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Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business of Sports. The cold heart truth

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Speaker 1: about the Olympic journey is not really been financially incentivized

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Speaker 1: in the same way that many of the professional sports are.

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Speaker 1: But this is a basketball involved the NBA, will bolls

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Speaker 1: are licensing arm think for fifty All of those things

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Speaker 1: will make up what that looks like money in sports.

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Speaker 1: It's one of the reasons why I enjoy doing on

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Speaker 1: Money Night Countdown and talk about some of the more

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Speaker 1: interesting aspects of business of sports. When you're talking sports,

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Speaker 1: discipline is the bridge from being good to ultimately being

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Speaker 1: great at whatever it is that you're trying to be

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Speaker 1: your accomplished as your profession. Bloomberg Business of Sports from

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Speaker 1: Bloomberg Radio. Welcome to the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast,

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Speaker 1: where we explore some of the big issues in the

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Speaker 1: world of sports and talk to some of the biggest

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Speaker 1: names in the industry. I'm Michael Blarn, I'm Scarlett so

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Speaker 1: and I'm Mike Lynch. And you know this name, especially

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Speaker 1: if you know a hockey Adam Graves, two times Stanley

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Speaker 1: Cup champion. Thank you so much for joining us on

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Speaker 1: the Bloomberg Business of Sports. Well, thank thanks for having

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Speaker 1: me and as you know, this is the best time

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Speaker 1: of year in spring. The weather is changing and there's

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Speaker 1: not a cloud in the sky today and you can't

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Speaker 1: wait for the end of the day to watch the playoff.

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Speaker 1: Hockeys certainly range your hockey, true that, but you know what,

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Speaker 1: it's in one thing to bring up, it's important to

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Speaker 1: have a New York team, especially this year in the playoffs,

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Speaker 1: because some of the old staples, the Chicago's, the Detroit's,

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Speaker 1: the New York Islanders, the Devil's Philadelphia all missed the playoffs.

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Speaker 1: But the Rangers are there. Yeah, and and and as

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Speaker 1: you know, especially in the Tri State area, the hockey

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Speaker 1: is at its best when when all three teams are

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Speaker 1: you know, doing well. And certainly the Islanders have been outstanding.

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Speaker 1: The Devils have some great young players. And I think

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Speaker 1: that the you know this, this next ten years is

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Speaker 1: going to be back like it was in the nineties

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Speaker 1: where all three teams were compared and tenders and and

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Speaker 1: it makes for great hockey, It makes for great rivalries,

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Speaker 1: and I think the fans and the players benefit from it.

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Speaker 1: So what we're lucky in the Try State area and

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Speaker 1: three excellent organizations and certainly being the Rangers and coming

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Speaker 1: up on our hundred year anniversary and about three or

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Speaker 1: four years. It's it's fun. It's fun to be a

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Speaker 1: part of the organization. And of course you're a big

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Speaker 1: part of the organization. You are synonymous with the Rangers

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Speaker 1: from the ninety four cuple Win Adam, you know, I'm

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Speaker 1: a big Rangers fan and um, obviously, uh, there's a

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Speaker 1: lot of excitement around the team in the playoffs. I

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Speaker 1: know there's a lot of community activities the Rangers Fan

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Speaker 1: Zone that maybe you'll be making an appearance up without question.

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Speaker 1: In fact, I was there a couple of times last

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Speaker 1: last week and I will tell you people were looking

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Speaker 1: at me as I was in the shooting boost and wow,

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Speaker 1: you've really lost it. But it's a lot of fun.

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Speaker 1: They have a gaming zone and we all know what

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Speaker 1: the e A sports and I have kids, myself and

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Speaker 1: my son, you know they version uh and people love

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Speaker 1: doing that. And they had backdrops for photo shoots with

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Speaker 1: your favorite Rangers DJ's meet and greets with alumni, face painting, tattoos.

