Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Barb DiGiulio: Toronto Mike'd #79

Episode Date: June 12, 2014

Mike chats with Toronto radio personality Barb DiGiulio.

Welcome to the 79th episode of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything, often with a distinctly Toronto flavor. I'm Mike from torontomic.com, and joining me this week is Toronto Radio personality Barb DiGiulio. Hello, Mike. Barb, this is the very first episode, episode 79. This is the first time we did a cold open, no Toronto Mike to theme song. I broke the computer. Literally. And Andrew, if you're listening, this is for you. But literally, I could not plug the cable,

the inline cable into the MacBook here. So I cannot play music from the MacBook. And I only have you for a precious amount of time. So I didn't want to go digging through the garbage rummage piles looking for an old dusty Windows laptop I could use. Oh, no, that's good. I'm good. Whatever you want to do. I'm used to technical glitches. It happens in the business.

What can you do? You know, if I were any good at this, I could edit in like post-production. I would put in the theme song and no one would know the difference, but that would require like some effort. Yeah, I'm not sure I could even do that. I'm pretty good technically, but I don't know. That's always eluded me, the way you kind of layer music into it. So I've got a lot of questions for you. I've been listening to you for a long time. Thank you. And first question, because I want to briefly talk about something that happened last weekend. What do you think of this Greg Brady guy who's on the

Fan 590? Is he a decent guy? He's a great guy. Yeah, I really like Greg. Why are you winking? I am not. Greg's a great guy. Okay, so I just want to say thank you to Greg because, okay, so on this past weekend I did the ride to conquer cancer congratulations thank you thank you and that was so that was Saturday Sunday and on Friday I realized I had no idea what to expect I didn't know what I should bring like I knew I needed a sleeping bag because we're intense Saturday night but I had no clue like do I need I just didn't know I I knew I needed a toothbrush and a sleeping bag, and that was it. But Greg had a lengthy conversation with me where he answered my many, many questions. He's done it three times.

Oh, that's great. I didn't know that. He was actually pretty awesome. So he was patient, and he gave me some great advice. I ignored a little bit of his advice. His first piece of advice was to stop at all the pit stops. Even if you're feeling good, stop. And I blew by the first pit stop on both days. So and then I actually was I as I approached 60 kilometers, which is when the second pit stop was, I was hearing his voice in my head and realizing he was right, but I knew he was right on the Saturday. And then on my way back, I did the exact same thing. Like I didn't learn from my own mistake, let alone from Greg Brady's advice. So anything Greg Brady has to say,

you must listen to. Oh, that's good. He's a pro. So thank you, Greg, for the help there. And thank you to everybody listening who pledged. We raised over $5,000 and it was a wonderful experience and I'm glad I got to do it. That's fantastic. Would you do it again next year? I don't know about next year. I feel like donation fatigue. Like I actually like begged a lot of people for cash and I feel like giving, like, I just don't know if I want to go back to that well. You know what I mean? You know, I do know what you mean because I do work with a lot of charities and oftentimes you'll get, so you'll get the big charity doing an event. But a lot of times I've also done stuff, so you'll get the big charity doing an event,

but a lot of times I've also done stuff with people who want to hold something in their backyard and a small party and raise money for the charity and then pass the money along. And, and they'll say the same thing. I hate to ask people for money. And what I say to them is, um, you know, I get that, but just remember, you're not asking for yourself. It's true. You're asking for the charity. So if people don't want to give, they won't give. But people tend to really take that on personally. You know, you're right. And the only the big difference with this one versus something like the Terry Fox run, which I usually do, is that there's an actual minimum. So like if you don't raise 2,500 bucks, you don't get to ride. And to me, like I had never raised $2,500 for a Terry Fox run. Like I usually

end up at like 600 to 800 bucks, which is good. But Terry Fox, they'll let you run if you raise 20 bucks. Like there's no minimum. Right. But here I needed 2,500. So I actually ended up doubling it. But I had to, I had a couple of, I would call heartstring points I could hammer at that helped people open their wallets. And I don't know if I could go back to that well every year. But I had a couple of, I would call, heartstring points I could hammer at that helped people open their wallets. And I don't know if I could go back to that well every year. But I would like to do it again. I was thinking maybe like with one of my kids, if they wanted to do it with me, like we would do it together, that kind of deal in a few years. You know, I think it's one of those things where everybody knows someone who's been affected by cancer. And I think what it is, is people choose to give,

most people I know, choose to give something every year. They just decide, okay, I'm going to do it here, here and here. And I only have a certain amount to give, you know, so I have no problem. You know, I do donate to certain things. And then also at a certain point telling people I've given to this, so I can't do that this this year but don't be afraid to ask because it's for such a great cause well maybe I'm going to do it next year and I'll just knock on your door and see absolutely if you do it next year you've got my donation you know though I have another I won't name this individual but another radio personality in Toronto actually said that on an episode I'm good for a hundred bucks he said and then I went on his show and he actually said it again put me down for a hundred bucks, he said. And then I went on his show and he actually said

it again. Put me down for a hundred bucks right now. I never saw that a hundred bucks come through. I hate stuff like that. I know. And I think anyone who's listened even a little bit knows exactly who I'm talking about. And I think he just forgets. But twice, I have it on tape twice, I'm good for a hundred bucks. And he ended up being good for zero bucks. Well, people know I do a ton of work with charities, and so I would not ever say anything like that. No, I'm not saying I'll give you $100.

I might give you $25. I don't know if that's okay. Hey, I'd take $5. Hey, today is World Cup Day, and can I just guess, are you going to root for Team Italy? Is that a good guess? Yeah, that's probably a good guess. Both my parents are Italian. Both my parents came from Italy right after the war. And World Cup is a

wonderful way to bring communities together. I think that if Canada were to have a team in, we would probably fly both flags, Italy and Canada. Good. It's kind of a way to be close to my parents and my husband's family, big Italy supporters too. Yeah, I don't have a rooting interest because I used to default to Ireland because Canada's never in this thing since 1986. And then I default to Ireland, but Ireland hasn't been in it the last couple of World Cups.

So I don't really have a team. I'll watch, I don't know, for some exciting event stuff. Do you enjoy watching? I do enjoy the World Cup. I'll watch the World Cup and the Euro Cup and I'll go to a TFC match. Otherwise, I never see soccer. Like that's it for my soccer viewing.

But you know, that's okay because the World Cup is obviously on the world stage and I think it's just great for different cities, especially in this city. People in Toronto get so passionate about their footy. Yeah, and it clogs up traffic uh so if you have to drive around the city you have to know like what day is greece playing and what day is portugal playing and what day is italy playing and plan your routes appropriately i have a great

story for you so about um a week and a half ago i was very very honored to mc the toronto police officer of the year awards it was an night. And I happened to be seated beside Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair. That was very cool in itself. Very, very cool. And we talked about a number of things. And one of the things that he and a couple of the other police people at the table were saying

is that they get a World Cup schedule just so they know where traffic will be an issue on a certain day you know they've got to see who's playing whom and they know which pockets of the city all the supporters will be out in and i thought that was kind of cool no and that makes sense actually because that's that's the nature of this beast for those of us who don't have the rooting interest we just want to know what day is brazil playing uh because i noticed the portuguese in this city like the double dip. I don't know how ethical it is, but they did.

And before, when Portugal wasn't in it, fine, it's Brazil. And I can kind of get that the same way I would be like rooting for Ireland or something. But I mean, when Portugal's in it, they'd be, if Portugal wins, they're on the streets. If Brazil wins, they're on the streets. I don't know if that's fair. You know what? The people just want to celebrate. The people just want to party. Give the people what they want. When you were with Bill Blair, did he mention anything about this mayor of ours? Interesting that you say that because I went into the event kind of having the understanding

that, you know, it's not, it's a sensitive topic in the city, especially among the police officers. So I wasn't going to say anything, but we were just chatting about a number of things. And somebody mentioned how quiet it's been in the city lately. And it has been. And it has been. And I would know, I'm surveying the landscape every morning. Absolutely. Very quiet.

