00:00:01
now the reason we brought you guys here is to talk about Wayne Gretzky we have a
00:00:05
secret though what is it oh yeah we have a secret but we gotta tell you what happened because a lot of people a lot
00:00:12
of people we get a lot of people get letters a lot of you are saying Dana and David there I don't know which podcast
00:00:20
it was but you guys talked each other and they said Dana okay I was trying to illustrate it I
00:00:29
mean you know I think they get it okay we talk over each other a lot there was a technical issue with our buddy Wayne
00:00:35
Gretzky so that we could not talk over or laugh or make a sound when he was talking torture it was [ __ ] amazing I
00:00:45
loved it where is this is the test to you what do you like better shut the [ __ ] up and act professional
00:00:51
and respect that we're just or when we're giggling and we're laughing if you want
00:00:57
us quiet this is your podcast but just so you will listen to the podcast Wayne Gretzky happened to be a great guest
00:01:03
with this technical issue he had great stories and I'd kind of signal to him
00:01:07
but for me personally I had to wait and looking at his face on the zoom and going I think he stopped talking yeah we
00:01:14
should start talking now it was very hard we had a long pause and I go because we would laugh during like right
00:01:19
at the beginning and we're in trouble because he goes when I started hockey and I go I played hockey and he's like
00:01:23
and you know because well this was over because he would cut him out David this is us because I'm seeing him on the
00:01:29
zoom he's seen me so we couldn't he was saying stuff was making us laugh but we
00:01:33
literally if we laughed at all his sound would drop so most of the time I'm seeing David do this yeah because we
00:01:38
can't we can't even like make one noise yeah because his sound cuts out he's the
00:01:42
greatest uh the greatest hockey player of all time he's supernaturally humble
00:01:47
about his stats he's always saying no there's plenty of great hockey players
00:01:52
out there that's the best I could do it that's good yeah um but uh he hosted SNL
00:01:57
when I was there and it turned out it would to be a really Charming great episode so we talk about that and that
00:02:03
was a big moment in his life these professional athletes who host SNL it's kind of a badge of honor if your episode
00:02:09
was good and so he travels with that and so that was a fun we tried to get him to
00:02:14
say he's good he never no he wouldn't what about the stats like no one has
00:02:19
ever scored more than 100 points this season he scored over 206 times what about that well I don't know they're
00:02:25
just stats they don't mean much you know I'm just like one of the Muppets in the
00:02:28
balcony Wayne oh I don't know well it's the best I can do in a pinche uh he was
00:02:33
great it's very different because it's there's there's pauses so [ __ ] deal with that
00:02:39
and we don't even giggle when they're funny you can't hear us but we're just
00:02:42
off mic and he says funny things and we can't we're not allowed to do anything
00:02:45
okay that's all you'll figure it out Wayne Gretzky write us your comments
00:02:48
where I don't know [Music] I heard that David actually is a speed golfer like he doesn't he walks up the
00:03:01
ball and hits it and according to John Lovitz is a pretty darn good player yeah but anybody look good claim to say John
00:03:10
love it I didn't mean just David I mean all of us yeah no no one can golf basically I
00:03:25
I'm always surprised a guy who's shooting like 120 swearing and Swinging
00:03:30
the club and angry I'm going dude you're you're going to shoot 120. why are you
00:03:35
angry just have fun you know Wayne is uh I've seen him out at Sherwood and the infuriating thing
00:03:42
about him among other things is uh he's he's pretty good hockey and he's very
00:03:48
good at golf and he oh yeah yeah Wayne are you good at golf just a question I'm I'm very average at best
00:03:58
well Dana he smoked me so well if I if you with legal rules no Mulligans on a on a PGA course could you
00:04:08
if I said the word 90 as a score would that sound familiar high or low if I could play the senior tees for 60 years
00:04:16
old and over do they move those up I didn't even know that yeah you know I can't play back where my
00:04:25
son-in-law plays I'd shoot 120. so you your son-in-law is one of the best golfers in the world so that must be
00:04:32
weird going out and playing with Dustin Johnson I assume I don't know you know
00:04:36
what's funny about it everybody always says to me the first question is always
00:04:41
how many shots does he give you hahaha you think I'm stupid he's always my
00:04:47