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Speaker 1: There's something for everyone, casual fan. It's freed all the

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Speaker 1: fans and for me, it just it just encourages people

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Speaker 1: just to take a look, get inside, and you just

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Speaker 1: see how passionate Ranger fans are because all you see

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Speaker 1: is Ranger blue. It's it's it's a lot of fun.

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Speaker 1: And even as an alumni, there's a lot of people

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Speaker 1: that I've known for decades that have been supporting. And

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Speaker 1: I've been lucky enough to be supported by when I played,

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Speaker 1: and certainly the current players. Hey, Adam, it's Mike Lynch

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Speaker 1: up in Boston. I've been a sportscaster up here in

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Speaker 1: Boston for like forty years, and whenever everyone asked me

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Speaker 1: who are the nicest guys to deal with? I said,

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Speaker 1: hockey players number one, And they're so far ahead. No

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Speaker 1: one's in second place. And I've always been trying to

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Speaker 1: put my finger on why you guys, when it comes

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Speaker 1: to charity, you're the first one raising your hands, You're

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Speaker 1: the first one to jump been What is it about

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Speaker 1: the culture of hockey that makes you guys just so

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Speaker 1: entwined with you with the public, with child organizations, when

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Speaker 1: anybody needs help, hockey players are the first to step forward.

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Speaker 1: For me, and I can only speak to our sport

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Speaker 1: and that makes it very proud when I when I

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Speaker 1: hear that and I think it's across the board. It

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Speaker 1: doesn't matter what organization with In fact, it doesn't matter

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Speaker 1: what level you're at, because I will tell you that

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Speaker 1: we have a foundation up here and in Canada and

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Speaker 1: we had a twenty four hour hockey game and Eric

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Speaker 1: Wayne Draws joined us and a couple of my teammates,

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Speaker 1: Stephan Mento who you know, And for me, it was

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Speaker 1: it's just that the the the level of respect and

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Speaker 1: friendship and all those things that that hockey teaches us.

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Speaker 1: And I always said this, and we all obviously understand

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Speaker 1: that at the NHL level it's a business and and

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Speaker 1: and certainly an entertainment business. But for me, some of

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Speaker 1: the greatest benefits of the game is how you can

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Speaker 1: take the game and get involved the new community and

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Speaker 1: the people that you get to meet. And have heard

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Speaker 1: an example on a weekend like this where there was

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Speaker 1: kids playing with their their parents and you know, there

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Speaker 1: was just grandparents out volunteering people just you know, I

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Speaker 1: think it just allows people to take down the guard

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Speaker 1: and just be themselves. And the friendships and and and

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Speaker 1: all those great things that I really truly believe that

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Speaker 1: hockey really embraces, and I think it's just a culture

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Speaker 1: that I'm very proud to be a part of it.

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Speaker 1: I love hearing that. Uh, you know when you hear

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Speaker 1: people say, hey, I dealt with hockey players over the years,

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Speaker 1: and and you know they've been very good and very

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Speaker 1: grounded and humble. I love hearing that because I'd like

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Speaker 1: to think that that's that's kind of what's encouraged from

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Speaker 1: a young age playing playing hockey growing up. What whether

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Speaker 1: it's in in Canada the United States, and we all

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Speaker 1: know where the game is done. And I can tell

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Speaker 1: you that even whether Junior Rangers program, how much that's

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Speaker 1: grown at hockey is just booming in the Tri State area.

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Speaker 1: It is. And Mike Barr I have to say that

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Speaker 1: the few hockey charity foundational work that I've been involved in,

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Speaker 1: whether it's Wheelchair Sports Federation with their work with sled

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Speaker 1: Hockey in the New York area or Hockey Helps with

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Speaker 1: the twenty for our Marathon, Adam Graves is there at

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Speaker 1: every one of these events, and Stefan Matteo as well.