It's quiet. It's been quiet, but it's been a nice sort of quiet. Absolutely. Very quiet. It's quiet. It's been quiet, but it's been a nice sort of quiet. And he mentioned, well, you know, one of the reasons it's been quiet is because Mr. Ford is in Bracebridge right now. And he's right. And but the other thing I really what I pointed out is, for me, it's been a relief, not just that there haven't been stories about the mayor, but that the media hasn't gone crazy. Sometimes you look at these media outlets, very respectable media outlets, and it just became such a circus and a zoo and reporters chasing him and people getting hit in the head with cameras. And, you know, it's just nice to kind of get some civility back in the city. You're absolutely right. I think that crazy uh promotes crazy and i think that that when all that with the crux of all that and it was long it was a long time of of the mayor

doing these ridiculous saying these crazy things and doing these insane things you would never expect out of a elected politician and then the media responding sort of he would play the media kind of he would play that card and kind of i saw him as sort of like creating scenarios where the media looks stupid like you know he would manipulate situations all the time so we could say stupid media running down the hallway as i'm trying to get to an elevator when he could have easily gone through the back like sensible things like that right like he did manipulate the media and that's their big card is that the evil media has an agenda against you you know,

Rob Ford and his billion dollar savings. We won't go too long in the Rob Ford thing only because I've, my, my blood pressure has gone down nicely and I feel so good since he's been embraced bridge. And I know it's going to hike up here when he gets back next month. So I'm just trying to enjoy the month. Cause I know we have another,

this, I know July one, the crazy begins again. So, but yeah, I'm, I'm Bill Blair's right. It's been a nice quiet because the mayor has been out of town, which is sad. I will say, and I really do need to say that, first of all, that was the only comment that was made.

And it was in a very respectful way. You know, he's just such a pro, Bill Blair. So he didn't call the mayor a cocksucker. He didn't. Isn't that the quote, isn't that the quote Ford called Blair a cocksucker? Did he? Yeah call the mayor a cocksucker. He didn't. Isn't that the quote that, isn't that the quote Ford called Blair a cocksucker? Did he? Yep. On tape, yeah. Wow. That's a pretty distasteful

term. But you know what's not distasteful is the fact you're a day-wonner at the Fan 590. Oh, sorry. The Fan. We'll call it the Fan. Aren't you a day-wonner? Yes. I was the, by the time I got uh restructured out i was the only remaining day one-er left okay so before we get to the restructured out part i want

to talk about how you got this gig how did you get the gig at the fan way back when wow that's an interesting question and this is before we go this is uh this is 1430 right yeah cjcl it wasn't the fan then it was cjcl it's still cjcl it is still cj but it's uh it was 1430 and of course just so you know you're uh you're talking to a fairly old guy so i remember i'd listen to jay's games and then they would go the music of your life and it was like uh i don't know paul anka and some i started working there when it was the music of your life okay so you you take over No one wants to hear from me about the early days of the fan. I want to hear from day one. Okay, I'll try to make this long story kind of short

because it is a bit of a long and winding story. But I went to Seneca College for broadcasting and advertising. That was a combined program at the time. And I remember one of the professors telling us that if you want to get into broadcasting you should go to a small town so after school ended I ended up moving up to North Bay and I spent about nine months in North Bay and I was a DJ but I really wanted to get into news and I eventually got into news and what I did while I was up in North Bay is I used to drive down to Toronto every week and try to have interviews and try to get a job and do all this kind of stuff. Anyway,

long story short, I ended up getting hired at CJCL to do news and traffic. And I was there when they were going to make the switch to all sports. And I just kind of realized, you know, it was a survival of the fittest thing that we figured all the news people are going to eventually be let go if this is becoming an all sports station. Right. So I went to the program director at the time, whose name was Alan Davis, and I asked if he would give me an opportunity to try becoming a sportscaster. And I would have been the first woman sportscaster there. And he did. He gave me that opportunity. So I was there and we were doing, before we launched as the fan, we were doing sports from 8 to midnight, a sports talk show.

And I think Bob McCallum, I'm trying to remember, I think Bob was there doing his thing. And the evening host was, do you know? I'm going to do a crazy, I don't know. It wasn't like a Jim Hunt or something like that. I have no idea. Dan Shulman. Dan Shulman.

Okay, you know what? I knew he was there in the early days. Yes, Dan Shulman. Yeah, good. So we did that show, and then six months later, they launched 24-Hour Sports, and that was in September of, was that 92? Okay, wait, so you're there. When you start 91 uh well no okay so it's I I went let me see when I these details are very important is it

like is it really important no it's such a bad it's not that important but it was like the late 80s but you were uh 89 maybe the joke I'm hearing which is a fair joke now that you're in the room here is that you were like eight years old when you started at the fan. Is that fair? You know what? I wasn't eight years old, but I was pretty young. I was like right around 20 or 21 or like I was pretty young. Because I mean, like 91, I can't barely remember 91.

That's how long ago that was. And you know what? Looking back, when you think about the fact that I spent 22 years there, I can't even believe it. How did those many years go by? And, you know, to try to remember things all throughout those years, it's kind of difficult. But the way that I gauge it is, I was at the fan before I met my husband, before I had my kids. Like all of that happened while I was there. And in 92, so 92, it goes 24-hour sports on 1430.

And okay, so do you have any, do you remember the lineup on opening day or anything like that? Let me think if I can remember. Oh, I wish I had gone back and looked at stuff. So who is it? You're going to have to help me. Was the morning show Bob McCowan? No, it wasn't.

Because I went to the morning show with Bob McCowan. I believe it was 94. It was... There's a bunch of radio nerds yelling at Bob McCallum. I believe it was 1994. There's a bunch of radio nerds yelling at the podcast right now. I know. I worked there and I can't even remember. No, it was Mike and now he's gone on to do... Mike Hogan?

No, it wasn't Mike Hogan. It was the guy who does play-by-play for... Is it the Miami Heat? Okay, I can't remember. You suck, Barb. If you want to go on the phone, it's fine. I totally suck. It's fine. I can't even remember. Joe Bow Barb. If you want to go on the phone, it's fine. I totally suck. It's fine.

I can't even remember. Joe Bowen was doing the sports on the show. Okay. Stephanie Smythe, I think, was the newscaster. No, Stephanie Smythe did traffic. Bob Durant did news. How can I not remember? The guy who was doing the, oh, God.

Okay, so let me move on. Doesn't Jerry Agar ask you these kind of questions? He doesn't. He doesn't ask me anything like that. And I feel horrible that he can never hear this show that I've heard. Have you never listened to this podcast? We are like, we like to dive into Toronto radio history and ask these questions. Original host at CJCL.

I don't know. Anyone can Google it, Barb. We're asking you as a person who is there. I don't know. Anyone can Google it, Barb. We're asking you as a person who is there. I'm so disappointed. I'm sorry. You know, Barb, since I'm being disappointed with you, how many times did you reschedule this podcast appearance? I'm a horrible person.

No, I just... Come on. Are you rescheduling with Jerry Agar? Just trying to like... I am because I was supposed to do Jerry Agar today and I'm doing Jerry Agar tomorrow. Is that because of me? No, it's because of Humble and Fred.

I'm not even going to look at this. Humble and Fred pay you exactly what I pay you. It will come to me. Anyway, so then I think after that, if I'm not mistaken, I should have looked this all up. That's okay. I think it was Steve Simmons and Mary Ormsby.

All right. Yes, yes, yes. And then I think, who was doing the noon to four? I think at that time it might have been Dan Schulman, and then it was Bob McCowan. That might have been the original opening day lineup. Do you know, like, okay, so when does Gord Stelig show up?

Do you know that answer? He showed up, he was around doing part-time stuff, but he wasn't hired on full-time right at the beginning. Okay. Yeah. And then what are these other names? I'm trying to think of my old days. Like, okay, so when does Storm and Norman show up?

I think Storm and Norman may have been right around the beginning. And Storm and Norman and Jim Richards used to do a late night show together. It was like, wasn't Stromballopolis like a board op or something like that? He was a board op. And I think he did some producing. Yeah. And Merrick? Was he down there? Jeff Merrick was there, yeah. Young Merrick? He was on recently., and I think he did some producing. And Merrick? Was he down there as a young Merrick?

He was on recently. He told the story. He actually would remember the opening day lineup, just so you know. He would just pull it out of his head, and he would tell you that opening day lineup. I can't believe I can't remember. It'll come to me anyway. Do we take a break at some point? Are you sure you were a day one-er?

I've got to go check that out now. I was the only uninterrupted day one-er, and I'll tell you what that means. Bob McCowan is still there, but he left and came back. There was about, I think, a month. Yeah, that doesn't count. And so it doesn't count anymore as a day one-er. So I was the only day one-er left. That's very cool. Now, do you, when did, I was in university when it went to 590. Like I remember that day because I just remember the day it went 1430 to 590. So that must have been, I'm going to say that was like, was it like 94 or something or do you know? Yeah, I think it would have been around that time.

95 maybe? I don't know. I'm trying to remember because I was on the morning show with Bob for a bit when he went in 94 and then I left the morning show and went back to afternoons and it might have been at that point. So that would have probably been 95. I don't have the like crazy memory that some of these people do. I noticed that, but that's fine. Some people do have that recall memory. I can name all my teachers from junior kindergarten.

I can't do any of that. Who was your junior kindergarten teacher? I don't remember. See? I don't know why. But you must be a huge sports fan and be able to keep all those stats in your head. Yeah, I do remember Willie Upshaw being the first Blue Jay to get 100 RBIs in a season back in 1984. I'm sorry to disappoint you, Toronto Mic'd. No, this is okay.