partner [Laughter] oh yeah that's a very smart move I think I saw a scorecard uh uh at at Shadow
00:04:58
Creek of maybe you it was you and Dustin maybe you guys are all playing but it was a very low scorecard yeah when when
00:05:05
you playing with a pro and it's just for fun are they almost extra great in a way
00:05:12
because they're so relaxed do they take more chances or they're just kind of
00:05:16
laissez-faire they're all different but I will tell you this I play a lot obviously more with Dustin than any of
00:05:23
them he's so cordial to everybody on the course he loves to help people if you
00:05:30
guys played with him you would walk off the course and say what a wonderful guy how nice he was and
00:05:38
I don't care who you are uh you get nervous playing with them I still get a little bit nervous even
00:05:44
though we play we don't want to embarrass yourself right yeah no I've heard that from other people too what
00:05:52
what a gentleman he is and that must be great to have a son-in-law that is so cool I have a oh yeah Dwayne
00:06:01
I got to uh play with tiger to to get a uh a lesson for one of his shows or something and I saw the show oh he did
00:06:10
okay so you know it was a knee clacker it didn't talk about nerves and even though he couldn't be cooler and uh you
00:06:18
know obviously bored of Tears with me but he was super cool super cordial helpful gave me re you know in so much
00:06:25
pain he was in so much pain then Wayne this was you know the day before the accident so he it was his last not round
00:06:33
but I did five holes of them but uh I told everyone it was 18 but um we did five and then you know tell me
00:06:40
to get the bunker he'd get down and give me reads and I remember asking him then
00:06:43
do you think you'll ever play again just be I don't know why I asked him that
00:06:46
because he was so sore from a back operation and then he crashed the next day and I thought oh I don't think he
00:06:53
can he'll play again and then he was better than me within minutes again well
00:07:00
a few athletes come around the world as good as he is and was I can tell you this the respect that he
00:07:07
has not only from people like you and myself that see him play and who watch him but I can remember four and five
00:07:14
years ago asking Dustin what do you guys think do you think he can win another major and there wasn't one guy that said
00:07:21
no he won't win another one they all to a man said you know what he's so unique
00:07:26
and so good he's going to win another major little did I know that would be the Masters that Dustin came second in I
00:07:34
said Dustin of all the majors he's got to win he's got to beat you by one
00:07:39
oh man one of the most chilling moments in sports was him winning that I'm sorry
00:07:44
about your son-in-law but I was just such an incredible comeback and uh you know you are you you're in that Pantheon
00:07:52
I mean you are people talk about Tiger Woods and you know it's it's a really
00:07:56
small small group up on Mount Rushmore in uh Athletics and you're up there with
00:08:02
tiger and that's why we're happy to have you on the show well I'm I'm thrilled to
00:08:07
be on the show because obviously uh you know both of you guys but I'm big fans
00:08:11
of both you guys and more importantly you're both good people and uh it's my
00:08:15
pleasure to be here today well that's nice Dwayne do you remember the day you
00:08:20
went from the pretty good one to the great one walk us through that day [Laughter]
00:08:30
I hear this because I was 10 and it was so silly uh I was 10 years old I scored 400 goals
00:08:42
from that team and so that's when I was five and I got one goal I remember I cried on the way
00:08:48
home at the end of the year and my dad said don't worry you're gonna be okay
00:08:52
and I was like I only got one goal but I got 400 goals and this guy writer he wrote
00:09:01
every good athlete has a nickname and he nicknamed me at the age of 10 the great one and I was so mad none of my
00:09:11
teammates ever called me that none of my friends ever call me that but it kind of
00:09:15
stuck with me for life and I've had it since I was 10. wow um what was your nickname uh David when
00:09:22
you were 10. mine was knucklehead mine was shrimp cocktail and uh didn't love it actually I had
00:09:31
read that your your dad had helped you uh with all that and I remember when I was four my dad gave me a Nerf football
00:09:38
and then he drove off and that was it so uh uh we have a not a similar situation
00:09:43
well at least you had a parting gift I didn't know it was a Parting Gift he goes hey play the dad home game here's a
00:09:51
football and get [ __ ] it's our it's a it's a point of view but obviously you talk a lot about your
00:09:58
relationship with your dad and I was just curious about your whole family playing hockey outside at night and just
