It’s always a pleasure to find time with our favorite Canadian NFL historian, Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report, who tackles the tariffs of Toronto and all that ails Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens from the beach in Santos, Brazil.
Nestor Aparicio and Brad Gagnon discuss the Baltimore Ravens’ struggles, noting their 1-5 start and the impact of injuries, particularly to Lamar Jackson. They also touch on the Toronto Blue Jays’ unexpected success in the MLB playoffs, despite being widely expected to finish fifth. Gagnon, a Canadian NFL insider, reflects on the tensions between the U.S. and Canada under the current administration and its impact on sports fans. They also discuss the potential for the Ravens to rebound, the importance of accountability within the team, and the possibility of the Ravens playing playoff games in Los Angeles.
Nestor’s Introduction and Personal Updates
- Nestor Aparicio welcomes listeners to WNST AM 1570 and mentions upcoming giveaways and personal activities.
- He shares his recent experiences, including attending a Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque and a Hollywood Bowl concert with Steven Tyler.
- Nestor discusses his disappointment about missing a Brian Adams concert in Toronto due to a Tim Horton donut.
- He reminisces about past trips to Toronto and his friendship with Brad Gagnon, an NFL insider from Toronto.
Brad Gagnon’s Background and Personal Life
- Nestor introduces Brad Gagnon, highlighting his background as an NFL insider and his love for Toronto.
- Brad shares his current location in Santos, Brazil, and his passion for travel and adventure.
- They discuss Brad’s love for Canada and his experiences attending concerts and events in Toronto.
- Nestor mentions his own experiences in Canada, including attending a Pearl Jam concert in Quebec and drinking at the Moosehead stand in Epcot.
Discussion on Toronto Blue Jays and Canadian Sports Culture
- Nestor and Brad discuss the Toronto Blue Jays’ unexpected success in the 2022 MLB season.
- They talk about the impact of Canadian-American tensions on sports, particularly the Blue Jays’ victory over the Yankees.
- Brad explains the significance of the Blue Jays as Canada’s national team and their large fan base.
- They reflect on the unpredictability of baseball and the Blue Jays’ journey to the ALCS.
Brad Gagnon’s Career and Writing Style
- Nestor praises Brad’s work as a sports columnist and his deep dive into historical and statistical analysis.
- Brad shares his passion for numbers and history, and how it influences his writing.
- They discuss the evolution of Bleacher Report and Brad’s role as a columnist and podcaster.
- Brad mentions his interest in writing a book and his plans for future projects.
Political Tensions and Their Impact on Canadian-American Relations
- Nestor and Brad discuss the political tensions between the U.S. and Canada, particularly under the Trump administration.
- Brad explains how these tensions have affected Canadian sports fans and their perception of Americans.
- They talk about the impact of tariffs and other policies on Canadian lives and businesses.
- Brad shares his perspective on the current political climate and its effects on international relations.
Analysis of Baltimore Ravens’ Season and Performance
- Nestor and Brad shift the conversation to the Baltimore Ravens’ current struggles and injuries.
- They discuss the Ravens’ defensive issues, particularly in stopping the run and getting takeaways.
- Brad highlights the impact of Lamar Jackson’s injury and the team’s overall performance in key games.
- They speculate on the Ravens’ chances of rebounding and making the playoffs, considering their upcoming schedule.
Comparison of Baltimore Ravens and Other NFL Teams
- Nestor and Brad compare the Ravens to other NFL teams, including the Chiefs, Colts, and Steelers.
- They discuss the potential for the Ravens to bounce back and the challenges they face in the AFC North.
- Brad mentions the importance of the Ravens’ upcoming games against the Bears and Dolphins.
- They reflect on the Ravens’ history of resilience and their potential to turn their season around.
Toronto Sports Culture and the Importance of Championships
- Nestor and Brad discuss the significance of championships for Toronto sports fans.
- They mention the recent success of the Toronto Raptors and the potential for the Blue Jays to win the World Series.
- Brad shares his perspective on the challenges faced by the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Blue Jays.
- They reflect on the impact of winning championships on a city’s morale and civic pride.
Brad Gagnon’s Personal Invitation to Visit Brazil
- Nestor and Brad discuss Brad’s life in Santos, Brazil, and his plans to visit Nestor in the future.
- Brad invites Nestor to visit Santos and experience the Brazilian culture and lifestyle.
- They talk about the logistics of traveling to Brazil and the potential for Nestor to learn Portuguese.
- Brad shares his love for Brazil and his plans to continue exploring the country with his partner.
Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks
- Nestor and Brad wrap up their conversation, reflecting on their shared experiences and mutual appreciation.
- They discuss the importance of accountability and leadership in sports and the impact of injuries on team performance.
- Brad reiterates his support for the Toronto Blue Jays and his hope for their continued success.
- Nestor thanks Brad for joining the show and looks forward to future discussions on sports and travel.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
NFL, Baltimore Ravens, Toronto Blue Jays, Canadian sports, Brad Gagnon, Lamar Jackson, injuries, defense, playoffs, accountability, political tensions, sports history, travel, podcasting, Bleacher Report.