No, I know. The name is Toronto Mic'd. The show is Toronto Mic'd with a D. Sorry to disappoint you, Toronto Mic'd. I'm so overwhelmed by this mic that I can't think of the other mics. Are these good mics? Do they have this good of mics? I mean, I'm overwhelmed by by this mic that I can't think of the other mics. Are these good mics? Do they have this good of mics? I mean, I'm overwhelmed by you, the mic.

Because, okay, there's four mics in this room. That's true. So, but these microphones, just curious, like, so when you're in like the fan studio, are they as good as this? Oh, I think so. What about Humble and Fred? Are they the same? Yeah, they sound great.

You could crank my headset volume a little though, and then I could tell you even better. I can't really hear myself that well. Oh, yeah. Okay, now I've got it. Oh, yeah. These are really good quality. See, most people who sit there are going deaf from headphones. Oh, no.

See, yeah, you're going deaf. Everyone who wears headphones for a living seems to need it louder. We need it louder. But I also keep one ear off. Oh, yeah. Fred does that. Does he? Yeah.

And that makes a difference, too, because you're only hearing it on one side. So I'm only going deaf in one ear. That's better than both. I have a distinct memory of, like, I was a big fan of Sportsline with Hebsey and Jim Taddy. So Mark Hebsey, Jim Taddy. And I think a lot of guys my age grew up with. That was our show because there was no... That was the only thing, right?

Yeah, exactly. And it was amazing. And we loved it. And no that was the only thing right exactly and it was amazing and we loved it and you know the hebsey awards and it was a big deal like we watched it every night and i distinctly remember i think jim tatty left or something i don't know i think hebbshire left was it okay somebody left somebody left and i remember reading this is like in the paper you know we didn't have any internet this is the paper and they were looking for a replacement and they were talking about you as a possible replace like i remember this that's so cool so tell me what is this uh did this happen were you like considered and you auditioned this totally happened and you know what it's funny because i almost uh lost my job at the fan over that tell me me. Because I got a call one day because it was Jim Taddy who was still there, right?

Okay, I can remember who left. So Mark left and see some things I do remember. Oh my goodness. So I got a call from Jim Taddy one day and it was just one of those, have you ever thought about doing this? And I said to him, you know what? Honestly, I haven't. I was so thrilled to be called about it.

So I went in and auditioned and the audition went well and haven't. I was so thrilled to be called about it. So I went in and auditioned and the audition went well. And I did a couple of auditions and it went very well. And it was a lot of fun and really overwhelming, but great fun. And I remember one night auditioning and they threw this last minute change in the highlight package at me. And I just sort of went with it and they said, oh my God, you handled that like a pro and it was a lot of fun. And then I was told, um, okay, it's basically a done deal, but we just want to try you out, um, on the air live one night, we're going to do a show. So I went to the program director at the time and said, you know, this is kind of the deal here. And he said, well, you know, he wasn't too thrilled about it, but he said, you know,

okay, go ahead and do it. I went ahead and did it. And they ended up hiring somebody else. Okay. Oh, they hired Jean Principe. Ended up getting the job. So that was kind of a tough one. So, okay.

So you went out, you had to go to your, I guess your boss, I guess. Kind of go back with my tail between my legs and say. And you said, I'd like to try this. And he didn't like, he let you do it, do it, but I guess obviously they frowned upon this because they see it as they own you. I'm going to use some terms that are probably not the right terms, but they own your likeness and image. They own the Barb DiGiulio sports personality,

and now another company was going to have access to that, and they felt they should have some kind of non-compete thing. I don't know how it worked. Well, there wasn't a lot of convergence happening back then right so it wasn't synergies it wasn't like now where rogers owns this that and the other and if you want to go on that tv station we own it so it's okay uh global was very different from the fan and but they allowed me to do it and then they kind of and they didn't pick you so you didn't get the gig i didn't get the gig but you only did the one So you did the one night?

Actually on the show, live for the viewers to see, yeah. Well, that's too bad. I actually, I would think because, you know, you did that like a pro is a silly comment because you are a pro. You were a pro. This was just television versus radio. But clearly, I would think the camera would love you and that it would be natural for you to have gone to TV at some point. So I guess my question

is, uh, isn't radio, no offense to these people, but isn't radio for, you know, chicks, uglier chicks? Oh, that's funny. Am I right? Like, shouldn't you have tried done TV at some point? Am I crazy? I tried. I tried many times over the years, just never caught on. Although right before I left Rogers or I was asked to leave Rogers, however you want to see it, for I'd say three or four years before that, I did a lot of fill in work on City TV. And that was a real blast. I had a lot of fun doing that. And that was more of a convergence thing where it worked fine for both companies. They needed someone to whenever Catherine or Hugh couldn't do it. I was filling in a lot there. So do you know who's filling in for Catherine right now?

Do you know the small world we live in? Who is right now filling in for Catherine Humphries? Because she's on like a mat leave or something. She has twins. Yes, I heard that. And it is, are you ready for this? A woman who is dating Freddie P's son. Oh, I didn't know that.

That's the small world we live in. So the new Catherine Humphreys, while she's gone, and I don't know if she's coming back. I don't have privy to that. But while she's gone doing family things, another woman took the spot, and that woman is dating Freddie P's son. What a small world.

Isn't that crazy? That is crazy. And you used to kind of fill in that role, I guess, when you were in the Rogers empire. Yeah, I did that for a while and it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. But you know what?

TV and radio are so very different. They really are. And I have to say, I do prefer radio. TV, I mean, I think some people spend their careers wanting to be on television and whenever I got opportunities to do it I enjoyed it but it's it's not like doing radio on TV they're two totally different animals and it's only different why is it different because

a presentation has to be you know is it because of makeup and presentation? That's some of it. I mean, in TV, you really do sit around for three or four hours to be on for three or four minutes. Where my experience in radio is you go there for total three or four hours and you're working the whole time. And you can wear sweatpants. Nobody ever does, but I guess you could. That's the biggest misconception about radio, that people come in their pajamas. You know, it's still an office. No, I didn't know.

It's still an office setting. Now, podcasting is different. We could actually do this in our pajamas. There's no office setting here. No, I mean, this is casual. Sometimes Elvis, who normally co-hosts, he comes in his pajamas and it's fine. Cool. I don't mind. He's got comes in his pajamas and it's fine. Cool.

I don't mind. He's got polka dot pajamas. It's very cute. I'm going crazy, by the way, about the first host. So I'm going to keep looking that up while we talk. I hope you don't mind. No, I don't mind at all. So you being a woman on an all sports station, that's kind of the, to me, that's the big differentiator.

Like there's a whole bunch of guys on the sports station. And then there's Barb. You mentioned Mary Ormsby. I forgot about her. So she was there. So I guess at some point when Mary leaves, are you the only woman left? I'm not talking about, you know, traffic updates or maybe 2020 updates. I'm talking about actually having a voice during programming. Like, were you the only woman or was? I think I was. it's Mike Inglis, by the way, Mike Inglis is the name. Yeah, you know, I can't believe I forgot that Mike. Yeah, he so he does. He went down to Miami to do NBA games. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah. And it's funny, because a lot of those names. Well, yeah, well, Dan Schulman, right? He's my, you know, next to Vin Scully, you know, he might be the the guy like, I mean, he's an amazing he calls an amazing baseball game.

He's you know what, Dan Schulman is one of those people that just has a gift that you he can do he can do baseball he can do basketball he can seamless seamlessly uh transition between did you see that coming did you meet this young man i think he came from barry or something he came from barry he was doing weekends when i started there and i think Dan has told the story before. So I don't think I'm speaking out of turn, but the program director, now it wasn't, it wasn't Alan Davis. It was somebody else did not want to hire him. Didn't think he was talented enough. And then there was some kind of station function and Dan's wife, you know, kind of was schmoozing around with the program director and, and, and it was like, it's almost like Dan always said, you know, I think he really

liked my wife so much. They had, they got along so well that eventually he agreed to hire me. So it's like, it's like Michael Jordan not making the high school basketball team, right? Dan Shulman, somebody didn't want to hire him. It's crazy. It is crazy. Uh crazy uh yeah because today um there's there's no one better i'd say there's pretty much fantastic yeah he's ridiculously good yeah he's he's like i said he's gifted he's just beyond the best people out there he's he's one of the best is he like uh maybe would you think he's the greatest achiever, not Canada. I mean, I know Bob McCowan is still a big deal doing his show or whatever. But Dan Schulman of the early group, like he's the one who sort of took it the furthest in his career.

I would think so. I mean, it depends on how you define success. But I would think Dan definitely, considering he does all this stuff for ESPN. You're right. He does a lot of NCAA basketball, right? Yes, he does. That's a big freaking deal down there. Now, being the only woman at the all sports station, and it was the only all sports station for a very long time. Tell me about the pros and cons of that.