00:10:06
this whole culture of hockey what your dad was just a crazy fan right of the of the sport of the game you know what he
00:10:13
really wasn't that's the that's there it was more me than my dad when I was like
00:10:19
three and four he would take me to outdoor parks and ponds because we didn't we couldn't afford to skate
00:10:24
indoors and I would skate all day and he decided one day he said you know what I can't take this anymore I'm going to
00:10:33
build a rink in the backyard so I can sit in the kitchen and drink hot tea and watch him in the backyard
00:10:39
so it wasn't he never pushed me I get parents that ask me all the time they'll
00:10:44
say will you tell my son how many hours a day he used to practice and I would say you know I never
00:10:49
practiced it was just that's what I love to do yeah from nine in the morning to
00:10:54
six at night have dinner sometimes I'd skate eight o'clock to ten o'clock at night in the backyard by
00:11:00
myself and people would say don't you think you're missing something you're you know
00:11:05
hang out with your friends going to movies I I never thought I missed anything and they were passion in my love but my
00:11:13
dad and mom both supported me but they never pushed me one time ever it was never even an issue in my house
00:11:21
so you know our house is really unique because my five kids are older now I have a daughter that plays tennis at SMU
00:11:29
I had a son who was a golfer but now is kind of he's at NYU taking business uh I had a son that got drafted by the
00:11:37
Cubs and I have an older son who loves hockey and does hockey clinics around the world with him and I
00:11:43
and we have you know what there's never any pressure from me I never pushed them
00:11:49
um listen Sports is our life um I've got to travel the world I got to meet some wonderful people some great
00:11:57
opportunities and it's all because I had a love and a passion for a sport and
00:12:01
nobody ever pushed me well for all you pushy parents out there no the you know but it's like but I will
00:12:09
tell you it's the greatest thing in the world whether you're six years old or a
00:12:13
professional athlete the look in the stands and see your mom and dad and your spouse there the support is so important
00:12:21
uh every athlete will tell you the exact same thing did you ever do fantasy sports because
00:12:27
when I was a kid you know it'd be like shooting and it's good did you ever like
00:12:31
out there by yourself go and Gracie's coming in and Gracie passes off it's
00:12:34
back to Gretzky Gretzky scores did you have fantasies in your head as a little kid by yourself on the ice at 10 o'clock
00:12:40
at night every day but I I didn't it was pretty How uh always idolized Gordie Howe at five
00:12:49
years old I got a Gordie Howe hockey jersey for Christmas my parents kind of re-wrapped it every
00:12:54
year and I would have been happy we didn't have a lot of money it's been
00:12:58
fine by me so Gordy was my guy um everything was Gordie Howe scores game seven overtime
00:13:07
uh hat trick for Gordie Howe uh yeah we all did it every one of us and if you if
00:13:13
you're saying you didn't do it you're lying because we all did it what did you what did you think when you
00:13:18
first met Gordy Howe uh what that must have been intense oh my gosh I'll tell
00:13:22
you my Gordie Howe Story So I met him when I was 10. and you know when you meet your Idols
00:13:28
sometimes in sports that you know you go well I was okay or your parents say how was it meeting Gordy and
00:13:35
I remember I told my dad I said you know he's bigger and better and nicer than I
00:13:39
even had in my mind um and then at 16 years old I played with his youngest son Murray who went on
00:13:46
to become a doctor he's a doctor in Detroit we played together and we get on
00:13:50
the team bus and Murray was a real diligent student and he would have all these books and every time I get on the
00:13:57
bus I'd sit with Murray and Murray would say Wayne where are your books and I go
00:14:01
well okay next game books there's one game I came walking on the bus and I had six books and I went to
00:14:09
sit down and say Murray and he goes I'm glad to see you're taking this seriously
00:14:13
he says what do you got geometry math English and I said well I got Gordy how how to
00:14:19
be a great hockey player gordia hockey tips Gordie Howe lessons I said you want to be a doctor I want to be Gordie Howe
00:14:31
did he ever write a book how to be Gordie Howe well I know one thing when I was a kid
00:14:37
you'll laugh at this because I was like six years old and I sat down in the barber's seat my mom took me to get a
00:14:43
haircut and they said Mrs Gretzky what do you want to do to his hair and I turned into the barber and I said can I