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Brad Gagnon
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T am 1570 tasks of Baltimore. We are international. We will be in this segment. I’ll be giving away some Raven scratch offs next week. We’re hitting Cocos. I’m getting Costa set up. I got to get the pizza Johns because it’s my birthday month. I ate my face off in August and September, with the tastiness tour courtesy of our friends at curio wellness and foreign daughter. Big thanks to them, we got Wendy on this week. I’m going to tell her about my Hot Air Balloon Fiesta and my Hollywood Bowl experience with Steven Tyler in the who and all the fun I’ve been having lately in advance of my birthday. But the one in five football team is sort of broken spirits here. And even more than that, the baseball endeavor of just being an awful, awful baseball team, because I’m like my wife’s uncle. I am International. I have friends in other places, low places, high places, fun places, Canadian places. And there was some convergence in my life this week that I was supposed to go to Toronto. I was supposed to see Brian Adams. I had a second row ticket in st Catherine’s that actually lost 30 bucks on still trying to figure out how to get my loonies back in that. And I missed that on a Tim Horton donut. And I missed that on Toronto, which is my, one of my favorite places, but I did go to Albuquerque and I did this Hot Air Balloon Fiesta thing. And my pal Brad Gagnon, who was one of these people that I don’t know, how the hell I collected him in life, I know he got booked onto my show as a radio guest years ago. He’s an NFL insider from Toronto, which is really weird, because he was the guy pulling for Bon Jovi to get the bills across the border. It didn’t happen when he was a young man. He’s been in love, he’s been married. He’s a parent, he’s a business owner, he’s a bond of advice, a little bit of a James Bond football character. He comes to us now from the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil, in Santos, where summer’s about to kick in for far as I can tell, but he is my Toronto running mate. We have done all sorts of things in Toronto together, eat noodles, drank beer, watch football. He is Brad Gagnon, and it’s always pleasure to have you on. Dude said I do the Wanderlust thing because I saw your pictures of you in Banff and dude that might might be moving to the top of my bucket list. And you know why? Two things, it’s Banff and it’s in Canada, and getting Lee and rush are going on tour, and, oh my god, isn’t it the greatest thing in the world, dude,
Brad Gagnon 02:36
if you can pair Banff with, I don’t think you’re, well, you’re a hockey guy too, to see a flames or an Oilers game in Alberta and then hit Banff, hit Lake Louise, as you mentioned, if Kenny is touring, you could have a, you could have a real perfect trip, opportunity to defect for a few days or a week or two, up to Canada. Sorry, we missed you when you were supposed to come up a couple weeks ago, and he wasn’t there anyway. I mean, but you mentioned this international is double International. You got a Canadian in Brazil. So I wasn’t there anyway. Hopefully I’ll make sure I’m there next time you come up. We always love somebody up in Canada. I think you align politically a little bit more with us than you do down there. So,
Nestor Aparicio 03:15
no, I love the Canadian people. You know, I love the Canadian people. I wore my F Trump Cheap Trick shirt front facing in Quebec at not le colisei, but at the new joint. And Pearl Jam played, and I wore it the whole night. And I tell you what, I didn’t have to buy a beer. You know, up in Quebec, so and, and I was at that show with Kenny Maine, believe it or not, who I ran into in the plaza just eating lunch. He’s like, hey, next thing I know, he’s giving me a ride to the show, and Jeff amends and Eddie Vedder are shouting him out. So, oh, it is the place I drink when I go to Epcot as well. You know, I drink at the Moosehead stand in Epcot. So, dude, I love you, I miss you. I mean, we’re wanderlust people, we’re friends, we’re football, baseball people. Let’s start with this, and I want to get to football, but I began the baseball season in your Berg, you were not there. Luke and I were in Toronto for opening day the oils opened the season in Toronto, and I got to tell you, it was cold. I cut my foot open. I had a blister. I bled all over the place. I had some great Thai food I’ll send. I got a joint for you, and there was no thought that the Toronto Blue Jays would be playing in the American League Championship Series. And there was every thought and every betting thought that the Orioles would be the Orioles had five home runs in opening day. I paid to get in. I hump and how he bought me beers and vodka. We had a great Canadian experience. Experience in the dome a and and then the next night, Luke went back, things turned the other way, and the Orioles were never heard from again. And Vlad is chunky, and he’s failed, and they get in the money, or they don’t. They know that pitching, and like all of these question marks about the Blue Jays that were there, and I know it was all raptored up, and it was certainly leafed up at that time. In late March. It was cold as hell. And the think that the Blue Jays have done this this year, in this year, when we can all admit there’s been some Canadian American tensions brought on by the dictator who’s running our country right now, insulting your people, which is just you said sorry already. I mean, sorry times a billion from us, but, but I began the season in Canada, and I gotta tell you, watching it, watching getting behind home plate, and, you know, watching the whole Canadian thing. I was there when Carter hit the home run in 93 I was in the upper deck at the dome. And man, if you couldn’t find a girl on Yonge Street that night as a young man. It was, you know what it was, what a great night that was. But I would say all these years later to see Canadian baseball, Toronto baseball. How nationally you mentioned Banff, Edmonton, Albert, Quebec. They’re they’re all pulling for the Jays. The Jays are Canada’s team. Yeah.