Like there's got to be pros, but there's got to be cons. Like, please give me some insight into this? Well, the biggest pro is that we all started it together and we were all young and, and sort of just friends and, and, uh, we were all in the same sort of stage of our career. So the guys were very accepting of me, um, you know, not critical and, and they helped me when I needed help. And when And when I asked Alan Davis, if he would let me become a sportscaster, and he did. Now, I had followed sports very mildly, very loosely. But mind you, I was a huge Maple Leaf fan since I was a little girl. But aside from that, I needed, you know, to be brushed up on a bunch of stuff. And I said to myself, and I said to Alan, you know what, I it's been the next five years breathing, living, eating, drinking sports.

And that's what I did. And I devoted myself to that. And I got help from, you know, a lot of the guys. Dan Schulman sat down with me and let me ask him questions about baseball one day in the kitchen. I remember that. That's a tough sport, by the way, to pick up as an adult. Like to me, I feel because I've tried to teach adults who weren't into baseball, the subtlest, but I feel like you almost need to be, to grow up with it.

It's, it's difficult. Well, you don't, you don't need to, but it's difficult. Or to appreciate it at least. Maybe. Yeah. I remember, I really literally remember asking him, what is a ground rule double? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. You're starting at, uh, yeah. And, uh, square one. One day I got elliot friedman to sit down with me and talk about basketball yeah just because i wanted i i didn't look i just i didn't want to sound like i knew what i was talking about i wanted to know what i was talking about because you always come across people can tell right like people can they can sense a fraud yeah and you want to be credible credible i've always wanted to come

across as professional and credible. And the only way to do that is to really learn about what you're talking about. Like when Les Nesman was talking about with the Chai Chai Rodriguez. Right. That deal. Yeah. Exactly. Cons would be nothing from inside, like the inside the building, everybody was great. I used to get calls in the early days, you know, people would go, you know, you're only doing sports because you're a woman, right? Okay, thank you. That kind of stuff. Oh, that you're the token woman.

The token. That's right. Yeah, that sucks. So you don't think they took you seriously because they thought you were there just because you were like a foil sort of? Like you have all these male voices you need. Maybe. Yeah, maybe. And they didn't take me seriously.

Or they would wait. You know, guys could make mistakes and they would like wait and listen and listen. And if I screwed one thing up, they would be on the phone calling me. Right. But, you know, I think that's to be expected. It's fine. Considering those are the cons, it could have been a lot worse and it wasn't. You know, I just watched a 30 for 30 doc, the ESPN series on the bad boys. So on the Pistons team with Isaiah Thomas and Lambert and everything. And I, there was a very interesting part where I guess there was huge controversy because somebody on the team, do I have the right team? Yeah, the bad boys. I don't know if it was Dennis Rodman, but I don't think it was Dennis Rodman, actually. But somebody said, if Larry Bird were black, he would just be another good basketball player.

Right. So it's because he's white, he's seen as a superstar elite player. And I was wondering if there's any parallels there that maybe like, if Barb DiGiulia were a guy, she'd just be like another voice. But because she's a woman, we, you know, she's... You know, that's an interesting, that's an interesting topic of discussion. And there's no way we would ever know that. No, you can never. I'm just curious.

But I do think, I mean, I think what set me apart with the fan is not just because I was a sportscaster, but because I got involved in shows with Dan and Gord and Bob. And it was more that personality stuff that came out. I think that's what's left more of an impression on people than the fact that I read sportscasts. Yeah, speaking of that, the chemistry that I sensed between you and Gord was pretty amazing.

My most memories from you are actually on Gord's show. So can you remind me, was this, not that you're going to remember, but Gord Stelic's big Show, is that what it was called? Yeah. So, I mean, you know, if it's not 20 years ago, I can remember a little bit better if it was like 10 years ago. And so Gord was doing, when I was doing stuff with Gord, Gord was on from noon to four,

I believe, and it was the Big Show. And originally the Big Show was Gord Stelic and Damian Cox, but Damian worked for the Toronto Star. And at a certain point, the Toronto Star said, we don't want you doing this so he had to leave so then it was gourd on his own and i believe at that time trying to remember exactly what i was doing i think i was doing sports casts in the midday and then i would join gourd from three to four and that at one point when gordon uh when gordon damien were doing noon to four dan was doing prime time from four to seven while bob was on the morning show right and then when i went back to the afternoons from the morning show i was kind of in that three to four hour

and it was gordon and dan and myself and that was called lady in the tramps a lot of people remember that oh yeah yeah that was a lot of fun. But yeah, Gordon, I had great chemistry. People used to say we sounded like a married couple. Yeah, you were like the Mott's of sports radio. I don't know about that. And I'm big fan of the Mott's, by the way. But I think it was a little, you know, it was a little, it was a little edgier, I think. And we used to tackle a lot of non-sports topics. And one of the most popular things when we would talk, like men and women stuff. You know, those with like, people can't get enough of that kind of stuff. Sure.

Yeah, exactly. You had a good dynamic and a good chemistry and people sense that. So they will listen. People listen to any people talk. If they have good chemistry and good back and forth rapport that's entertaining yes and i think men and women alike like to listen to men and women talking when it works right and it doesn't especially if they sound like a married couple then it's uh yeah or a couple or they're dating or whatever whatever it is so the big show okay so is this the show okay yeah so he had, like the lunch bag letdown and all that stuff.

Yeah. Cause I mean, every once in a while I'll still drop that term in a conversation, like something. Well, that's my lunch bag letdown. Like it's still become part of the vocabulary. It's part of the vocabulary.

Absolutely. And I use it all the time. Howard said that a couple of times over the last couple of weeks. Humble Howard. Oh yeah. You know, Humble Howard made a very controversial speech at my wedding do tell well i've he was drinking a lot of wine and uh he wasn't scheduled to speak but

uh his girlfriend i think told him he should go say some words or whatever so he went on the microphone and there were two parts to the speech that were controversial not just one he sort of uh my brother had just made a long rambling impassioned speech and howard sort of made a comment that kind of said something to the effect about how he he looked okay so my wife is of filipino descent okay so half of this room her people if you will are filipino and they're on one side and then my people are like not filipino believe it or not and they're on one side. And then my people are like not Filipino, believe it or not. And they're on the white, a bunch of white people and et cetera on the other side. And Howard looks at the Filipino side and says, don't worry if you didn't understand

that speech because we didn't understand it either. And then he goes on to basically insult Filipinos. Really? Yeah. We've talked about this. I've gone on their show and talked about it. Yeah. So I'm bringing've talked about this at length. I've gone on their show and talked about it. Yeah. So I'm bringing it up to speed very quickly, but it was one of the, a lot of my friends

said it was the highlight of the wedding because nothing's better than going to a wedding and having like a local radio personality get on the mic and make a controversial speech. Like they loved it. Um, I think, um, he had a lot to drink cause I have stories from my friend who was catering this event from Palma Pasta. Did I pop any peas there? You didn't. That was great. I've been practicing.

I've taught you how to use the microphone so you don't pop. I have a new mic technique thanks to Barb DiGiulio. And apparently Howard would wander into the back kitchen and he was just inebriated, which would be his excuse for making the speech. But I didn't mind the speech, but it was controversial. You know what? That happens sometimes. That's the tricky part about it. It would be fun if it didn't happen.

Somebody's got to make a drunken, controversial speech. I know. It's one of those things where you ask someone to say a speech at their wedding, or in your case, you didn't ask him and he just did. And then, you know, you never know how it's going to and well what can you do no what can you do sounds like it was entertaining it was entertaining it was fun uh it was a lot of stuff to talk about and people it's probably one of the things people are still talking about so it was a good time how long ago did you get married okay this was only ready it was like a year ago this weekend coming up oh okay

oh wow i didn't realize that. Congratulations. At the Distillery District. Thank you. Oh, I love the Distillery District. Yeah, it was at the Arda Gallery in the Distillery District. It was perfect location. It was amazing. That sounds great. It was. It was amazing. I can't believe it was already a year ago, but... I'm going to ask Howard about his speech at your wedding. Ask him. I'm going to. I think he loves talking about it. Ask Fred. Well, Fred was there too. So he witnessed this entire speech. He can talk to too. And the thing is, somebody was recording video and I couldn't find video of this speech. Like I have video of almost all the speeches.

It's almost like... I'm shocked someone didn't record that. I think maybe he got to the person and had it like destroyed or something to protect his, you know, if he ever wanted to go back to an easy rock or something. He wanted to keep his reputation intact. But yeah, that's... So Humble Howard dropped the lunch bag letdown. Yeah, he used that phrase a couple of times. That's funny that people still talk about that.