00:14:49
get a Gordie Howe haircut that's how much I like Gordie Howe wow well David you had similar thoughts
00:14:56
about me right because I'm a little older when I saw Dana actually I ran into my dad when I was 20 and he goes I
00:15:02
guess you didn't make the NFL I go what he goes I gave you that football what a
00:15:06
gold Bricker he said it was two colors you were spoiled uh no I I was a skateboarder Wayne and uh you know I
00:15:16
think it's nice it'd be nice to be in your position I think Dana and I uh have
00:15:21
it in a smaller way but when you do something and you see these guys like if I ran into Dan Aykroyd you know I was
00:15:28
the same way with comedy I think Dana was too so you run into a guy that Steve Martin someone you grew up listening to
00:15:33
albums or the exact same scenario and if they turn out to be cool uh it's it's very nice and then if
00:15:40
anyone says hi to me just because they saw something and if it's even close to
00:15:45
that scenario and they're probably gonna only see me once you know they run into
00:15:48
me at the Cheesecake Factory so if you can be nice for one second that's gonna
00:15:52
probably it for them you know they're not gonna run into you again what are the chances so I try I know Dane is very
00:15:58
cool to people and I know Wayne I saw you out at the uh golf course and uh always cool everyone even Kid Rock you
00:16:05
were nice to everyone [Laughter] singer Dana and if you don't believe me ask him and and as as Robert the news
00:16:18
lately that's what has Robert been in the news lately oh yeah yeah you know that's why
00:16:26
I always crop them out of my photos on Instagram I can't take the comments well for
00:16:37
centers just to reiterate yeah you still have 61 records right or is that just Wikipedia stuff or NHL records I
00:16:45
honestly I don't keep track of it but I whenever I go somewhere that's what they
00:16:50
say so you you would know as much as I do honestly I I tried to put you in context for
00:16:58
other people I don't even know how to do it because you were the weren't you the
00:17:02
best player in the world by the time you're 17 no no but let me say this people ask me this all the time you know
00:17:09
because it's all subjective right it's what you believe and so for me I always
00:17:14
say that Ali Jordan and tiger are the three greatest athletes that I ever saw and I happened to get to know see them
00:17:22
and they were all really nice to me so listen that's a great thing about sports
00:17:27
right we sit around and we debate who is the best team who is the greatest athlete who is the best hockey player
00:17:33
who's the best baseball player it's all debatable there's so many great athletes
00:17:38
it's like your business there's so many good people in your business can't just sit there and say well this
00:17:43
guy is the greatest ever there's so many good people it's all personal choice
00:17:48
yeah I mean there are a few stats that are at least eye-popping but there's others you know 10 MVPs or I mean you
00:17:55
scored over 200 points no one else David let me Dana let me explain I I I've got
00:17:59
the stats he has he won the heart trophy which is really good yeah the nicest the
00:18:05
heart trophies for the nicest person I think uh I don't really know how it works but he has a big heart and you can
00:18:12
tell and um he has reading his Wikipedia you know that we don't know and we're
00:18:18
not laughing during while you're talking Wayne because it cuts out so this is
00:18:22
killing Dane and I we can't laugh over you and we can't talk over you and it's
00:18:26
killing we're smiling because if you think we're not doing it it's because
00:18:30
you cut out so we have to be we're training ourselves so um uh I do love all this [ __ ] about him
00:18:37
but he doesn't like to talk about himself I can tell but I I have an interesting question Maybe well I found
00:18:43
it fascinating that as a young man you had to move out of your hometown because you were so famous and you're like 14
00:18:49
you move it with a family and what I found interesting because I uh you know have kind of a fear of flying I'm not
00:18:57
terrible but I'm and that you were flying around in a DC3 that could only go to 9 000 feet going around as a 14
00:19:07
year old in a hockey league what was that like it was horrible I actually got over it because of it all I could think
00:19:13
of is it wasn't Ricky Valance it died in a DC-3 um we were always right in the middle of
00:19:20
the worst weather you can ever imagine and I think uh Edmonton and Calgary is called Sault Ste Marie gets more snow
00:19:29
and is colder than Edmonton trust me so it was a tough year but you know what I got through it and everything worked out