Brad Gagnon 06:20
Well, it’s funny. You mentioned, I saw a few people saying in the last few days, you know, how much of a nightmare this is for Major League Baseball to have. You know, these markets like Seattle, Milwaukee and Toronto in the Final Four, as opposed to, obviously, New York and Boston, Chicago. You know, Toronto actually has one of the largest fan bases in baseball. It just doesn’t cater to Fox and ESPN and whatnot. But it’s, you know, we’re talking a country of almost 40 million people that people that is all behind the Toronto Blue Jays. They’re actually quite a huge brand, and they bring in a lot of money. They just bring it in for Rogers and the folks up north of the border. But that’s still a tension on major league baseball regardless. So that matters, first of all, and that has been a more of a boon than people expect or would assume. The other thing is, you mentioned that kind of the this serendipitous nature of Canada versus USA and sports. I mean, there was the Four Nations Cup, which no American paid attention to until all of a sudden, there was USA versus Canada in the final in hockey. Back in February, Canada beats them in overtime. That was like the most like, like F Trump moment in Canada, for sports fan, because this is the only way we can really get kind of get that, that feeling. And Trump had tweeted his support, or whatever, gone on his social, his social media platform and whatnot, and then you come out and you beat the Yankees. Just after Trump visits the Yankees and does the flyover and all this stuff and and you beat them on their home soil, at Yankee Stadium when they’re the heavy favorite. It’s been pretty amazing. And you mentioned how they were, you know, widely expected to be a fifth place team this season, and Baltimore is widely expected to be a playoff team. And that is the beauty of baseball. You just never know. Vladver doesn’t even have a good year. Bob, a shet gets injured for the final month of the season. The pitching staff, the bullpen, not special, and yet, they win 94 games and win the division. I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, that’s what we love about sports. It’s what we love about baseball. In particular, the unpredictability factor of it all. To take down the Yankees is great. There probably is a limit. They had a roof start to the next series against Seattle, but it kind of already feels like there were World Series. I know a lot of folks say, like, you know, if you’re not first, your last but a really memorable year, it’s been a lot of fun to see them up, send everybody win the debate. Everybody, win the division, get through the Yankees in the ALDs. So from you know, at this point, I think it’s all gravy for a lot of Toronto sports fans, and hopefully they can carry some of it into next year. But I do think Baltimore will be good next year. I think the Earl’s had an off year, but I think that there’s still the talent there, and I think it’s going to be a really competitive al east in 2026
Nestor Aparicio 08:39
Brad Gagnon is my, is my guest. Tell everybody where to find you and whatnot. You’re, you’re now like me on the meta world. You’re a digital creator, you know. And I, you know, I used to be a sports radio guy. Then I was a radio entrepreneur, and I owned a radio station and, you know, and that now it’s just, now he’s a podcaster. He’s got a podcast. And I’m thinking anybody could have a podcast, but I mean, you’re a columnist, you’re a writer. I know you work with your brother, your brother’s head endeavors. You sort of are an International Man of Mystery at various points, but I know what a big sports fan and really kind of an historian you are for being a young Canadian chap
Brad Gagnon 09:19
I tried to be. I think I made my career a fair bit on, on numbers in history. I kind of bores a lot of folks. I spend more time on pro football reference, diving in on stat hand into, you know, I was last night or on, on Monday night, Monday night when the Blue Jays were falling behind against Seattle. I was, I was pulling up all the numbers on, you know, how much they’ve struggled in the first couple games of ALCS is in the past, and put together all these statistics. That’s my passion. A lot of folks love those types of numbers. They love to see them presented in a way that really makes sense and kind of brings the storyline and the narrative together, the history too. That’s big on me. I grew up with a dad who was one of those who just put it all on me from the age of like, five or six, like, this is what happened to the J. In the 80s. This is what happened to the Habs in the 1970s a Montreal Canadian fan is my I’m again, y’all, you can probably put, put that two and two together. So that’s a big part of my history. Where I am now. Yeah, I have had already a few, a few chapters, a Bleacher Report all the way. I’ve always stayed with Bleacher Report. That’s kind of been the bedrock of my career. Where, you know, it’s funny. You mentioned podcaster. I get, oh yeah, this is my friend brought he’s a blogger. I roll my eyes. Hey, all they were spoke to bloggers, and it’s not a blogger. I mean, a blogger, of my definition, is one of those guys that throws up seven thoughts in like a, like a 80 word, you know, unedited. It
Nestor Aparicio 10:36
is amazing. I haven’t heard the word blogger in years. Yeah, thank God. Well, I was never accused to be, I mean, that I do a thing called column, Nestor, right? Like a columnist, columnist is now an old thing too, right? The newspaper columnist is like, what? What value would a columnist have? Oh, only insights, history, you know, analysis that you’re not going to find from a blogger. Quite frankly, no offense to you bloggers or guys who deny being bloggers, if I had
Brad Gagnon 11:09
to put a label on his an NFL sports columnist, and usually with that, that historical or statistical bent or angle on my work. So then I back it up with something which has always been really important to me, but it’s important to have range in this business. You know that, as much as anyone, Nestor, it’s it’s important to have a multitude of abilities, of strengths, of things you can do across the board. But, you know, bleach report has transformed so much in the 15 or so years I’ve been with the company that, you know, it started off with, essentially, those bloggers. Those, you know, those unpaid, unedited content that was, frankly more so for clicks. And they would admit that, because they’ve gone through this transition over the years where they finally started hiring bona fides, and they started kind of adding to their resume and gaining a reputation for having a good editorial staff and whatnot. But you know, it’s gone from those 32 slide click bait, pick things to deep dives, right? You know, I wrote a mini book on the Buffalo Bills losing Super Bowl to the Giants, you know, on the Scott Norwood, Wide, wide, right? So, I mean, we found a chance to do so many different things the writers of br Especially in the NFL realm. It’s been great for me. I’ve had a chance to just do so much. The next thing is probably a buck eventually. I think I want to tackle something. I just haven’t figured out exactly what. And I don’t think it’s I don’t think you read, you start with, I want to write a book and then get the idea that you need the idea to just really hit you, and then you jump into the book. So I’m going to figure that out. That’s my quest for my 40s, which are only about, oh, 10 months away now,
Nestor Aparicio 12:37
man, 3930 so you were born in 86 seven like that.
