a little bit fired up as a coach?

Well, I think I try to stay as calm as I can.

I think having experience as a player and realizing how much goes on in a game, I've been able to take that to task and never get too worked up when situations are maybe not going the way you want as a coach or Maybe the quality of play isn't where you want it, but I think part of the game is mistakes, and mistakes are a part of a team growing and learning from.

You can only do so much during a game to make adjustments and change the style of play, but when you do get back to practice or you're reviewing video, I think sometimes that's probably the time to be a little firmer and maybe put down the hammer a little bit in direction.

Can it not, or is that an excuse?

Yeah, no.

I mean, I think it was a good series.

I think they played very well.

Ridgeview football.

I appreciate it.

First of all, I want to thank you.

I appreciate you guys having me today.

The plan for Ridge was just coming in and changing the culture.

It's always the school that everybody put on the schedule, always been the underdog, and it's just now the opportunity arose for me to come in and try to change the culture, try to change the program, help these athletes believe in themselves, train them, get them around guys that know football, pro guys, and just change the program, change the narrative.

It's time to rewrite the story at Ridgeview.

Tell me about that part of your life as well, Coach.

Let's put it, put it that way.

Yes.

This is, was a key talking point, uh, on ladies' night that we had just last Wednesday, and I, I went around the panel and asked them, because I can't necessarily blame anybody for taking, uh, the opposite stance, whether it's Stefon Diggs, whether it's D Hop, whether, you know, you wanna get involved for an A.J. Brown trade or something like that.

Whoever you would think would help this team in the receiver room, if you think we need to add a veteran because, look, we have Zay and we have basically a slew full of unknowns, including the tight end room.

You got Zay, you, you got Andrews of course, but a lot of unknowns, uh, health-wise, uh, and just playing time-wise.

Do you wanna bring in a vet and solidify that room? I can't blame s- somebody for wanting to do that, but I kind of lean towards where you are.

Um, I wanna see what we have in these guys.

Um, but speed is gonna be the issue, I think, for T.J. Tampa being successful on the outside.

Mm-hmm.

So we had a b- I said, "Well, okay, this is fine.

I'll put the wings back in the tray," and 'cause there's, like, 12 or 15 wings left over.

This is great.

This is like, I can have some of these for dinner tomorrow night.

Let's ...

This is perfect.

[laughs]

I, I mean, w- did it have the desired effect in terms of letting the American people keep their money, and is this gonna be a big factor going into the midterm elections?

You know, it absolutely did.

You think about, um, over the course of the four years under the Biden administration, you saw what I refer to as an inflation tax, the cost of all goods go up about 21% in four years, and the Democrats, they campaigned this last election, and the presidential election was all about letting the 2017 tax cuts to expire, which would've resulted in a 21% tax increase on average to all Americans.

But instead, we prevented the largest tax increase, and we made additional tax cuts that made the largest tax cuts in US history, which actually beat Reagan's '81 and '86 tax cuts.

And you look at just four of the new tax provisions, Larry, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, and the no tax on auto loan interest, um, for autos in the United States.

Yeah.

45% of all Americans used at least one of those deductions when they filed their taxes this April.

I had a waitress in our district, Larry, that came up to me in Fredericktown, Missouri, and she's like, "Congressman, I wanna say thank you.

How many out of 100 players walk through and say, "Yes, I feel I am getting developed as a player individually"?

Yeah.

It's, it's a really, it's a really great point, and I, I think that it's, it's almost like clickbait on Instagram, right? You, you see it...

Someone's an A licensed coach or a B licensed coach, and they're developmental focused, and that's, that's a hot, a hot clickbait button, right? And actually being in the environment, getting a trial in the environment, speaking to other players or other parents, if that's actually supported within the club, I think is, is monumental in, in what that feedback would be.

Yeah, I, I definitely, I definitely see your point.

I...

It's, it's not...

End sentence.

[static]

This is the Odd Couple.

I just wanna say that I'm surprised, I wanna apologize that Kelvin Washington, who of course after the Pistons not winning, still is not coming in.

Oh, no, wait, the Pistons won, and Kelvin's in.

What a surprise.

Dude, when you were down 3-1, I didn't see you for a week and a half.

You win the series-

[laughs]

Yep

... all of a sudden, that was it.

Like, it's not like they were up and down last year, and the collapse was so awful, so I'm like, okay.

You could see they wanted to get rid of a lot of players, so they b- turned the page on Alonso and Nimmo and Diaz, and all these guys are gone.