00:19:37
okay [Music] and then you tried to help me dovetailing to your great SNL appearance
00:19:47
because we we talked about it and you'd said I'll tell you at the end of the
00:19:52
week doing the week of SNL how to get over your fear of flying and you wouldn't tell me all week and then when
00:19:58
the show ended you said one word helicopters [Laughter] stay out of an airplane if you don't
00:20:12
like it there's no I've done everything I've been the hypnotherapists I've been
00:20:17
in simulators I've flown with the best pilots in the world it's just a listen I've never had a
00:20:24
speeding ticket in my life and I don't like heights that's a bad combination although I'm a little bit
00:20:31
older I'm better Janet and I traveled to Caribbean two or three times this winter
00:20:38
I'm I'm doing things that I used to not do because I said you know what I don't
00:20:42
need to get an airplane um but either you're comfortable fine or you're not there's no in between and it's as
00:20:50
simple as that wow well I I uh I'm a kindred spirit I feel for you if it if it's good weather
00:20:58
and it's going good and it just Everything feels good I can start to relax enjoy it mostly it's weather
00:21:04
driven or something happening I'm the same as you I checked the weather I know
00:21:10
where we're flying to I hate flying into places like Aspen and places there or
00:21:18
Phoenix at two in the afternoon in June I tried a helicopter once like you guys are talking about um
00:21:23
I I'm sort of in the middle of flying uh don't love it it makes no sense to me so
00:21:28
it's hard and the bumps of course but at that first helicopter the guy goes uh
00:21:33
before we get on how much do you weigh and I'm like I don't know like 145 he
00:21:37
goes more like 146 or 144 I go this can't matter it why does it matter he goes well you're gonna have to sit on
00:21:43
the left we've got to even it out I don't like that it's that close and then
00:21:47
when we heard these noises he goes you know what these things have a way of figuring themselves out in the air let's
00:21:53
go for I'm like wait what what so when you when you're doing that it's like an
00:21:57
imprecise science of I'm on some jalopy and I don't know any history of it
00:22:01
Dana's smart enough he looks up every flight he's on looks up the pilots smart
00:22:07
it helps a little I was on a private jet once where it was for a corporate gig and the two pilots that were full board
00:22:14
just me with two young guys and then they aborted the takeoff and then they start really fighting
00:22:21
like yelling each other [ __ ] you man it was my fault you they're screaming I'm
00:22:26
going should I get off this plane then they kind of calm down so we're gonna
00:22:30
try it again but they're mad at each other the whole flight so stuff like that it's just weird of course try it
00:22:37
again what the [ __ ] Wayne can we dovetail into your SNL appearance yeah let's do okay I I will uh walk you
00:22:44
through it uh so I'm flying in the airplane and Lawrence's office had called me and asked me to do Saturday
00:22:51
Night Live and I said are you out of your mind I I spent the year uh Larry and DD Gordon and Jerry Bruckheimer two
00:23:01
of the best people in the industry and I'm like I don't want anything to do
00:23:06
with having to act or I said you know what thank you I appreciate the offer I was on an airplane I was flying to the
00:23:13
east coast I was going to the Kentucky Derby and I was reading the newspaper and in the newspaper it said Wayne
00:23:19
Gretzky to host Saturday Night Live and I didn't even actually pulled the paper down I looked at my wife and I
00:23:25
said okay I know you called Lauren she goes you're going to thank me at the end
00:23:29
of the week and that's five and let me tell you I I was so nervous the whole entire time from
00:23:37
Tuesday even taking the pictures on Tuesday I was nervous but I want to tell you
00:23:42
between Dana and Mike and Dennis Miller John Lovitz and our hometown boy Phil Hartman they took me under their wing
00:23:52
every single day every half hour they'd say don't memorize a word don't worry
00:23:57
about anything we got you covered just go with the flow if you make a mistake we'll cover you up so I said okay I I
00:24:05
feel good I can get through this and then I got really nervous when I'm standing behind the door at 11 33
00:24:15
come and says don't go out there on the first name of Wayne Gretzky when they say Wayne Gracie
00:24:21
the second time I'm going to open the door you go out and I said okay I got that so they say Wayne Gretzky I don't
00:24:27
move any the old guy and he said don't be nervous there's probably 25 million
00:24:32
people watching live and that's when I got nervous I would say that oh my god