Brad Gagnon 12:43
8686 like I don’t think I’m a point my age, just like you Mr. Nestor, don’t call us.
Nestor Aparicio 12:49
Don’t, don’t start calling me UNK, not on my 57th birthday either, by the way. What’s that?
Brad Gagnon 12:59
Never guess?
Nestor Aparicio 13:00
Oh, well, you know, you will when I start telling you I remember the 1972 A’s, and I remember the Habs of the 70s. I remember the Broad Street bullies, even, you know, in that era, the 76 USSR, 1980 Miracle on Ice. I was 12 years old at a Conway Twitty concert. It’s a long stories, but my mother so, but Brad, Brad Gagnon is here, so I want to, I just want to stick to the Canadian thing, and we can get into the political aspect of when I was up there for opening day that I sat with a young lady in a bar stool, same bar you and I were at, because I always go to the keg for happy hour when I’m in Toronto, because it’s such A Canadian thing to do, and I had a and I had had Rick Emmett on the show. Maybe this is why Getty won’t come on the show, because I’m American, I don’t know, but the the politics part of this that’s baked into whatever it is on the Canadian side when I’m there, and it used to be more like light elbow, haha, you’re American. We’re Canadian, maybe when Obama’s running our country, or when it’s really a sports thing between, let’s say the Orioles in the Blue Jays, as it was in the end of the 1989 season, when the Blue Jays beat the Orioles at skydome, where it was just a baseball thing, or a sports thing, or we all hate the Yankees thing, which we can all get on board with. But as a Canadian, when you’re hearing the American leader talk about you as a 51st state and pissing on your country and for sport, not for any tariffs, all of that, I found it really uncomfortable to pull my passport out at the at the border and roll in through Niagara Falls and roll into Toronto and look around and say, These people might not like me because I’m American. Like, what, what? And I’m thinking, you don’t not want to like us, but, like, somebody’s got to put this shit in check. You know what? I mean? Like, seriously, because the people here have. Haven’t been able to do it in a week where we have the no kings rally, and there’s enough of us that feel so strongly about democracy and free speech and not being racist, and just all of I’m embarrassed by it, and I think you know that anyone who knows me on either side of any border would know that the kind of hate speech that that this country has taken on, and what’s going on in Saudi Arabia, what’s going on in Russia, it’s it’s been a real tragedy of my adulthood to go to Canada and sit on a bar and Have people trash my country, and me say, I it’s, it’s indefensible, the words that have come out of his mouth. And here, it’s not funny, and it’s, it’s, it’s divided families, relationships, businesses, every minute of every day, and whatever the uncivil war that’s going on here. But from the outside, nobody here knows Canadian people to even pick their you know, like it’s so insulated and almost xenophobic in some weird way that anytime I’m with any of you who weren’t born here or don’t live here currently, it worries me, and it bothers me the way you’re seeing it, and how you may never see our place the same way again.
Brad Gagnon 16:23
Yeah, and I think, I think it’s important for us as Canadians, or any, really, anyone International, to to kind of compartmentalize where I think we we still love Americans. These are all generalizations, because there’s many terrible Americans, there’s many great Americans, there’s many terrible Canadians, many great Canadians, but we, I think we still love Americans, but we don’t like America right now. I think that’s the big difference. And I think when you see these booze of the not of the national anthem, around the time of the tariffs, becoming at a really hitting a pinnacle, it’s not, of course, not an affront to any American. But I’ve never supported booing an anthem in either direction. It has happened in both directions many times over the years, with Canada in the US, and usually it’s, it’s somewhat playful, but a little, I would argue, crossing the line. Just the one time when I was like, You know what? Maybe a statement needs to be made, right? And again, this isn’t about this isn’t about you. This isn’t about any individual. This is about policy. In that case, that was the tariffs were really screwing with our country, and they were on and they were off, and they were impacting our economy and jobs and everything in this country. So that was, you know, definitely one of many things you just mentioned. There’s a lot of stuff that actually impacts lives more deeply than tariffs even necessarily do. But that was the big one for Canadians, I think so it’s gone from, you know, I like the analogy always of like that noisy neighbor, right? You know, you live in an apartment, you have someone upstairs or downstairs, and they’re really loud, and they throw parties and they’re frustrating and they annoy you. You don’t you hate them, but they piss you off. That neighbor was, that was the United States during the first Trump presidency. It was for much of Bush’s presidency. It was even, frankly, at times during, you know, even though I’m clearly left leaning during times of, you know, Democrats in office now, it feels like the neighbor is starting fires. Right now, it feels like the neighbor is burning the building down. And that’s when it takes a different a different feel for us as Canadians, I think it’s like, okay, now you’ve crossed the line. Now we got to get the police involved right now. We now we’re worried about our safety. We’re worried about our well being. We’re worried about our ability to pay our bills, our ability, but our belongings, essentially that stretch the analogy beyond its limits. So that’s, I think, where we’re at. And, you know, it’s calmed a bit in terms of some of that. There’s always these ebbs and flows, and you’re just waiting for the next time that you’re used as a scapegoat. Essentially, as soon as the, you know, the the the Trump, you know, the sphere of Trump wants to send it back. Wants to use Canada as as a whipping boy again. He’ll do it. It will do that. We’ll, we’ll be back in the spotlight. And then it goes over to the Middle East, and then it goes down to Mexico, and then it goes down to South America. It’s just, it’s, it’s when you’re cutting his crosshairs or not. And hopefully that’s only for three more years. There’s, you know, we’ve, we’ve heard talk about being beyond three more years, and that scares the heck out of us as spans of democracy, I think all over the world anyways. Don it should. It should, frankly, scare people who are even right leaning in the United States, because that is setting a precedent for something that would be bad for you in the future. Because everything goes around, that comes around, goes around. So that’s where we’re at. I’ve tried to keep, you know, keep calm with a lot of it, but it is. It has been very, very frustrating how it impacts a lot of Canadians lives, and for some, for folks who say, you know, like, this has nothing to do with your country, why do you care? Well, as you, as we’ve seen now, especially in the last year, it greatly impacts not the favorite country in the world, especially that neighbor living just below you that’s trying to avoid the fire.