Okay, great, but you're bringing Mendoza back.

All right, but he's gotta be on a short leash because clearly the last four and a half months of last year weren't great.

They like him.

He is.

Yeah.

It's very simple like that.

Um, and when that went off, there was just smoke everywhere.

There was dust.

And I remember, uh, doing my own little assessment, moving my hands, moving my fingers.

I'm like, "Okay, I'm okay." Um, and then I remember kicking my legs 'cause I was on my stomach at the time, kicking my legs.

I'm like, "Okay, my legs are there." Um, they weren't.

Did they have psychological counseling throughout this whole process?

Speaking of the hickey, do you think that they actually were romantic, or do you think maybe they're putting it on?

Well, in all the three years that I was with Chris, he never gave me a hickey.

So I think it was set up.

My first impression when I seen that was I thought, "This is not true." I also thought it was quite, I don't even know if hilarious is the word for it, that Chris made reference to Sam being the black cat and him the Labrador just waiting for affection.

It, it just put a, a specific night in mind when I was out at the farm, Chris wanted me to watch a show, so I was sitting there watching this show, and I thought everything was fine.

And all of a sudden Chris was extremely upset at the fact that I hadn't bothered to give him a hug or, you know.

And I said, "Well, why are you sort of hanging back, uh, waiting for a hug? If you want a hug, just roll into me." You know? He, he didn't want to.

Are you scared of what Chris will do, that you have spoken out against him?

What the hell?

Well, it was like karmic, right? It was like the universe showing me the way.

And he said, "I felt something, there was something off about Chris and his story." And he dropped him off, they had a kiss in the car, and he left, and Chris tried to chase him.

He kept trying to contact him.

Well, then Steve, unbeknowingly, set up a date with me, and I went out on a date, and I was like, "That was Chris." And then he told me that, and obviously that would've affected me and whatever.

Anyways, eventually Chris emailed me and said, you know, "I hope you're happy you worked my through Grindr," blah, blah, blah.

I went, "Let me go and talk to you." We went off to Tamboroo, and he didn't look great.

Can I ask you, how many times do you think he was physically violent to you?

Mm-hmm.

And then we were apart for periods of time.

Sometimes this would occur and he would be gone three days, sometimes a week, sometimes three weeks.

The most we ever did was, I think, was five weeks apart because I was, at that stage when it got longer and longer, I learnt to, what I was doing is I was trying to get myself and my head back around the situation, and I felt that no contact period was good, so we could try and reset and really make this workSo when people, you know, if, I'm sure that they'd ask questions, "Oh, well you were separated," because he said he might have had a episode, and so, "Oh, we're over, we're finished.

Don't ever contact me.

Block me on social media." But that had happened 70 plus times he did that.

And there was a scenario where one time he did it, and I thought, "I wonder how long this break's gonna go for." And he contacted me after, I think it was, like, five days, and I went and seen him face to face, 'cause I always felt face to face was better, we could work it out more.

... situation.

bryce pickford 41 goals this year they got the ruck brothers as well um and they i think the last time you guys played they had i'm not sure they had him in the lineup but there's you know there's no question that he's a they got two really unique guys in the back end when you factor in as well don't they

yeah no i mean they uh they really have a team that thrives offensively they're a team that likes to create offense and really puts pressure on, on, on the team they're playing to, you know, move the puck well.

And if you don't move the puck well and, and, uh, you know, have a real good team game, they, uh, can create opportunities and they've got guys that can capitalize.

I mean, both rock brothers up front are, are, are having great years.

And, and, uh, those two guys you mentioned on the back end are, um, elite park movers and players that, uh, can score from distance as well as join the rush and be involved in any offensive play.

I think they're elite for sure for junior hockey, and we're going to have to be on our toes and be detailed to play against them.

Is he going to be out for the rest of the regular season?

Yeah, Max is out, has shoulder issue.

All right.

But I will just say that the, the records, um, on...

The voting records speak for themselves.

But it is so important that the American people know what we have delivered in the big, beautiful bill.

I have, I have folks all the time when I travel across the country that's like, "I didn't know that there was these investment accounts, um, that are for new children born in America." Or, "I didn't know that you could do 100% expensing on new machine sheds that's built in America." I mean, there's so many things that people don't know about.

We need to do a better job at explaining what was in the first reconciliation bill before trying to debate of whether there should be a second one.

How about a tax credit for first and last month rent for an apartment?

