Toby Talks Sports

As we get nearer to the day when live North American team sports are on our television sets Toby is definitely getting more excited about it but discusses with Marshall why he’s still skeptical. Marshall is a little more optimistic if (Editor’s note: BIG IF) the bubbles and hub cities can remain totally contained. Toby questions the NBA’s inability to stop Disney World from opening up the amusement park to the public. The two guys also dive into what the Raptors chances are ASSUMING the NBA season does restart and finish with the NBA Finals.Toby is then joined on the phone by his fellow Fantasy Baseball GM Owen Townley to talk about their shared love of the sport and of their favourite team the Toronto Blue Jays. They agree that the Jays are going to be a fun and exciting and GOOD team for many years to come. They however do not totally agree on Vladdy Jr.’s role on the team going forward. Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.Stay Safe.

After another month of no sports, Toby gets in touch with Marshall to talk about how sports MAY be on the horizon. They are both skeptical that any of the plans from the major sports leagues will go off without any problems that may disrupt league play. The guys also agree (for the most part) on how they will remember Vince Carter as he has officially retired from the NBA.Toby rants about Major League Baseball and their inability to get their acts together. Marshall lets him vent.Toby then calls up longtime contributor to the podcast Dan Gladman (@dgontheroad) and they talk about politics in sports and what live experience they will miss more - games or concerts.Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.Stay Safe.

Toby FaceTimes Marshall this time and I think Marshall regrets suggesting it last time…The guys go over the news of the last week that are coming out of the major four leagues including the NHL who have announced July as a target for resuming the 2019/2020 season. Toby wonders why they would do such a thing…?Marshall tells Toby what he thinks of the Michael Jordan Netflix documentary ‘The Last Dance’ and shares what he remembers about that dynasty.Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.Stay Safe.

Toby calls up Marshall to catch up after being in self-isolation and confesses his true feelings about recording a podcast about sports when:a) there are no sports&b) sports are the least of anyone’s worries right now.Nevertheless the two guys discuss the news of the sports-world that is on their minds as well as revisit a twitter-spat the Toby got himself into…Marshall convinces Toby to keep on recording more episodes even during this time. Toby is appreciative.Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.Stay Safe.

Toby and Marshall reconnect after their vacations to catch up on where they currently see the Raptors, Leafs and Blue Jays. Raptors: The guys talk about how the Raptors have clinched a playoff spot despite STILL having injury woes. They discuss Norman Powell’s role on the team and who would be the best suited starting five against the Bucks if the two teams were to find themselves back in the Eastern Conference Finals.Leafs: After watching the Leafs play the Kings, Toby is convinced that Frederik Andersen has turned the corner, is locked in and ready to take the Leafs on a long run into the playoffs although he is not sure if the team around him is up for the challenge. Can this team make a deep run riding a hot goaltender despite how the team has looked all season long?Blue Jays: Marshall gets brought up to speed about the Reese McGuire situation. Marshall asks Toby for his reaction to the Astros getting plunked in Spring Training. Toby shares his pure excitement for the season to begin. The second half of the podcast is a revisiting of Toby’s and Marshall’s NBA preseason predictions and how they are taking shape. Who was closer to being correct in regards to which teams would make the playoffs and what the seeding would be like? The answer may surprise you…Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.

With Super Bowl LIV being behind us now, Toby and Marshall revisit the script of the game and the discuss the result that saw the Kansas City Chiefs come out victorious. They marvel at the skill of MVP Pat Mahomes and compare him to QBs past and present and try to figure out where he lands in the pecking order amongst the greatest of all time. Toby also (over)shares his personal opinion about the halftime show.Marshall shares his experience of what it was like to be in Los Angeles when the news of Kobe Bryants tragic and untimely death hit the airwaves. Toby chimes in with his views of what Kobe’s life and career has meant to basketball and popular culture. The guys then turn their attention to the latest news about the firing of Knicks President Steve Mills and the likelihood/unlikelihood of Raptors President Masai Ujiri filling that position. Do you think Ujiri would go work for Knicks Owner James Dolan? Marshall doesn’t think so…Finally, Toby brings Marshall up to speed about what is currently going on with the Toronto Maple Leafs and STRONGLY disagrees with Marshall about how Leafs fans would react if the Leafs were to miss the playoffs this season.Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.