Nestor Aparicio 19:45
Yeah, and putting Qatari military near Banff, I’m sure, is real comfortable, too. Brad Gagnon joins me here. He is a bleach report sports Insider. He is in Brazil, of Canada, in Toronto. I actually called you to talk. Football, not politics or even baseball, and we could talk Getty Lee anytime we want. You know what I mean? Now, Rush is going on tours, so we can do that. But from your perspective, and you’re the football guy, this one in five thing, I’d like to say it’s about injuries and Lamar and this, and that there hasn’t been a minute of this that’s looked good since the third quarter against the bills in any way defensively, how many points they’ve given up, where the injuries are, where the leadership’s been, these players running back out the back door. I’ve been hitting hardball about that. And just the whole Justin Tucker scandal sort of getting brushed away, and that’s about to come back, because his suspension is going to end in a couple weeks. Somebody’s gonna need a kicker, inevitably, and he’s certainly one of the 32 best kickers in the world, if you can stomach the rest of it. But watching this from afar, and we talked about the Orioles demise and meltdown, dude, I’ve been watching the Ravens a long, long time and written books on the ravens and stuff. The Orioles maybe, and their new owners just such a complete zero that the Orioles new owner, the ravens, always have it together. They always figure it out. They always get players. They’re never one in five. They’re never they never look uninspired. They never get their ass kicked. At home, our stadium is never emptied out. I mean, I see all these other stadiums empty out. I’ve been in them on the road and other places late in the game. Teams quit. Fans quit. Hell. I go to Cleveland every year, right? I mean, I went to Cincinnati for years. No offense, Marvin, but like, I’ve seen stadiums empty out. Brad dude, 30 years here from the Ray Lewis dance on from when we stunk with Ted March abroad. And I had Marvin Lewis on this week, talking about how they stunk and they got good, and then they got great, and then been 25 years later, there’s Joe Flacco, rings, Lamar Jackson, just all the way through. These are really perilous times for the football team here in what feels like a really shaky leadership period, and I’m wondering what the rest of the league is going to make it is, as the schedule lightens up, quarterbacks are, you know, they’re going to have some quarterbacks that maybe they don’t have to rush so much. But I know one thing, they can’t rush the quarterback. They haven’t been able to stop the run. They’ve been injured. Down the list, all of it’s been a really bad look.
Brad Gagnon 22:17
Yeah, and you know, ordinarily, injuries alone don’t get you off the hook. A lot of teams are really injured right now. The Ravens defense has taken some hits, and that counts for something. Does it account for allowing 37 plus points in four of your six games? I don’t think so. And that also when you throw in that fact that the defensive play is like, How much better would they be with Lamar Jackson right now, they would be better than one in five, safe to say, but I don’t think they’d be running away with this division. There was a problem already, and I think the Jackson injury, combined with some of the injuries on defense in particular, have sort of masked that problem. Have sort of made us focus on Well, of course, they lost their quarterback. Look what happened to Cincinnati when they lost their quarterback. I understand that that’s that’s fair, and it’s part of the equation. But let’s not let it cloud things too much, because this was a team that was developing a reputation for falling short against key opponents in big moments. That happened, obviously, in last year’s playoffs against buffalo. Then it happened again when they choked in week one against buffalo. Then it happened in a prime time atmosphere against the Detroit Lions, they’re already starting a trend, or actually continuing a trend, where there were some concerns there, and injuries did not explain that, because the bills were as banged up as the Ravens in week one, the Lions have lost five of their top six cornerbacks. Those two teams took out Baltimore with Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson goes down, of course. Now it’s exacerbated everything. Now you’ve got a problem on your hands. Now you’ve lost four straight games. You’re one and five. You’ve turned the ball over eight times in the last four games, three games, and you’re not getting takeaways on defense, and you’re not the defense isn’t overcoming, isn’t making up for that. That’s something the ravens are used to happening in the past. Well, one one unit will lift the other unit up. That’s not happening right now. The bike couldn’t be coming out of bed. Had a better time. I think we can agree on that. Now you get Lamar back. You’ve got the bears at home on the other side of the buy. You get a victory there. Then you’ve got Miami, you’ve got Cleveland. A couple weeks after that, you mentioned the schedule to soften up. It’s not over. I don’t think it’s Oh, it
Nestor Aparicio 24:16