Yeah. And Gord's a likable guy. He's just a likable person. Well, you are too. So it's just, these are just likable people. Like these aren't... Some people... And I even greg brady we talked about earlier i find greg brady will be a bit um antagonistic like a little bit uh arrogant almost like he doesn't play the nice guy card i think that would be the role of like i find he but but he's interesting to listen

to like you listen to him but he's not necessarily somebody you like the way you would like a Gord Stelic or a Barbara Giuliano. I mean, everybody has their different on-air personas. What I can tell you about Greg Brady is that when he first came to the fan, he was doing a show by himself and I listened to him and sometimes from the studio would watch him. the studio would watch him. And I told my husband, you know, I've never seen somebody who can talk for 15 minutes, essentially to himself. And it's interesting. Oh, yeah, he can have a good argument. He has a great argument. And I went, I was in the studio one day looking in and he's by himself, but he's gesturing like he's really passionate about what he's talking about. And it's amazing for people who don't know to fill 15 minutes of space by yourself.

That's a long, long time. It is. I really like that about Greg. I like, you know, his on-air persona. He's probably, I don't know, everybody has to have one. And a lot of times people off the air are not always the same as they are on the air. No, and we don't need if you have no offense, but if you have too many barbs and too many gourds and everybody's a nice guy like that's great. But sometimes you need a little sandpaper. Well, I don't need I wouldn't even consider him not a nice guy, but I know what you mean.

Like he can maybe get I haven't I'll be honest with you because my leaving there happened shortly after. I'll be honest with you because my leaving there happened shortly after. I haven't heard as much of Brady and Walker as I did of Brady and Lang and, you know, different shows. But that's a good example because Lang, by all accounts, was a ridiculously nice guy. And he still is. Well, he's coming on, I should point out. So he's working in Markham at 105.9 The Region and he's loving it and doing very well. Is that okay that I mention that? No, it's fine. Actually,

my original co-host is there right now. Who is that? Her name is Rosie Ferguson, but she's a promotions director there. Oh, how cool. And, of course, Humble Howard, who, although he won't set foot in Markham, happens to be on that air every day. He does an edition. But there is somebody

there who I just want to punch in the face. Who? I don't know if I should say it on the air. Really? I'll tell you after. Okay. Why do you want to punch this person in the face? He owes my wife and I $12,000.

You're kidding. No. For what? I'm not kidding. So every time I hear that station, I actually get mad for a moment. Did you lend this person money? No. So I did work for a company that he was going to

take 20% as the person who introduced us. So my wife and I were going to get 80% and he was going to keep 20%, but they were paying him directly. And then he was to pay us 80%. So we worked directly with the client, made the client very happy, did our job. And because he was having trouble paying rent and paying other people, he ended up taking the money that was ours and giving it to other people and to the landlord and stuff. And at the end of the day, he said, I'm sorry, I have no more money. So he never gave us 12 grand. And this is like almost two years ago. So I was very patient. We did six months. And then I said, like, let's work something out because I need, I was trying to buy this place and just got married and everything.

Long story short is, I hear he's there. He's changed his name. So he's got a different name on the air. He's there. I know I have friends working there. And this son of a bitch still owes me 12 grand and it just pisses me off. Yeah. So that's why when you said 105.9, because I have a natural like, oh. But what I was going to say when you're talking about personas and that,

and I think maybe that's one of the things that, because I know that people when they meet me feel like they know me from all the years listening. And I know it's the same with Gord. And I think that many people are like this, but we are two of the people who probably are the same on the air as we are off the air. We don't really have this great persona. Like you don't turn a switch and then you're suddenly nice Barb and then off the air you're

in a stone cold. No, no, no, no. But I mean, vice versa. Some guys that you would think are jerks are actually really nice guys, but they happen to do very well with that persona. But with i don't know with gordon and i we seem to be a couple of those people that we just we are who we are and that's the easiest way to be you don't have to adopt a person you can just be yourself how effortless is that yeah i'd make a horrible it's like this podcast is me i don't put on a toronto i'm this is me right and it's easy because that way i don't have to it's not a job because you know no one's paying me so i hate to make this a job i still i'm gonna fix my laptop now so i can hear my theme song again it's costing me money um i see now okay i got a little bit more time and i have a lot more questions so i'm going to burn through a couple really quickly on uh when 10 50 team 10 50 so team 10 50 shows up oh yeah wow do you remember this so

this was like i do and i guess a lot so a lot of people jump ship right like i know scott ferguson for example why you listen to all the time i love scott ferguson he's such a great guy yeah and i guess uh they threw a lot of money around they threw a lot of money at people they made it very difficult for people to say no yeah in terms of going over there so that i don't remember how long team 1050 lasts but uh they don't they don't damage you guys at all and they end up going back to oldies at some point so that wasn't a very long i know because i'm friends sort of friends with paul romanuk yeah and so he talks you know he talks all the time about how they never gave the station a chance he's very he was very bitter he's landed on his feet though i see he's part of the new Rogers Hockey Night in Canada.

I know. Good for him. And he spent a couple of years overseas, I think. More than a couple. His wife has a well-paying, amazing job in England. So he's been in London for years. But is she coming back with him? I don't know.

I'm going to guess. I don't know. But I know that it would have taken a sweetheart deal to get him back here because he was super comfy and happy. Good. I'm glad for him. I like Paul Romanek. I met him a few times. And yeah, he was super comfy and happy. Good. I'm glad for him. I like Paul Romanek. I met him a few times and yeah, he was involved in the team. I don't remember how long they let it

go, but I have heard people say that you have to give something like at least three years to, you know, really get its legs and see what could happen. But it was, you know, in many ways, I feel like it was a shame that it didn't work out because I think competition is good for everybody. Well, they had it. I mean, I was going to say, I know you haven't been there since November, but we'll get to that in just a moment. But 1050 did rise from the ashes with TSN 1050. So is this one of those rising? So this is good for the fan?

I think, well, I mean, it depends on how you look at it. It's good for the employees. Well, I mean, it depends on how you look at it. It's good for the employees. It's good for employees to have another option if somebody wants to try to lure somebody away. I know people who have had that happen where they've then gone back to the fan. Yeah, so it's good for someone like Bob McCowan, of course,

because now when you're negotiating your contract or whatever, you can threaten to go the other way. And I know he's been very good for the station. Yeah, so competition, I never think competition is a bad thing and they seem to, you know, be doing their thing and, and I don't think they're going to be going anywhere. Well, you guys have that heat. I always consider the equivalent would be like 102.1 versus 88.1. Like the heritage, like the station that's been there for decades, that is sort of the de facto station for that genre or whatever, has such a massive advantage.

Like you're trying to get people to kind of change their habits and read us. So I think a lot of people who have been locked on to 590s since the 90s, it's a big, they're hesitant to sort of adopt 1050 as a new sports station. You have such a huge advantage being the incumbent. It's really interesting and amazing for me to talk about this with you because I remember really well the days when the fan was launching and people were saying, you know, nobody wants an all sports station in Toronto. And now to think of that same station being the incumbent, being the one that's the solid sports station in Toronto. And regardless of what happened with me there, I'm still so proud to have been a part of that for so many years.

It really was my home for many years. Let's dive right into that here. So what the heck happened? What happened? So all I know as a guy who covers this stuff on torontomike.com is that you were let go with a bunch of other people at Rogers. Some people were on 680, I guess, but you and a group were let go in november 2013 what happened well uh my understanding is across canada a hundred people were let go in toronto there were three of us um uh me from the fan and two women from 680 news gloria martin and ann deuce and combined we have probably almost 70 years experience. So we were all what you would call veteran broadcasters.

And we were all shown the door. So you were fired for making too much money. I don't know that. Nobody ever said that to me. I cannot. No, they'll never say that to you. No, I mean, you know what? No, I mean, you know what? It's, uh, I, I leave with, um, I left there with, with nothing but appreciation for the opportunities I was given. And it, people ask me, were you shocked? You know,

I wasn't shocked. The timing was, we, none of us were expecting it in terms of the timing, but I think when you're, when you've been with OnePlace for a long time and it's not even in our industry, you start to think to yourself, well, one day this could very well happen to me. Well, I know you have to say, I understand. First of all, you want to work in this industry and it's a small world.

And I know you're going to take the high road because you're a classy lady. So I can say some things that you might not agree with. But I'm going to say a couple of things. One of which, I think that if you're asked to do all these things, you're asked to do these shift changes and co-hosting and these different reportings and updates. And for over 20 years, you do everything you're asked to do

and you do it well. And then they show you the door. And in my opinion, it's because you're making too much money. That's just how I see it. Because they're not, you know, a 25-year-old comes in and does it for whatever, a third of the price or whatever it is. So A, that must suck. It must suck.