You know, we've been working with the administration on all kinds of different tax ideas and proposals about housing affordability.

So how hungry were they when they stepped back on the ice in your eyes?

Well, they were excited, I think.

You know, young guys, they get back around each other and get to spend some time with each other.

And they, you know, they tell their stories about being home with their buddies and getting a chance to hang out with some friends.

And, you know, it's nice to, I think, you know, in junior, you know, it's nice for them to get home and spend time with family and be able to kind of turn hockey off for a few days and have some time to kind of just, take a break, and now they're back ready to go.

No break for you, though, right? Oh, no, I had a little time, a little time away.

Didn't open the computer and watch any hockey for a few days, which was nice, and just kind of box with the wife and the dogs and just have a little downtime for sure.

How tough is it to keep everybody kind of at the same level but at a high level? Is it tough? Yes.

So, Jason, what's the deal here? Did Joe Aguinalda request a trade from the Edmonton Oil Kings?

Yeah, I think if you search online and see the, you know, the press release from the trade, I think Joe obviously asked to... for a chance or, you know, kind of for a fresh start.

I mean, I think... you know as a young player i think you know players are able to kind of do that nowadays and and expect things to get done and and uh joe uh asked for a change of scenery maybe more opportunity and uh i mean i i think the staff the oils kings kurt and michael chan they did a great job uh You know, kind of keeping the situation quiet and looking for the best opportunity to improve our team and, you know, not have it all go out publicly.

Was he on your first or second power play unit, Jason?

Yeah, he was playing on the second unit.

He did play on the first unit.

I mean...

I think that's one thing that's really changed in hockey really since I played is, you know, the players...

Not to nitpick your game, but does your first unit power play need to simplify, put more pucks to the net? I noticed you started your third power play in that game with your second unit.

Yeah, you know what? I mean, I think special teams are obviously a key point of winning games.

I think, you know, we had a stretch earlier in the year where our penalty kill was really, really good for a stretch and we had a little hiccup and then, you know, the power play started a little rough and got back going.

But, I mean, I got belief in our group that we'll get them back on track.

Both sides will be where we want them to be.

I think that's one thing about junior hockey is momentum swings are extremely large and confidence comes and goes in a hurry, but our group is a real good group of kids.

Kyle and Devin are doing a great job at what they're doing and we'll get it all straightened out and we'll be in a good spot when it all comes to the end.

Jason, you there?

I don't want to pick your game apart, but is that an area you're looking to potentially improve?

For sure.

I mean, the guys have been working hard in practice.

And I think, you know, when you're missing a player like Gavin Hodnut, none of that group, he's obviously an elite skilled player who can create offense.

But I mean, our guys are improving and have been, you know, working at not necessarily, you know, making the perfect play sometimes.

Getting the puck to the net, one or two passes, and then retrieving that puck and creating those second and third opportunities are where you can capitalize on the power play.

I think we're starting to figure it out that we want to possess the puck, shoot the puck, retrieve the puck, and repeat.

Was it hard to come back to and get fired up early in the, you know, the first month of the season after, you know, going to the Stanley Cup final that year, Jason? I think there's

He can put together virtually every shift a kid has in a game, can't he?

Yeah, I mean, it's amazing.

The guys can have access to their shifts basically a half hour type after the game.

They can go on a website and basically watch their game every shift that they were on the ice in probably... you know, 20 minutes to a half hour, you could rewind it and fast forward it and, you know, isolate yourself and see if you're, you want to hear centerman and you want to watch, you know, maybe what you're doing on face-offs.

If you had a bad night during the face-off dog, or, you know, if you thought you had a couple of good scoring chances and you missed that and you didn't score, you can kind of break that down and look at that stuff.

I think, you know, having access to that stuff is great, but I think sometimes, uh, you know, sometimes the guys might, uh, over analyze things and end up being paralyzed by thought instead of just going out and playing and competing.

You've got to be excited with what Holinka, the Maple Leafs pick, is doing for you.

Yeah, Merrill's done.

In January, it was sub-zero or snowing all the way down into Florida.

I have a lot of empty-nesters and, you know, older clientele, and when it's, you know, 25 degrees five days in a row, a lot of those folks just don't go out, understandably.

We closed, I think, two nights.

You know, the snow's...

It's expensive.

Jason Smith again at Cantina 18.

I also am a lowly tequila salesman, so I am more than puckered up about it, yes.

But nothing's happened yet, so let's just hold on before we panic.