doesn’t soften up because it’s bears, dolphins in four days. Once this thing comes back, I don’t think a lot of fans really like looked at that and said, Wow. So whoever you don’t have on Sunday, you might not have on Thursday. Whoever you have on Sunday, you might lose some guys you won’t have. I mean, I have said this week, while I have annihilated the Ravens for their lack of accountability across the board, it’s just it’s such a bad look. I used to be on the inside of it on now on the outside, I watch it. Just all of it is gross to me, all the way around, including the record, including the stadium being empty down the line, just all the optics stink about it. But I think they’re going to be seven and seven. You know what I mean? Like, I think they’re going to win some games here. They’re going to pick up some ground. They’re going to beat some bad teams. Lamar is going to run around and go on the phone booth. Derek Henry’s going to grind. But I don’t have to do with this offensive line without Ronnie Stanley. I don’t know how they’re going to do it with the defensive front seven, if roquan Smith’s not going to be an elite player, and they’re not going to have any elite anything anywhere else in that front seven. And certainly, if Marlon Humphrey is old and no good, and the young guys, the Wiggins and the Starks, they can’t do it, this could really get off the rails and go four and 13. What really bad if Lamar can’t play, or if they can’t run the ball, or Henry looks old, for real, which I don’t I’ve never seen him look old, and he’s my favorite player, but, and he actually stands up at his locker like he has good parents, like, literally, like a nice Canadian boy, would you know, after losing a Stanley cupboard, I’ve been in those locker rooms. Nobody runs because, like, Canadians come from farms and have parents and have accountability, and they play on a team, and you just don’t do that. You just don’t so, so nonetheless, but, but around here, oh, it’s commonplace. I mean, it’s just accountability is optional for this franchise and that, you know, and that alone bothers me, and at one and five, it bothers me more, but I’ll tell you what, and this isn’t my purple heart or me being a homer for them. I do think there’ll be seven and seven, because I think the franchise has had this resiliency that I can’t deny being in it, but I don’t know where it’s going to come from this time. You know, I don’t know where the heroes and the saviors are coming from. On the lines, the offensive and defensive lines are no good.
Brad Gagnon 26:42
And that’s at times when they brought up butter, right? That has, that has complimented what Lamar Jackson does. And the other thing for me is you just mentioned, they absolutely can bounce back here. They can get back to, as you mentioned, kind of that seven and seven area that gets you into a wild card conversation. The biggest concerns there, and I pulled up the schedule, is that when you’re in that position, then you have New England in week 16. Okay, winnable, but they’re better than they have been in recent years. And you’re in Green Bay and in green and in Pittsburgh to finish the season,
Nestor Aparicio 27:09
in Green Bay and in Pittsburgh in cold weather, they’ve never, they’ve never done well in cold weather. And that’s a Lamar thing. That’s a Florida thing. I don’t know. It’s the way they’re built.
Brad Gagnon 27:20
And that’s where we circle back to that original point. Is, how do they perform in big games? How do they perform when it really matters now all of a sudden, oh, wait, they’re healthy again. Oh, wait, they rebounded. They’ve done all this work to get back on track. Well, now we’re back to the original prop that they have to tackle. Oh, maybe this is the year to do. Maybe all these distractions overcoming this, maybe this is fun of the year where they okay, they take out green band pitch, they go to the plants. They have to play a lot of their game. They don’t get any home games because they’ve already lost all night because of what they’ve gone through in September, October. But now, all of a sudden, they overcome whereas it looked like they had it all lined from them in 2023 in 2024 you never know. You never know. The Toronto Blue Jays are ALCS team. So you just that’s the beauty of sports, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Nestor Aparicio 28:03
Brad Gagnon wants to write Purple Rain three for me with the Ravens going out to Santa. Clara, you know what I have I did joke about this because I was in LA a couple weeks ago doing, I’ve been doing bucket list stuff the last six weeks. I mean, it’s been a gift to me. The Chad steel threw me out during this period of time. It’s been a gift to them too, that they don’t have me holding them accountable, but I’m holding them accountable. They’re just running for me and everybody else, apparently. And I was driving through the near the airport, and I had an old girlfriend in El Segundo, and I love Manhattan Beach, and I’m driving through there, and there’s the Chargers facility. And I’m realizing, oh, I can text Jim Harbaugh, I can text Joe Ortiz and and Chad Alexander’s my guy, all the Chargers guys out there. And I’m thinking to myself, I looked at Jen, I’m like, you know, if the ravens are gonna piss the season away when they were already with a one and two when I got there, whatever. And I’m like, if they’re gonna piss the season away, at least if they played playoff games, this would be a great place to come and play, because they could win here. They could win in LA. And we’ve gone from could the championship game be in LA for har ball. That would help him. And how do we keep him out of Buffalo? How to keep him out of Kansas City? Well, Buffalo is losing Kansas City. I mean, all of these things line up for them to have the kind of season that they want to have, and it’s sort of Pittsburgh running away, right? And that’s the weirdest part, is that Tomlin Steelers tradition all of that you look up in a year where you’re one and five and looking at how they’ve played with their 40 something year old peyote taking, mushroom sniffing quarterback, things have really worked out in that Pittsburgh thing in a way that I wouldn’t have bet on that, and I wouldn’t bet against the Ravens beating them twice later in the year, but it is a really, really strange time for the division. I think, for the conference, and wondering where Buffalo and Kansas City really are as far as being complete teams and who’s coming and getting any of these. You know, Patrick mahomes Isn’t Josh Allen’s anyway. Maybe it’s the Chargers. Maybe it’s the Steelers, I don’t know.