00:24:38
the guy and I went you got to be kidding me so we went up and we I was so fortunate we had the Fine Young
00:24:46
Cannibals where the music group that year it was kind of a um interesting time because I I really
00:24:55
was uh excited to do it I was thrilled there was so much Canadian content on the show that they helped carry me
00:25:03
through it but I ended up having a riot I had a ball I'm glad my wife said you're doing the show Dana and Mike and
00:25:12
as I said Phil and John especially couldn't have been nicer and Lauren was uh really special to me and somebody
00:25:19
said did you make any mistakes and I said I don't think I really made any mistakes and they said would you ever do
00:25:25
it again I said no because I can make mistakes next time I've done so it was one of those things I'm so
00:25:33
thrilled that I did it I'm proud of it and um gosh it was a lot of fun Dana Dana
00:25:39
and Mike made it a lot of fun well Mike as you know being a Canadian and I know he has a Canadian order you guys all get
00:25:47
like Awards I don't know what your order of something is but Mike was so excited
00:25:53
you were there and uh we all knew the the idea of a professional athlete has never done sketch comedy and now he's
00:26:01
gonna do Live sketch comedy so we all understand how insane it is so I would like to go ahead it's like putting you
00:26:09
on the ice well to dovetail to that so we did a pre-tape which is just a funny memory of
00:26:16
my time on SNL involving Wayne here I uh I you know we didn't really play hockey
00:26:23
out in California at that time so I was playing Garth and we're doing a pre-tape and where Wayne Uh our Mike
00:26:30
Myers Wayne is gonna beat the real Wayne and your wife is looking whatever the sketch was it's very funny
00:26:37
but I was trying to get get my skates on and Lace them up so uh Wayne this Wayne gets on one knee and
00:26:45
helps me lace up my skates and I go that that's kind of cool you know it's
00:26:49
unbelievable then I got up and I I held the hockey puck but I I I wasn't doing
00:26:54
it right so Wayne go excuse me uh hold it like this so I just thought is this like Babe Ruth teaching you how to like
00:27:01
standing and swing a bat so anyway that was quite a thrill and you you you're
00:27:07
you're incredibly nice as people know listening to this I don't know there's a
00:27:11
phrase Canadian nice I think it's cultural but you were so sweet and uh before we get into the minutia of the
00:27:18
show what happened was the show just caught fire on air and you caught fire on air and that that really stood out to
00:27:27
me the show really landed live and that doesn't always happen so you guys were
00:27:32
the best I I I I could never do it again because you guys were so good by the way I saw the clip of him and
00:27:41
Victoria Jackson and uh you got that Spade feathered hair my hair was exactly that look back then it was like way back
00:27:49
I don't know if that was a wig it was your hair because sometimes in the show
00:27:51
they put you in a wig that looks like your hair no no let me tell you something so we do all these skits right
00:27:58
and as you guys know they do I guess four or five extra skits that go in the rehearsal shoot at eight o'clock
00:28:08
calls me in the office and says okay I'm going to tell you one thing it shows
00:28:13
okay but if you want to be different you got to do the singing scene the Elvis role quote the Elvis roll you got to
00:28:20
sing I go Lauren I have no rhythm I have nothing because no no it'll be good
00:28:27
we'll tape it you can mine it or whatever you call it so I said okay so I remember Paulina would be about six
00:28:34
months old and I was changing her diaper and I was singing the song rehearsing on
00:28:39
Friday the day before the show because I didn't want to mess up all the words
00:28:45
sort of like an Elvis Presley character Victoria as we're on the uh I guess water skis but you know what I'm glad I
00:28:54
did it and it was wonderful those those as you know you guys are all great on that show well we had a lot of practice
00:29:00
you know but uh we uh in that sketch Waikiki hockey I think it was called I think I fake skied in your Victoria and
00:29:11
then I skied in and then I think you you did a fake punch and knocked me out of the frame but all all week I knew we
00:29:18
were gonna be side by side with our shirts off so I was like you know we're just I was just kind of kidding like
00:29:22
we'll see who's got what what you know gonna you know I was doing push-ups all
00:29:27
week you know and then I realized when I saw your build I mean you're built but
00:29:31
you weren't you you said it's all really in the legs you don't even you're not a
00:29:35
Bruiser you're a technician and an artist so you kept the upper body lighter right