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Speaker 1: These are these are guys who consistently show up each

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Speaker 1: time there is a good cause. Well it's funny you

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Speaker 1: say that, Scarlett, because the Jim Flannagan, who founded Hockey

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Speaker 1: Helps UH. It came up here and it was my

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Speaker 1: the goaltender and my team that I put in and

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Speaker 1: he was up here with his son and his best

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Speaker 1: friend for the weekend, and Steph came up with them.

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Speaker 1: And that's the best part because we go down there

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Speaker 1: and it's these friendships and and it's too hockey that

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Speaker 1: I met Jim Flannagan, who is uh just an unbelievable

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Speaker 1: giving man, great family man and everything else. But it

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Speaker 1: brings people together and at the same time you're benefiting

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Speaker 1: all these uh different foundations and organizations that are helped

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Speaker 1: others and quite frankly just trying to uh you know,

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Speaker 1: make things a little bit easier and better for all

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Speaker 1: of us and UH and certainly UH Jim is a

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Speaker 1: perfect example in the Hockey Helps UH. Although I will

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Speaker 1: tell you up in Canada, we have an extra four

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Speaker 1: hours because we have a couple of extra teams in

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Speaker 1: next year divisions. So I made Jim work a little

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Speaker 1: bit harder this year and our team wasn't very good.

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Speaker 1: So I don't think you'll sleep all that or he'll

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Speaker 1: be sleeping quite well the entire week because he had

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Speaker 1: to stand on his head just to keep us in games. Well,

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Speaker 1: you know, I want to go back to what you

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Speaker 1: were saying about the Junior Rangers and for that matter,

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Speaker 1: just junior hockey in general. I am a big proponent

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Speaker 1: of seeing kids play hockey and hopefully one day they'll

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Speaker 1: they'll take it to the highest level, same way it

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Speaker 1: is for anything in baseball or football, whatever. What can

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Speaker 1: hockey do to encourage more like you guys are doing

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Speaker 1: with Junior Rangers, Why can hockey do to encourage children

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Speaker 1: to get into the sport, to get out on the ice. Again,

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Speaker 1: it's it's access. And I think with our Junior Rangers program,

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Speaker 1: whether it's dry hockey for free or you know, learn

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Speaker 1: to play, um, it gives kids an opportunity at a

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Speaker 1: really reduced rate to put equipment on. They get a

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Speaker 1: whole set of equipment and then you know, ten or

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Speaker 1: twelve weeks, one hour a week where they just learn

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Speaker 1: the game. And for me, you see, you see these

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Speaker 1: kids were the first week, you know, in confidence and

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Speaker 1: just kick off where they get on the ice and

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Speaker 1: it can be scary. I mean you're on blades with

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Speaker 1: a hockey stick and and it's not easy. And then

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Speaker 1: you see them bend their knees and you see them

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Speaker 1: start to move. And then week three, four and five.

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Speaker 1: And best part about it is it becomes a family

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Speaker 1: event and something that even though mom and dad and

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Speaker 1: maybe grandma and they're not on the ice, you can

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Speaker 1: see that they're you know, they're part of it. They're

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Speaker 1: involved and and you see the siblings are there, and

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Speaker 1: for me, that is the special part of it. And

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Speaker 1: then we have the the junior you know, the the

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Speaker 1: the leagues that they go from, you know, after they

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Speaker 1: learned to play. Now we have the Rookie League where

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Speaker 1: kids can go and play and they have their first

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Speaker 1: essentil team and they play every week. And then we

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Speaker 1: have the Junior Rangers youth hockey camps, so in the

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Speaker 1: summer they can come and spend a week and those

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Speaker 1: are some of my favorite memories as a kid playing hockey.