Brad Gagnon 30:16
Yeah, that’s the thing. It’s a weird year. So on one hand, the pessimist was saying, it’s a shame the Ravens aren’t great this year so far, because it’s wide open, more open than ever. The Chiefs are off to an awful start. The Chargers started hot and have really cooled off. Offensive line injuries being a huge factor there as well. The Colts. Does anyone really fully believe in the Colts? Yet? I don’t know if we see Daniel Jones leading a deep playoff drive. And the Steelers, as much as they’re built well. And, you know, they’re strong in the trenches, which is the old Steeler way. They’ve got a great defensive line, and obviously they’ve got to they’ve actually come together really nicely in the offensive line. Now, I don’t know if anyone believes that Aaron Rodgers, at 41 is going to sustain this. The bills have lost back to back games, so it is wide open. But that also means that there was a little bit of leeway for you to have this. Oh, we lost the MAR for a few games. Oh, you know, our defense is banged up, and we’ve lost Ronnie Stanley, and we didn’t have Isaiah, likely, off the bat, and all these things. This is the one year where you can afford that. So that’s the that’s the glass half full, Canadian, Brazilian, maybe perspective for you. But it’s still going to be a battle. I think, I think you’re going to be in a position where Kansas City probably does. Kansas City probably does rebound they have already, to an extent, they’re going to be there like they always are. Cincinnati, at least, is out of the way in the division realistically, and Cleveland. So it is down to Pittsburgh. I think this. Ravens are still a much better team than Pittsburgh when it comes to it. Big gap to make up a lot of time. You got the extra game with 17 now you still play them twice, like you mentioned, so I’ll give you more glass possible. You still think that those are the team to beat. I still fear Baltimore having to play buffalo, especially on Orchard Park, and what would possibly be the final game at that stadium in Buffalo, in a scenario like that? It’s it scares me even no matter how healthy you are, even if Lamar is back, even if everyone’s going healthy, besides obviously Stanley. So I just don’t, I don’t know, I don’t believe in them because of the way they perform in big games. But I’ve not believed in a lot of sports teams over the years because of their big game inabilities. And eventually they have gotten, they’ve pierced through, and sometimes pierced through from gap, you know, from holes as large as one in five.
Nestor Aparicio 32:22
Well, I did the math on this the other day, and my math really wasn’t very good. They go six and two the next eight. I mean, I you know, I think they can do that, but they need to be better in the trenches. Brad Gagnon is here. He covers a National Football League internationally from Toronto via Santos, Brazil. He’s had a bleach report. He’s my Toronto drinking buddy and a travel companion, noodle eating travel companion as well. You know, anything else that you want to add in regard to the Baltimore situation here? Because I know you’re a baseball guy as well. I always say from the Toronto perspective, for me, of all of the sports. And you guys have had a Raptors parade, you’ve had blue jays parades. I mean, the Blue Jays could come back this week and get have another parade in a couple of weeks as well. There would be nothing on this continent. Maybe Mexico winning a World Cup would be like, you know, Mexico winning a World Cup, the Maple Leafs winning a Stanley Cup. I’m just trying to think of things that would be, I mean, we’ve seen the Cubs win, we’ve seen Cleveland win, you know, we’ve won here, Kansas City, these other small Bergs, and doing things like that, from a fan base perspective, for a parade or for a civic celebration. I know you’re not a leash fan because I’ve spent time with you, but like, I, you know, I often think about like the Baltimore oriole parade feels so far away from me, the Raven parades I’ve seen and experienced, or whatever, um, you know, I feel for the Toronto people that the leafs aren’t good. I know you beat on them, though, right? I beat
Brad Gagnon 33:59
on them, but I have a lot of friends and family who are done. Family or die hands, and you know, if the Habs, my team, are out of the picture, I’m not. I’m not one of those haters, like I’m okay with them winning. I want to see them win. If that the Habs don’t. They lost Mitch Mater, their their best winger in the offseason went to Vegas. They’re still they’re in the picture of one of those top five or six teams that are a contender for the Stanley Cup this year. It absolutely could happen. You see, get you see teams again all the time, lose one of their stars and then all of a sudden come out better on the other end. So entirely possible. We get that. It’s been, oh gosh, almost 6059, years now, 4949 for the mariners, by the way. So since they’re an expansion franchise, 105 combined for the Mariners and brewers, if they meet in the in the World Series. But leafs are almost 60 years without a cup. Jay’s now 30 or so years without a World Series. They got the Raptors here that that’s salvaged things a little bit in 2019 believe it. You know, I was chatting with my dad the other day, and Toronto sports, if you, if you lump buffalo in, which a bit. Are absolutely a Toronto team, the way that Torontonians view it, they fill up with like a corner of that stadium, you know, between the bills going all for four and four straight Super Bowls, leafs going a little 60 years without a cup, and the Blue Jays now in a 30 year or so drought where they’ve only actually won a, you know, a handful of playoff games, practically in that span, Toronto’s up there for first sport cities, and everyone thinks their sports city is cursed. I think Atlanta and Minneapolis has claims. Baltimore, you know, I think when you if you include that corridor between DC and Baltimore has had some, had some nice wins too, over the years. But why do they ever want a championship? Their ops were special, but I think that to get something from the leafs or Jays and then coming years, that would be, you’re right in terms of parades, in terms of, I think they parade across the country in different, you know, different size parades across the country for any of those teams, winning, especially the Jays, because they become the national team. And in lieu of the, unfortunately, the expo is being long gone at this point. So we’ll see. We’ll see. But nowadays, there’s the thing about sports, man, when we were, you know, when you were a kid, that age difference, when you were a young man, there were 3032, teams in all these leagues. Now you’re only supposed to win a couple in your entire lifetime, and many folks are going to go 7080, 90 years without getting one. That’s, that’s the frustration and the beauty of sports in this era.