After the announcement was made that Pascal Siakim is going to be a starter for the 2020 NBA All Star Game in Chicago, Toby gets on the phone with Marshall to briefly review how amazing his story is and how he will be added to a very short list of other Toronto Raptors who have started in the All Star Game. The conversation then turns to looking at healthy Raptors team and their chances to come out of the Eastern Conference. They also talk about how Siakim, Giannis and potentially Nick Nurse will all be a part of the weekend’s festivities.Toby then admits he was wrong about his prediction that Green Bay was gonna somehow make it’s way into the Super Bowl but also tries to rationalize his decision AND tries to convince Marshall he knew they were the underdog and likely wouldn’t win the game. Marshall isn’t buying it. The two of them then go on to preview the intriguing matchup between the 49ers and the Chiefs. After briefly touching on the baseball cheating scandal and Larry Walker’s induction into the Baseball HOF, their attention turns to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the fact that they are, in the simplest of terms, underperforming. It SEEMS to give the Toby and Marshall a bit of joy because nothing is more fun than talking about panic in Leaf-Land (except for maybe sheer joy in Leaf-Land but it’s just been so long it’s hard to remember)…Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.

Toby and Marshall reconnect after a month off for the holiday season and discover there is much to discuss, including the cheating scandal going on currently in Major League Baseball and the suspensions to Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, Astros Manager AJ Hinch (and their subsequent firings over the matter) and the impending career-doom of (former) Red Sox Manager Alex Cora. Were the penalties dished out to the Houston Astros too harsh or did they not go far enough…?The guys then talk about the NFL playoffs and who they expect to make it to the Super Bowl. Which of the four teams left did Toby predict would win the whole thing way back in Episode 100 of Toby Talks Sports…?Toby then tells Marshall the latest news in the Kawhi Leonard saga and how he asked Drake to stay at his place in LA and how that may have helped lead to his orchestration of the trade between the LA Clippers and the OKC Thunder. Toby addresses the one part of the story that is getting absolutely no attention.Marshall then finally accepts that once Fred Van Vleet comes back from his injury that MAYBE the role best-suited for him is to come off the bench to lead that unit. How did he ultimately come to this conclusion?Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.

Toby and Marshall are joined in studio by Josh Lewenberg (TSN) to discuss all things Raptors. They touch on the experience of covering the NBA Finals, the current state of the team, and how this whole Pascal Siakim backstory can possibly be true. Marshall and Josh get into it a little over their opposing points of view when it comes to Kyle Lowry who, of course, topped Josh’s list of the 25 greatest Raptors of all time (found here - https://www.tsn.ca/the-25-greatest-raptors-in-franchise-history ). This leads into a jersey-retirement discussion and who gets the right to have a statue built in their honour. The three of them finish up with a ‘will-Gianni-be-a-Raptor’ conversation and Toby is left feeling relatively confident that the Greek Freak will be in the starting 5 in 2021.Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.

Toby and Marshall touch base after just an awful game between the Raptors and the Bulls and they try to figure out why the defending champions have looked so bad over the past four games. Marshall just won’t drop his ‘Trade Lowry Now’ routine and Toby goes as far as agreeing that things were working a lot better for the team when Fred Van Vleet was running the offense. Marshall brings up a trade rumour he has heard and Toby tells him what he thinks of it.Toby then quickly expresses his thoughts and feelings about how the Toronto Blue Jays have not been very active thus far this offseason and how other teams are moving in on some of the players he thought would have been potential targets for the Jays to go out and sign. What does this mean for Toby? Well, it means he’s pissed…Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.

Toby and Marshall start off Episode 109 by briefly talking about the NFL’s Thanksgiving Football matchup between Marshall’s beloved Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions and then quickly move on to the latest on the Toronto Raptors and the recent developments in the Canadian National Men’s Basketball situation. Toby’s still pissed.The guys are then joined in studio by Jonas Siegel (TSN/The Athletic) to talk all things Toronto Maple Leafs including (obviously) the firing of Mike Babcock, the hiring of Sheldon Keefe, the reasons for both, and what the hell went wrong to start the Leafs 2019/20 campaign. They all seem to agree this was all inevitable but how and why and when it happened turned out to be quite an interesting conversation. Jonas, who has had personal interactions with all of the people involved in the story, has a few inside scoops that must be heard. Jonas then talks about the state of analytics in hockey and how he wants to be able to write about them without getting Toby to the point where he feels like his head may explode. Marshall ends the episode with giving a run down of this episode’s own unique statistics.Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.

Well they finally did it - The Toronto Maple Leafs fired head coach Mike Babcock and, for Toby and Marshall, that means Christmas came a little early this year because nothing makes them happier than when drama and intrigue surrounds the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toby brings up the timing of the firing and Marshall wants to recall how he stated his belief that Babcock can’t relate to the young stars on the team. They agree this firing signals that it is likely Babcock ‘lost the room’ and management has decided to move on to the next bench boss. Toby and Marshall try to figure out if there is anyone else to blame for the way this team has struggled that deserved to get canned even more than the head coach.The balance of the episode is spent on discussing Melo signing in Portland, the hustle and toughness of the 2019-20 Toronto Raptors and this week’s suspensions in both the NFL and the NHL. Toby believes one of these two acts deserves a lifetime ban from sports and society as a whole. It may surprise you which of the two he finds more unacceptable…Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.