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Speaker 1: In fact, I played you know, into hockey camps up

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Speaker 1: in Canada with Steve Spott, who was the associate coach

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Speaker 1: of of Vegas. So these are friendships you're going to

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Speaker 1: have your entire life. So our Junior Rangers hockey camps

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Speaker 1: in the summer are terrific. We have alumni come out

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Speaker 1: in all of our you know, the junior Rangers coaches,

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Speaker 1: and and again it's bringing kids together and reinforcing all

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Speaker 1: those things that are gonna I think benefit them in

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Speaker 1: life and certainly in their career and in their families

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Speaker 1: and all these things, uh that hockey can teach us

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Speaker 1: and and certainly at a junior Rangers level. And of

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Speaker 1: course wearing blue shirt blue is always special. I'm a

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Speaker 1: little partial to the black and gold. But hey, they

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Speaker 1: I'll tell you what they had. They had a good

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Speaker 1: last couple of games. That's that's that's a heck of

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Speaker 1: a series going. It is. Yeah, yeah, three of the

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Speaker 1: series now are tied. I'll square at two apiece. Um,

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Speaker 1: I want a little little bit of business discussion here.

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Speaker 1: The big TV contract. I thought I thought nobody had

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Speaker 1: done more for the game than NBC over the last

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Speaker 1: decade and a half. But this new contract, every day

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Speaker 1: there's four games on between TBS, T and t ESPN.

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Speaker 1: It's absolutely fantastic. What do you think that's gonna do

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Speaker 1: for for the game league wide nationwide internationally? Wow? I

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Speaker 1: think for for me and even the way they're they're

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Speaker 1: capturing it, and I see when you see uh, this

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Speaker 1: and that congrats and talk it and then you see

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Speaker 1: mess and Shelley Telos on there and and for me

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Speaker 1: just there's just such good and great bastards of the

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Speaker 1: game and I think they really Uh, for me, it's

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Speaker 1: it's it's a celebration of the game. And when you

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Speaker 1: look at as you you you navigate through whether you're

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Speaker 1: and for me, historically hockey it's been hard to translate

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Speaker 1: that into you know, onto the screen. And and certainly

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Speaker 1: I think that having those games, having that access, uh,

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Speaker 1: people just enjoy it. And I think that hockey is

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Speaker 1: growing so much. You look at hockey in the US,

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Speaker 1: even representatively as far as the NHL is concerned. You

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Speaker 1: look at the leading score goal scorer in the league

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Speaker 1: is from Arizona, you know, Austin Matthew. So, so the

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Speaker 1: game is just growing. And that's in the Sun Belt.

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Speaker 1: And I think when when Wayne Gretzky was was traded

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Speaker 1: and what kind of a season they had their number

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Speaker 1: one in the league. So I really think that that

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Speaker 1: hockey is taking a huge step. And when you have

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Speaker 1: a platform like that. It's incredible in the here obviously

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Speaker 1: with the st n t ant and the end you

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Speaker 1: and you put your your most marketable alumni or not

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Speaker 1: even along, but legends is you know, for people too,

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Speaker 1: because they're good people. They're fun to to listen to,

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Speaker 1: fun to, you know, and you can see that there's

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Speaker 1: just such a camaraderie whether you played together, you play there.

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Speaker 1: And when I started watching earlier this year and watching uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, Regrets and business Anson Carter, I just and

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Speaker 1: they had Barkley on there, I believe I just thought,

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Speaker 1: this is this is outstanding. People are gonna love this

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Speaker 1: and I think you're you're going to see that. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: that chemistry goes a long way. Um. Well, staying on

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Speaker 1: the business of hockey, Adam, I want to get your

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Speaker 1: thoughts on the Seattle Crack and your view on their

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Speaker 1: first season. They didn't make the playoffs in their inaugural season,

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Speaker 1: but just reflect back for us. Um, is the NHL

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Speaker 1: doing anything differently with this particular expansion. I wonder what

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Speaker 1: you think it means for how that might motivate their

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Speaker 1: plans for future expansion. Well, well, certainly when you see

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Speaker 1: the excitement Ron Francis h is a really smart guy.