Nestor Aparicio 36:17
Lamar promised us a Super Bowl here, and I believe that, and I’m waiting for that to happen, and one in five, it’s tough. Brad, Daniel can be found out at Bleacher Report. He is my Canadian dude. I’m glad I found you. I’m glad you had a Santos internet hookup. Tell everybody about Santos of Brazil and why I should take your advice and come down there and take advantage I just did the exchange rate. It looks like it would be a really affordable little endeavor to meet, for me to come down to Brazil right now.
Brad Gagnon 36:48
There you go. You know, the beauty of it is so my partner is Brazilian and and so she’s sheriff. Her family’s from Sao Paulo. I’ve always been a big fan. I’m a big traveler, as you mentioned, as well. And I don’t love winter. I don’t love Canadian winter. And I do work a remote job, as you know, so I was looking for a spot, and I thought, Okay, what’s what’s in in the eastern time zone? Ish, what is warm and beautiful and has beaches and bikinis, and what is a direct flight to Toronto and and the answer to that question is Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo itself is, you know, a little bit inland. It’s not in the beach. So Okay, now let’s, let’s take the next step. And what’s the nearest city that’s that’s on a beach that’s relatively safe, which it would Santos is. And so I’m probably the only gringo in this that lives in this entire city. There’s very few of us. I’m learning Portuguese is a damn tough language, but,
Nestor Aparicio 37:41
oh, man, it’s nothing like Spanish either. They told me it was like Spanish. And Layton, we got off the plane in Rio and got in the cab, and I realized Spanish is not Portuguese. It’s a little
Brad Gagnon 37:57
different ball game with those groups, man. So I’ll get there, and hopefully I’ll get you down here, and I’ll give you a little Portuguese lesson. We can have some some vino and some surveys down here with my, my partner and my bring Jen down as well.
Nestor Aparicio 38:08
Hopefully, well, I, I spent 10 days in Brazil and in Argentine in 2006 we, we flew to Rio to see the Rolling Stones, and we did Corcovado, and did all of that, and the favelas and just all the stuff there. And then we went to Sao Paulo, and we saw you two at marumby, at the National Stadium up in the hillside, built into a neighborhood, there’s no parking, there’s 150,000 seats. And when the aircraft goes up in Sao Paulo and you’re taking off or landing, and this would be advice to anyone who’s ever traveled anywhere in the world. And I’ve been to Tokyo. I’ve been to these New York’s this way. LA’s a sprawl. It’s not up in the same way. But when you take off in Sao, Paulo, Brazil, and you look down and you see the vastness of the humanity of it, it looks like a fake video of there’s just no way that many people could be living in one area. And it’s just it’s an amazing thing. And I love my time in Sao Paulo. I like the beer, I like the girls. I like the beach. I like to I had people trying to talk me into going to Florianopolis and all doing all of the beach coaches coast down there, because I’m a beach guy, so Dude, don’t tempt me to come down to Brazil. Now I’m not going to learn any I don’t need I learned this when I was in Korea. I have Google Translate. I can speak and talk because I did not speak any Korean when I was in Seoul, I promise you, I had a lot of soul and also have a lot of barbecue, but I did not, and a lot of soju, but I did not have any Korean. But with with Google Translate, now I feel like I could come back and I could be a better Brazilian. You know what I mean? Yeah,
Brad Gagnon 39:53
between the phone and the human translator that I often have with me for free of charge, by the way, it’s i. Get by down here. And yeah, you mentioned it is. It is breathtaking. It is, this is the largest city in the world outside of Asia. And so it really does blow your mind when you’re flying in and you see just how vast it is. It never ends. So that alone,
Nestor Aparicio 40:13
I’d like to say that I saw Beijing when I flew in, but it was too smoggy.
Brad Gagnon 40:18
It’s true. It’s the largest city in the world that you can actually see while approaching in an airplane,
Nestor Aparicio 40:23
there you go. There you go. And that, let’s hear it for not pumping diesel gas and and being fossil fuel free. My man, Brad Gagnon, is here. He is my leftist Canadian friend, part of the Antifa movement here. Because, like, Who wants fascism in their world, right? I mean, I don’t need any of that. My people are Venezuela. That’s where my people left that place. He’s down in Brazil. I would say this oberigato. Is that good? Can I get that? All right? See, I got that right. And thanks a you. Hoser. Brad Gagnon, my Canadian friend, still pulling for the Blue Jays to turn it around, never the leafs, always the Habs, because he’s a Gagnon and and you know what, if the Nordics come back, I’m adopting them because they have good looking jerseys. We’re doing bye week around here, I am giving out a crab cake tour scratch offs from the mayor in the lottery. I’ll have Raven scratch offs hopefully these the season turns around because one in as much as John Harbaugh thinks I hate him and his football team, one in five is no fun. I’ve been trying to tell these hosers that run these teams like you think I get on the radio. You think I hate the local teams. It’s wrong with you freaking people like fix yourselves. Win some games. Get Healthy. Take some accountability. Pick better humans. Get some Canadians on your team, like Brent urban. I am Nestor. We are W, N, S, T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, always feeding the spirit of radio. We’re Baltimore positive. Stay with us. Test for Echo. You.