It would suck. We're around the same age in a sense, and I think it would suck, and I've had it almost happen, but somebody half your age comes in and does it for half the money, and you're just a number. If that's the case, there's no way to compete with that. I mean, if that's the case, there's no way to compete with that. I mean, if that's the case, right? But it does suck.

If that's what happened, if what they did was bring in somebody at the same salary with the same experience, and we were having this conversation, then I might be saying, okay, well, maybe I wasn't doing my job well. And I always just tried to do my job the best that I could. And beyond that, there are certain things you can't control. True. But because this happened November 2013, you have to look at the fact that Rogers, as you know, was basically spending billions of dollars on an NHL deal. deal. Meanwhile, firing, you know, three quality female broadcasters, like you said, in their mid 40s or whatever, to save, you know, whatever, thousands of dollars. The perception to me is, it must be tough to like swallow that pill. That NHL deal, billions and billions of dollars,

I can't imagine what thousands of dollars is. It's like a grain of sand in the Sahara Desert. I can't imagine what thousands of dollars is. It's like a grain of sand in the Sahara Desert. You know, not having ever worked in management, I can only say that decisions are made at certain levels and people have to meet budgets and people have to cut costs and I guess they have to find ways to do it. What can I say? I mean...

This is like when Rob Ford came in and got rid of the free coffee at City Hall. Like to me, like you've got, you know, you know, look, it's really nice of you to say that. I mean, honestly, you can look at me and I'm not making an angry face. I'm not making an angry face. She's making an angry face. I'm totally not. Like I have had, I'll tell you, I have had opportunities since then that I never would have had if I were still there. I've seen in my amazing 22 years there, and I don't mean I'm amazing.

I think it's amazing that one person stays, you know, you got to be blessed to do that. That's true. And in all those years, I've seen not only my husband, but many friends be let go. And I've always told them, and the day that they're let go, and it's a very difficult day. I've always said, you know what, there are better things ahead for you. And this is not the end of the world. And so when it happened to me, if I'm going to be a genuine person, I had to follow that myself. And I remember when HR was talking to me and then this other woman came in and she was, they were treating me like

I might have a breakdown at any moment. And I guess some people do, right? And some people, but they said, you know, are you okay? Because you seem okay. And I remember clearly saying to them, you know what? I've got a family. They're all healthy. This is a job. I'm okay. I'm fine. Well, that's perfect perspective. But that's the way you have to look at it like there's no and i'm not even trying to get i don't want you to obviously you had 22 great years i'm not looking to make barb badmouth rogers no i know that i'm not trying to do that i just tell you the perception as a guy who's merely i've never worked in radio never made a dime in radio all i do is listen to toronto radio and i've been doing that since tom

rivers on cftr so it's just my like Well, then how come you didn't know the opening day lineup? I did. I just didn't want to show you up. I've worked with so many people and on so many different shifts over the year. I'm amazed I can even remember my own name. But no, it was, you know what? I mean, on one level, yeah, it sucks. But on another, God, there are so many bad things that can happen in this life. Oh, no. But you can't live life like that because then, oh, at least it's not terminal cancer. Like that can't be the answer to everything bad. So yes, it is just the way I look at jobs is you're just working for like dirty paper. Like this is just money. Okay. You'll make more. You'll figure

out how to make more. You know, you're a smart, talented person. Well, thank you. But I'm also one of those people who I would do anything. It doesn't have to be a particular job. If I had to get a job just to make ends meet, I would. I'd figure out a way to do it. Right, right, right, right. And you're doing some interesting things. Like, okay, so one thing I want to ask you is you're teaching?

Yes, I teach at Centennial College. I've been doing that for about five years. And it's a sports journalism program that actually started five years ago. And I was approached about being a teacher there. And then when I said yes, they said, great, you have to write your own curriculum, which was really fun and challenging. And I teach the radio portion of this one year sports journalism program. So I'm in the second semester, and it runs from May to August. So I'm in the second semester and it runs from May to August. So I'm in the middle of it right now. No, it's very cool.

So what advice do you give to the current graduates who are trying to get into the radio biz? Like, are you honest with them? And I only ask because since we've been talking about Humble and Fred, since that's sort of how we got connected, Fred is very honest, like that, you know, it's tough business to get into. It is a tough business.

Like, are you, you honest that this, you know, sometimes some, some radio people have told me they almost want to tell graduates like, go get, go do something else because you'll never make money and you're, you're going to be, it's a tough to hold. It's just a difficult, I find it's a difficult industry. Seems to, in some ways it seems to be getting more difficult. And some people, very few, make a ton of money in radio. Most people don't make a lot of money. Yeah, there's only a few John Derringers and...

Bob McCowens and, you know... Oh, and Erin Davis. Oh, yeah, Erin Davis. Who pledged my ride to conquer cancer and wrote me the sweetest email. She's a lovely woman. Sweetest email I ever got. I never met her. She's a lovely woman. Iest email I ever got. I never met her. She's a lovely woman. I'm not surprised that she did that.

So I am honest with them. But one of the things I say to them, in my opinion, and I've been talking a lot about this with Humble and Fred over the last couple of weeks. One of the most important things is work ethic, willingness to sacrifice. And amazingly, a lot of people don't seem to have that even when given amazing opportunities. It's come up with Humble and Fred because they've had opportunities to give internships to people. And then some people take it and run with it. And some people start going, oh, I have a family thing. Oh, I'm not feeling well. And they start

slacking off. And those are the first people that you're going to cut loose you know you have to some of I've seen a lot of interns come through the fan that make a good impression that work hard and end up getting hired full-time. So you get out of it what you put into it typically? Totally but you've got if you want to work in this business you've got to be prepared when called upon to work nights to work weekends to work stat holidays and leave these big cities right like you got to go to thunder bay sometimes not always but sometimes or something like i think i made i love having this conversation because no one's ever it's never come around to me talking about it but when i started working in north bay i think i made four

dollars an hour yeah yeah so you got if you're not willing to do that, then maybe this isn't the career for you. Yeah. It's tough though, because that's. You have to, but you love, you either love it or you don't. And the people who love it will do anything to work in it. So it's kind of, it's in you. And I think that's how I am. And just it's radio more than TV. Like I just love it. And so I've, I've loved being able to still continue doing a few

things. Yeah, I hear you. Like, you're still on Toronto Radio. For example, you were on Jerry Agar's show on 1010. Yes. But you were also on Friendly Fire with John Downs. These are all excuses Barb has used why she can't come on the podcast. That's how I know these things. Those are bad excuses, aren't they? No, they're great excuses because those might actually lead to a paying gig. Although you'd be surprised who's listening to this show. So it's not so much how many are listening, it's who's listening. But when these 1010 opportunities, are these like tryouts or are these just like, what is this? Why are you all over 1010?

That's a good question. Why am I all over 1010? You know what? First of all, I have to say going back and I did mention to you, I started out working in news and even in all my years doing sports, I've always been a news junkie. So this in many ways is like a dream come true to even be considered to fill in on certain shows. ways is is like a dream come true to even be considered to fill in on certain shows so it started out with doing a round table on the jerry agar show back in i think it was december or

january and then that became a weekly thing okay um and it went well and i just love doing it lots of fun and then from there i started getting asked to fill in on well you say i've been on friendly fire i've actually done a couple of uh more in the morning fill-ins with Mark Toohey. And we've had a lot of fun doing that. Oh, right, the former Ford guy speaking of that. Former Ford chief of staff. Yeah, he's an interesting guy. Well, at least he had some integrity to walk away just when things were, like, ridiculous.

If I'm not mistaken, I'll double check with Mark, but I remember this from still being at the fan and sitting in the 680 newsroom. If I'm not mistaken, Mark was fired because I seem to recall that. Because I think it's because he was trying to get something or he felt there might be a link between the murder of the guy in that picture. You know what I can remember and I could be wrong. I seem to recall that it was very mysterious at the time, but I think it was like he was the guy who was telling Rob Ford to get help. Oh, to get rehab, right. And I think the Ford camp didn't want to hear that at the time.

And I remember him being, he walked out to his car with that media circus chasing him. Yeah, I remember this footage. Right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he did say something along the lines of he didn't quit it wasn't my choice right right it wasn't my choice and then the whole thing that tells you everything you need to know about mark tooey is he gets to his car in the underground and he says i'm so glad i washed my car yesterday that's mark tooey right he knows a

lot he's an interesting guy and he has the craziest sense of humor so when you uh when you do these shows i guess when you do like a friendly fire of john downs is it really is it just you donating your time to get exposure or is there compensation i don't really want to oh you don't yeah i don't know if i want to go there you don't have to talk about compensation but one thing i will tell you if there are like in my students and that listening it's like you gotta you gotta be able to do a certain amount for free it not always even as an ends to a mean uh means to an end but also if you love it and and you you know it's all it's win-win you're getting great exposure and yeah the greatest example because we won't talk about the 10 10 stuff, but I can tell you Humble and Fred aren't giving you a penny because they carry around nickels like manhole covers.