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Speaker 1: I think that certainly when you you had and they

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Speaker 1: approached it maybe a little bit differently because Vegas, as

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Speaker 1: you know, they made a lot of trades and uh

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Speaker 1: and came out. You know, they went to the finals

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Speaker 1: in the in the first year, and they've been contender

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Speaker 1: and certainly if it wasn't for for injuries, they probably

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Speaker 1: would have been in uh, you know, one of the

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Speaker 1: favorites going into the playoffs. But I think just because

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Speaker 1: of the way things happened this year with with with injuries,

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Speaker 1: I think it really uh you know, maybe hurt them

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Speaker 1: at different points in the season. Certain Seattle people love

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Speaker 1: the game. I know I'd been there on several occasions

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Speaker 1: to see their junior team because we had had New

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Speaker 1: York Ranger draft picks and and I know how passionate

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Speaker 1: Seattle fans are. And I certainly think that with Ron

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Speaker 1: Francis leading the and all the draft picks they have

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Speaker 1: and and everything else in the coaching that you will

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Speaker 1: see them improve, I think in a quick manner. But

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Speaker 1: at the same time, I think people are just so

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Speaker 1: happy to have NHL hockey there that yes, it always

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Speaker 1: helps when you're winning but even when you're you're you're

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Speaker 1: not at the top of the division. You can go

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Speaker 1: to a Seattle Cracking game and you're gonna enjoy the game.

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Speaker 1: You're gonna enjoy your own players, and you're gonna enjoy

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Speaker 1: the teams that come in. You're gonna see all the stars.

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Speaker 1: So yes, at the end of the day day, you know,

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Speaker 1: we you know we as a New York Rangers, we

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Speaker 1: want to win the Stanley Cup. But at the same time,

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Speaker 1: there's eighty two games and you're not gonna win all

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Speaker 1: eighty two. But people are going to enjoy themselves watching

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Speaker 1: those games, regardless of the outcome. Unfortunately, there's the harsh

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Speaker 1: reality about not just in hockey, but in any sport,

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Speaker 1: people are going to lose their jobs. People are going

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Speaker 1: to be let go. In fact, the Islanders they just

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Speaker 1: let go Berry Trot's uh from this head coaching duties.

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Speaker 1: I bring it up because I and not trying to

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Speaker 1: get sports fans to understand you're talking about how a

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Speaker 1: person put food on the table or roof over their head. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's it's way more than just like oh so and

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Speaker 1: so got fired this that whatever can you take us

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Speaker 1: through that? There is a there is that harshness to it.

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Speaker 1: And you want everybody to stand on their feet, but

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Speaker 1: there is that harshness. Yeah, absolutely, And as as a

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Speaker 1: coach and as a player, UM, that's it's it's no

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Speaker 1: different than than any other profession. That you know, changes

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Speaker 1: are made, and I know that I was I was

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Speaker 1: traded a couple of times and so uh and I

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Speaker 1: know that I was cut trying to make teams, whether

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Speaker 1: it was on the national level with Cannon, the Olympic team,

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Speaker 1: and those are hurdles that you have to overcome and

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Speaker 1: and and certainly uh when when when it comes to coaching,

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Speaker 1: you you see coaches um that have won Stanley Cups

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Speaker 1: that uh, at different points, uh you know, are are fired.

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Speaker 1: But the thing that we you have to remember is

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Speaker 1: that it's it's human nature. And uh. And I think

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Speaker 1: when when your your team is doing very very well

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Speaker 1: and things are all clicking, then uh, you know, and

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Speaker 1: you have great results. But there's also times when you know,

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Speaker 1: even as a player, that maybe that message isn't being heard,

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Speaker 1: maybe the team struggling, and and sometimes a lot of

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Speaker 1: that falls on the coach or or as a player.