After being in LA to watch the Raptors take on Kawhi and the Clippers, Marshall talks with Toby about how the team looked in person and what it is like at Staples Center for a Clippers home game. They discuss just how impressed they both are with Coach Nurse, with the young core and the emerging bench. Toby brings up a new player comparison for Marshall to disagree with. They then turn to the biggest sports story in Canada - the removal of Don Cherry from Hockey Night in Canada. They both have thoughts on the matter. Last (and definitely least) they focus on the new developments in the Colin Kaepernick saga. What does this tryout even mean…?Please reach out and leave us some feedback on any of our social medias @TobyTalksSportsSubscribe to the podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.Tell your friends.

So Toby was ALMOST right, predicting it would be a great World Series but he did have the Nationals winning it all. Marshall admits he was pretty entertained by the seven game series and the two of them try to figure out what the league will look like next season, including what the Blue Jays front office will do to address a team on the rise. The guys then focus their attention on the NBA with Steph Curry’s injury, Kawhi’s early season performance, and where the Raptors are as a franchise all as the topics of interest. Last but not least they discuss what it means to them that TFC has made it to MLS Cup for the second time. Oh yah, Toby picked the Bears to win in his pick ‘em pool but admits they will probably lose because they suck at football.

After gloating about how right his prediction has been about the World Series so far, Toby talks with Marshall about how the series could easily go seven games. They then discuss the controversy surrounding the Astros franchise and how they really screwed this one up. Toby also reminds Marshall that this isn’t the first time the Astros have landed in hot water…The guys then discuss the early returns of this new NBA season, specifically for the reigning champion Toronto Raptors.Toby then calls up Uncle Leo to have a rational conversation about what they see in terms of the Leafs struggles so far this season. It eventually ends up where most conversations end up about the Leafs which has them making drastic changes. It was not supposed to go that way…

The 2019/20 NBA season is finally here and, as is tradition, the reigning NBA champions have the honour of kicking off the season with a home game, a banner being raised to the rafters of their building, and the most insane rings ever designed to be dished out to every player and member of the team’s staff. The Toronto Raptors did all of those things and Toby and Marshall talk about it all. They also break down game 1 of 82 before launching into their NBA season predictions, including playoff seeding in both conferences and the most likely MVP candidates.

Toby and Marshall get on the phone to discuss Marshall’s NFL Sunday routine, his struggling Chicago Bears, and how Toby is BASICALLY fully back on board with watching and following the NFL. They then move on to talking about the upcoming World Series matchup where they agree on who will likely win the whole thing but they differ on how close of a series it will be. The guys then turn their attention to opening night in the NBA and what Pascal Siakim’s new contract means for the team and what Spicy P’s ceiling is as a player. Toby then calls up his Dad to recall the glory years of the San Francisco Giants and the Golden State Warriors and how then ends of their dynasties may have made room for the 49ers this season. They compare this scenario with that of the Leafs, Raptors and Blue Jays.

Toby and Marshall get a chance to speak with Leo Rautins and Dan Gladman of the Toronto Raptors TV broadcast team. The four of them sit down in studio and the go over Leo’s childhood memories about basketball in Toronto, his recruitment process, his nickname that never came to be, and how he worked his way to become one of the most recognizable voices in Canadian basketball history. Danny G and Leo both discuss how they can be so comfortable contributing to political topics on Twitter and how maybe Daryl Morey could have been slightly more careful with his actions even though he had the best intentions… Last but not least they all weigh in the problems with FIBA and Canada Basketball and what lies ahead for the 2019/20 Toronto Raptors.

Toby and Marshall have a discussion about how it feels to have players you like on teams you despise, how the Braves could’ve potentially avoided elimination if they had only bunted in a very specific situation, and how Daryl Morey has every right to express his opinions but really sorta ‘stepped in it’ with his tweet about a free and democratic Hong Kong. The fellas then sit down with Tyler Shaw (www.tylershawmusic.com) about his connection to the game of soccer, the Toronto vs. Vancouver mentality, and what it was like to see the best (the 2010 Olympics) AND the worst of Vancouver (the Canucks riots in 2011). Check him out on his ‘The Wanted’ tour coming to a city near you.

EPISODE 100!!!!! - We Fuckin' Did It...Marshall sits down with Toby and Kirsh, the original co-host of Toby Talks Sports, to look back upon the first days of the podcast, the origin-story of their personal relationship, and some of the highlights from the first 99 episodes. They talk about some of their favourite guests, their most embarrassing moments, and they reveal what this podcast was really supposed to be all about in the first place.This episode, although it is the 100th, is really a great way to learn more about the hosts (current and past) of Toby Talks Sports and a real look into what motivates them to make episodes for this podcast every week.Goal #1 achieved - 100 episodes in the bag.Please share, comment, give us a rating and follow us Twitter & Instagram - @TobyTalksSportsFacebook - www.facebook.com/tobytalkssports