I'm going to tell you something. I got today a Humble and Fred t-shirt for every member of my family, and that's like gold to me. That is actually priceless. That is gold to me. And how is it going? I know we talked briefly, but now that what you're up to these days, so you're filling it. Okay.

So just to bring people up to speed who don't listen to Humble and Fred, their regular producer is on mat leave. Eileen. Eileen. So you are helping to add, you're helping out basically. Well, so Eileen's on mat leave and she does two roles. She's a producer and a co-host. Right.

So they've got this woman named Amanda Barker who is doing the producing stuff. Who was Diamond on the mascot Diamond for the Blue Jays. And you know what? She's a really interesting and amazing woman. And so she also does a little bit of co-hosting and they're rotating people through to fill in while Eileen's gone. So I've done the last two weeks and then hopefully, you know, they said, will you come back? So we haven't booked it yet, but I'm hoping to do that again because you know what? It is old time fun radio.

It's fun. Can I tell you a story? Of course. Of how I came to be hopefully part of the Humble and Fred family? No, absolutely. You have to tell this story. Okay. So this is the kind of stuff that I don't mind talking about. Humble and Fit family? No, absolutely. You have to tell the story. Okay, so this is the kind of stuff that I don't mind talking about,

and I don't name names or anything like that, but when I was restructured out of Rogers, somebody got in touch with me who I'd never met before, but a broadcaster, and said, you'll be amazed at who you hear from and amazed at who you don't hear from. So I have people that I worked with for many, many, many years at the fan who never contacted me. And two days after I was let go, I got an email from Humble and Fred saying they wanted me on their show. And when you're in that kind of weird land of just being let go and you don't

know what's up and what's down and to have these guys that don't even know saying we want you on the show was amazing. And then I went in and I thought when I was let go from Rogers, I really thought that chapter of radio was closed in my life. I was prepared to turn around and figure out what else I was going to do. And then I went on them on the air with them in December. And I went home and told my husband that is what radio used to be like. It was so much fun. Just, they just get it. They just do radio the way it was done years ago. But have you considered your own podcast? Like, has this been anything you've thought about? No, not really. I used to do podcasting.

Didn't you have barbed wire? You know what's funny? I was thinking about it while you were tinkering with the computer this morning. Not only did I used to do a podcast before they started becoming popular as podcasts, I used to do a blog before it was even called a blog. So how long ago did you start your blog? Probably, we were at the old place on Holly Street. I would say it's got to be 15, 16 years ago.

That is. Yeah, that's it. Wasn't called the blog. No, it wasn't. No, no, no. I was doing it then, too. And it was called the personal homepage. And then I turned it into a blog in 02. Oh, I used to call it my web page on the fan website. Yeah. And you would go to the fan website. And I remember going to and it was Nelson Millman was the program director at the time. And I went to him because I used to do this thing on, uh, on Gord's show

where I would do a weekly, um, top 10 list. And then I said, I went to Nelson and said, you know what, how about if I post those on the website? And they, those were in the days where people were just kind of getting into the idea of adding content to websites. So then I would write stories and do a weekly thing. And then when I went on mat leave, I continued to do that. So it was just, and it was, they didn't call it a blog back then, but it started out as a blog and then it became a podcast, Barb Wired. Yeah. So have you considered resurrecting Barb Wired?

I haven't really thought about it. No. Okay. Just curious. Only since you're on the humble and fred podcast and now you're on toronto mic podcast it just uh and it's a great like you know who did the bigs and bar so you know jason bar from yes okay so all what they did is they got fired from their respective jobs and they started a podcast and it was just a podcast

and then they sold this new team this they sold this package to a station that bought it to be the morning show right hits a 97.7 oh that's cool saint catherine's so there was no bigs and bar they invented they made a logo and they just started every day they recorded and humble and fred's a good model too because same thing they started just a podcast rogers came to them with a distribution deal at some point and now they have now they're on sirius xm that's amazing 10 10 like they're on real radio and they have real paying sponsors with actual cash at the end of the day and it's all because they started podcasting every day and you can see how easy it is to start like i was just curious if you had considered uh barbed

wire or something like that i hadn't really thought about it i mean it's it's not something i would rule out i i don't know if I could do it alone. It would depend on... No, I think you'd be best served with some... With another person, right? Yeah. You know, you mentioned Ann Deuce earlier, and her husband does a podcast with Alan Cross.

Geeks and Beats. Correct. Oh, you're all over it. So yeah, and they do a lot of post-production. That's a really quality podcast too. But that's another example. Well, I thought Anne and I have actually,

you know why we've had the discussion briefly? We met for lunch one day and, and I think Michael was telling her, you guys should do a podcast. And I said to Anne, you know what? That is probably the only thing I could imagine doing right now. If I were doing it with you.

And then she said, you know, I don't know if I'm there yet. So we kind of left it on the table, but I guess when she's there, why not? Like, especially because the support she'd, you know, I don't know if I'm there yet. So we kind of left it on the table. But I guess... When she's there, why not? Especially because of the support she'd get from Michael because I know he does all the digital editing and stuff.

Like you've got all your... You're going to have the equipment, the editing. You're going to be ready to go. That's true. You provide the content. You and Anne do a podcast. I'll promote it on Toronto, Mike, if you do it. Would you?

Okay, I'll let you know. If we go ahead with that, you'll be the first to know. That'd be cool. Okay, so last question is, I'll let you know. For sure. If we go ahead with that, you'll be the first to know. That'd be cool. Okay, so last question is, so your family life. So you've mentioned you married a Star Wars fanatic. I did. And you got married on May the 4th.

We did. May the 4th be with you. And your kid's name is Anakin and Padme. Is that the name of your children? Padme. Padme. Padme. Come on, you got to get it right if you're Star Wars. I know, I feel bad, but those are the new Star Wars, okay?

Okay, so what's that like? Like, is there R2-D2s and Millennium Falcons all over the place? Yeah, and I'm Queen Amidala. So, the really funny thing is that May 4th was a total coincidence. Oh, get out of here. I thought it was on purpose. We didn't realize until about, about i'm gonna say five years ago that they start when they didn't start calling it may the fourth until reason may the fourth be with

you star wars day i think like eight years ago okay so maybe a couple years after that we clued in but it was a total coincidence because where we wanted to get married that was the only date they had available and now and now it works out perfectly um yeah he's a star wars fanatic and And now it works out perfectly. Yeah, he's a Star Wars fanatic. And he's also, well, he's an IT manager who is also a musician, but realized at a certain point in life that, you know, you got to find a real job because not everyone's going to make it big. And he's a very artistic guy.

And his big thing is Halloween. He goes all out for Halloween. Never anything scary. It's always a movie theme. So we've done Star Wars a few years. And the first year that he did Star Wars, he built a six-foot-tall TIE fighter on our front lawn. And he's got Yoda cutouts and all kinds of crazy stuff. Yeah, it's pretty amazing.

And we've got some Star Wars paraphernalia. Most of it stays in art. We have a fabulous renovated family room downstairs. And that's where the Darth Vader lamp is. Cool. That's awesome. Yeah.

All the goodies. That Darth Vader lamp is sort of like the leg lamp from a Christmas story. I'm not sure. I'm trying to remember what the leg lamp looks like. Oh, like a woman's leg with a fishnet stocking. So he won it and he was so proud of it. He put in the window and his wife hated it, but he was so proud of it. Well,

he's yeah. So, so, uh, my husband bought this from somebody. I can't remember who some founded on some Kijiji thing or something, but it's got, it's got holes in it and it's got a light that changes colors inside and then

it holds a lightsaber and it's like a bust of Darth Vader. Oh yeah. Yeah. And it's really cool. Yeah. You turn off all the lights and Darth Vader, your kids like a bust of darth vader oh yeah yeah and it's really cool yeah you turn off all the lights and darth vader your kids like star wars they don't have a choice they don't have it they don't have it's like my kids of the leafs it's like i don't i don't think my son could be like come home and say oh dad i like the montreal canadians like i don't think it's just it's like your religion right it's just it's it is what it is you don't have a choice exactly

you have no choice they don't have a choice but It's like a religion. You have no choice. They don't have a choice, but they do love it. John Franco, my older son, when he was two years old at the daycare, he went as Anakin Skywalker. There you go. Yeah, they've had all kinds of costumes like that. Oh, yeah, the little Phantom Menace version. I forgot about the Phantom Menace because it was not a good movie for adults. No, no, I know. It's a good movie for kids.