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Speaker 1: And I know that my game dropped off at different

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Speaker 1: points and I was traded. It's but I also knew

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Speaker 1: as much as I didn't want to get traded, I

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Speaker 1: knew that, you know, I wasn't one of those things where, oh,

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Speaker 1: you know, how how can they trade me? Even the

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Speaker 1: Ranger and I love being a Ranger for ten years,

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Speaker 1: but I also know that my game wasn't where it

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Speaker 1: needed to be, and I gave them a reason to

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Speaker 1: to to move me. And I'm sure coaches look at

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Speaker 1: it the same way. But it is a business, and

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Speaker 1: you know, at the NHL level, we're here to win,

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Speaker 1: and certainly with the Rangers organization, the Rangers team and

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Speaker 1: you see that because it's one of the most exciting

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Speaker 1: teams in the league, and uh, you know, and having

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Speaker 1: a great success. Um, the next step is trying to

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Speaker 1: become a contender and then of course trying to win

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Speaker 1: the Stanley Cup because uh, there's not a greater joy

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Speaker 1: in in in sport and certainly in hockey than winning

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Speaker 1: the Stanley Cup. Hey, I hadm Michael Barr mentioned some

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Speaker 1: of the big market teams that didn't make it. Uh,

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Speaker 1: and there's also one that every year is outstanding stands

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Speaker 1: out to me, is the game better if the Montreal

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Speaker 1: Canadians make the playoffs, then when they don't make the playoffs,

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Speaker 1: and here's in its funniest okay, I will tell you

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Speaker 1: them going to the Stanley Cup Finals and and being

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Speaker 1: up in Canada. You know, just the legend of the

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Speaker 1: Montreal Canadians and and seeing you know, their their history

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Speaker 1: and the way they celebrate it. And if you have

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Speaker 1: a chance, you ever have a chance to to go

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Speaker 1: to Montreal, it's a special place to watch a hockey game.

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Speaker 1: I remember playing there for the first time at the Forum,

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Speaker 1: and I grew up in Torontal, so I was a

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Speaker 1: Leaf fan, but certainly watched uh from afar, But to

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Speaker 1: actually go into Montreal and and play, it's just a special,

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Speaker 1: special place to play. But you know they're there. They

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Speaker 1: obviously are in a you know, in a rebuilding mode

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Speaker 1: led by Jeff Gorton, who I know and respect greatly

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Speaker 1: from working together with him for for many many years.

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Speaker 1: So uh, you know, what Montreal is is a team

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Speaker 1: that's so important and integral to the National Hockey League

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Speaker 1: and the history and and certainly the way they operated

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Speaker 1: first class and certainly they are the gold standards for

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Speaker 1: for the National Hockey League. Adam Graves, Mr Ranger, two

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Speaker 1: times Stanley Cup champion, You've been so kind to talk

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Speaker 1: with us and drop a lot of knowledge on us.

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Speaker 1: We appreciate it. Thank you again, Sarah. Always a pleasure

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Speaker 1: and I hope you guys enjoy h Whomever you are supporting, Scarlet,

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Speaker 1: Let's go Rangers. Yes, exactly, let's go Rangers. That that

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Speaker 1: last game, the second period was good and then it

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Speaker 1: all kind of went the wrong way. I'm rooting for

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Speaker 1: the looting for the Red We're rooting for the Red

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Speaker 1: Wings next year. Yes, yes, I'm going to root for him.

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Speaker 1: It's uh hey, They're my team. I love him. Adam,

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Speaker 1: thank you so much for making the time. As always,

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Speaker 1: you're such a great investor for a sport. Thanks Adam,

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Speaker 1: Thank you very much. Care thank you, thank you, thank you.

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Speaker 1: This has been the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast. We

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Speaker 1: explore some of the big money issues in the world

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Speaker 1: of sports and talk to some of the biggest names

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Speaker 1: out there in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr.

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Speaker 1: Follow me on Twitter please at Big Bar Sports. I'm

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Speaker 1: Scarlet Fool. You can follow me on Twitter at Scarlett Fool,

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Speaker 1: and I'm Mike Lynch at lynch e w CDB and

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Speaker 1: download this show wherever you get your podcasts.