They like the pod racing and the Jar Jar stuff, but adults don't like Phantom Menace. You know, the newer movies, it's just interesting. Although, I just had this chat, because I think it was actually Greg Brady of all people that we had this chat where, because my kid loved all the Star Wars, but the Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones were difficult pills to swallow for me,

because I liked the original three. Right. But Revenge of the Sith, is that the name of that one? Yeah, Revenge of the Sith, the third, funny because they do the sith was the third the funny thing they do the number six the sixth one right no that came out third one the third one yeah that came out sixth right yeah the third one that came out sixth the third one that came out

six so it came out six but it's the third and the sixth because a new hope is fourth okay yeah you're right so yeah revenge of the Sith, I think it's called. It's a pretty good movie. I could watch it over and over again and I like it. That one I like. It was good, yeah. That one I like. But you know, the originals, and I can't wait to see the new one because they're getting some of the original cast members back.

That'll be amazing. That'll be cool. Any final thoughts? I did keep you an extra 10 minutes. I hope that's okay. Oh my God. The time flew. I can't believe it.

You know what? It's because we didn't start with the Toronto Mike theme song. I think that's the reason i don't know we didn't even talk about the leafs you've got your stanley cup banner here it's amazing there's it's it's because it's all bad news in my opinion that's uh we're a long way off i'm just hoping we live to see a birth in the final uh i won't even ask you the question but i know you don't remember you're too young to remember a maple leaf uh final i am too young to remember a maple leaf uh final i am too young to remember a maple leaf finals but i will tell you that um one of my uncles is responsible for me becoming a maple leaf fan in the late 70s and he took me to he we i used to go to games with

him and that was i thought one thing you might ask me today which you didn't but i'll but now you can ask yourself well some people ask me ask me, did you ever interview anyone that was just you were in awe? That was for the next time you come on. Do you want me to save it? No. So I'm just kidding. So it was Daryl Sittler. Nice.

Because I've interviewed all kinds of people, but I think when you interview someone that you looked up to as a kid, that is really amazing. Like it just, you know, he walks in and there's like a glow around him. It's just like this. It's the hair, I think when you interview someone that you looked up to as a kid, that is really amazing. Like it just, you know, he walks in and there's like a glow around him. It's just like. It's the hair, I think. It's the hair. And I've also done an event with him. I emceed an event and he was a guest speaker and he was like, oh.

So like he came up to me at the, this was maybe three or four years ago. And he came up to me at the event and he's like, so how are your two boys? And I'm like, oh my God, Daryl Sittler is asking me how my kids are how does he even know i have kids but uh the late 70s and i remember a game that the leafs lost to montreal to nothing and they were eliminated and then gourd went and looked it up when we figured it out was like 1978 or something like that but so i've loved them since those days the uh ian turnbull borya sal, Mike Palmatier, Daryl Sittler. Those were the days where I became a Leaf fan. So even though I don't remember a Stanley Cup,

they were pretty glory days. There were some good days in there. Yeah, well, yeah, there were some decent days, but I became a fan in the early 80s. Oh, that was like the lost decade. But in 86, I think it was, this is back when the first round was best of five. The Leafs took on the Blackhawks.

And we swept the series in three. Okay. And Wendell Clark had a great series. And that was like the moment, because I remember me and my brothers getting Diet Cokes out of the fridge and using it like champagne. We had just won the Stanley Cup. And we had just won the Stanley cup and we had just won the first round and

best of five. And then we ended up going to the game seven in the second round and we lost to St. Louis, I think, but you're right. There were not until the Gilmore until that run in 92, 93,

we had a very few, uh, leaf things we could grasp onto. Like it was just a waste, a cesspool, a waste, a wasteland of success. Those early 90 days, though.

Oh, man, that was tough, how close it came. Well, yeah, I mean, game seven of, yeah, because just watching last night, I'm watching the game last night and I'm thinking, like, we were so close. I know. And we were so spoiled because the Jays were right on the verge of their back-to-back there. That's right. And I was thinking, that's the last

time, because I don't, no offense to the Argos argos but i don't count it's not the same thing you don't i don't there's only eight teams it's just you're going to accidentally win a title or two of eight teams i feel like this is a funny way to look at you know it's just you're gonna your number will come up once every decade or so so if we exclude the argos and we just look at the big sports in toronto we haven't had a title since 93. That's a long time ago. 1993. Yeah, it's amazing. So then I was just thinking, like, who would you predict would be the first to win a title? Well, if you ask me today, I'm going to say the Blue Jays, because the Blue Jays could win a title this year. It's possible. This year is interesting because this year, they're doing what they were expected to do last year yep and

everyone in this al east has taken a step backwards it's almost like there's a window that opened because the red socks have gone back tampa bay went way back so we're just looking at baltimore new york and they don't scare anybody like this is the opportunity if we could get a another starter for example like if double a there could could score as another starter or whatever this is the year we could win this division and once you win the division you know then you have a great chance so i would say if you ask ask this question today i'd say the jays are closer than the raptors and the blue and the uh leafs probably yeah i mean i think we're gonna see some i think we're to see some good stuff happen, though, with the Raptors and the Leafs now that, you know, we've got some new people involved and Lai Wiki. I hope so. And then the Raptors had a fun, this is a fun team, and they still went out to the Nets in the first round. That's how far they have to go.

It was such a fun, I loved that team. I watched so much Raptors basketball this last year, and we still lost to theets I know in the first round so that's how far we have to go no I know and it's true and then when you look at the teams really think about it like the teams that make it to the Stanley Cup final it's such a long journey and can you picture a Leafs team having the legs to do that and overcoming the injuries and you know I know and all you have to do is look at like if you look at Chicago and LA for example and I won that series I knew the winner of that series was going to win the Stanley Cup. Like, I knew it. And if you look at the, just the blue line, like, if you look at guys like Keith and Seabrook and Dowdy, and you just look at how far the Leafs have to go, like, where's our, where's our Dowdy and our Seabrook? And if you, Chicago, who couldn't beat LA, that's how good LA

is playing. Chicago's, you've got, look, they've got Taves and Kane. And then they got the forgotten guy who's on Team Canada winning a gold medal, Patrick Sharp. Like, how far do we have to go? Who do we have? Who's our, you know, Kessel and JVR and Bozak? Like, you know what I mean? Like, think about how far we have to go. Yeah, I know.

There's a long way to go. And the blue line, like, and I don't even hate Dion Phaneuf the way everyone hates Dion Phaneuf but Dion Phaneuf is never going to be Shea Weber like they are not the same caliber so oh and he just signed a massive deal right yeah yeah so I don't see how you get like how do I have this chat all the time and I'm won't bore people but if the Leafs need a Shea Weber or a Drew Doughty to compete, how do you get those guys? Because the teams that get those guys

lock them up and don't give them up for anything because they'll give a maximum on whatever they want. So maybe we can manage to finagle P.K. Subban out of Montreal. Probably not, but maybe there's a little of that maybe, but without that kind of Hail Mary,

hope stuff, we're just lucky to make the playoffs and maybe have bernier stand on his head and get us into the second round do you think playing in this market has anything to do with it no i don't think so like i don't think so i just think it's just we never sucked enough to get the draft picks that get to these blue chippers like we never we always gave away the draft picks yeah or. Or gave away the bread. Yeah, exactly. Although Kessler's turned out. Okay.

Now I won't, no more leaf talk. Cause we could do another hour on that, but we have a long way to go. The Raptors have a long way to go, but at least they're trending upwards. Yes, for sure.

And they're exciting to watch. It's fun to watch. Can we get LeBron James? Do you think? No. Okay. He'll never come to Toronto. No.

Do you think he would? No, I don't think there's a prayer, but somebody on the fan, and I think it's Bob McCowan, I caught him saying he thought he would come to Toronto because it's such a short flight to Cleveland and blah, blah, blah.

And it's such like never going to happen stuff. No, and I don't think, I think it's a real challenge to get NBA players to come to Toronto no matter what. I think a lot of them don't want to play in this city. It's true. It's true. They're afraid of the metric system. Is that correct? Well, that's a big problem.

The metric system and what kind of education their kids are going to get and also the fact that they can't get the same endorsement deals here that they do. But Vince did okay, didn't he? Or would I dream that? I mean... He's a special guy, maybe. It should be, but not enough of the special guys get the amount of endorsement deals they do in the U S they just don't do that as much here.

You know, you don't see that as much. You're right. You're right. And why would a guy like LeBron, if he could go to New York or Toronto, like why would he come to Toronto? I just think he'd probably go to New York.

Yeah, I agree, but I don't think, you know, it could, and anything can happen, but I don't see him in a Raptors uniform. Are you a good singer?

Not at all. Okay, so you can't sing some Lowest of the Low for me now? No. Okay, normally I start playing Lowest of the Low right now. You might have to sing us out, yeah. And that brings us to the end of our 79th show. You can follow me on Twitter at Toronto Mike and Barb at Barb DG Toronto. Did I get that right? You got it right. See, I did my homework. That's awesome. See you all next week.