00:29:40
and you know it's ironic about that scene and people might not know this they wanted me to hit like this piece of
00:29:47
steak off off a table guy standing there with a sort of a a can of some kind and they hit it into
00:29:55
the can and I I couldn't believe I knocked it in but Conan O'Brien was holding the can he was
00:30:03
one of the writers on the show and so every time I would see him he goes you know I caught that steak
00:30:09
he was the steak catcher ah how fun but what a great timing you know Dana we were I don't think I had many athletes
00:30:17
and I was there I think we had Michael Jordan which is a good one to have and uh and uh he was the same way like out
00:30:23
of the element perfectly normal to be freaking out listen Dana and I are supposedly supposed to be good at it we
00:30:31
we're in sketches of bomb all the time it just that's just the luck of the draw
00:30:34
and you can't always nail it it's not always your under your control but when
00:30:39
you see athletes come on it's it's just really fun and if they try stuff like if
00:30:43
you singing or everyone knows this isn't what you do it's kind of just fun to
00:30:47
watch this train wreck in a way well Waikiki Hawaii like the show was going on live and I'm not exactly sure where
00:30:54
it was but I remember like Roars coming from over that side of the studio and then looking at a monitor or something
00:31:01
and seeing you uh become Elvis you know and and I thought there was a Charisma to your commitment and Elvis was shy but
00:31:11
then he also had this great confidence and that's what I think creates Charisma
00:31:14
so when you did that in that moment I don't know if your wife said it to you
00:31:18
were a rock star look at the tape yeah by the way I'm not saying your show was a train wreck I'm
00:31:25
saying sometimes if things go sideways it's never really The Athlete's fault
00:31:29
because they're just put in a ridiculous situation but it is fun to watch because
00:31:33
sometimes some sketches go really well and everyone's like hey pleasantly surprised
00:31:38
but yeah going back twice is probably tough you get a feel for it you get the nerves out by the end of the show you're
00:31:43
like I did it it's a bucket list done can't deal with it thank you [Music]
00:31:54
so let's go let's break him down a little bit for fun for real SNL fans so
00:31:58
you got to work with the great Phil Hartman God Rest his soul one of the best people ever and greatest cast
00:32:04
members and he did a character called the anal retentive man and this one he was a anal retentive fisherman and
00:32:11
you're fishing with him and you got to see him up close to his character and
00:32:15
hang out with Phil what are your memories of that sketch so it was really um it was amazing because
00:32:24
when I first met Phil and you can ask anybody that I know or you know one thing I know about is every
00:32:33
celebrity that ever went to Hollywood if they're Canadian or not I knew every guy
00:32:39
and probably because of my friendship with Alan Thicke over the years I just learned all the way back to Lauren
00:32:46
Greene who was Canadian right when I got to SNL I I didn't realize Phil Hartman
00:32:52
was Canadian and the first thing he said to me is you know I'm Canadian and I went oh my gosh I really didn't
00:32:58
know that and he goes well and I'm from your hometown I'm from Brantford Ontario
00:33:03
and I was so embarrassed I looked at him and I said oh my gosh I didn't know that
00:33:07
and so him and I we chatted a whole week he went to the same high school as my mom went to back in whenever
00:33:14
uh it was amazing because he said I want to do this anal retentive fisherman skit
00:33:21
and so it's more like a talk show which is comfortable for me and I'm like yeah
00:33:25
okay that that's fine and so we're sitting in the boat and dress rehearsal
00:33:30
one day and I said to him I said you know Phil I'm sorry I didn't really realize you're
00:33:35
from Brantford and secondly I said the one thing I hated doing with my dad as a kid was fishing
00:33:42
so remember and I had a good chuckle um he used to tell me stories about when where he grew up in what area
00:33:50
I was so impressed by him and he was so nice to me and I'm so happy that I got
00:33:55
to do that sketch with him um because he just he carried the whole thing as you guys know how talented he
00:34:02
was he said Wayne just play off of me and you know if you mess it up I'll just
00:34:07
cover it up and I said okay and that's really kind of how you guys carried every scratch you guys are so
00:34:12
professional uh I saw I watched that sketch and you just handle it great and you get eaten by a giant fish at the end
00:34:19
you know we don't give it away then uh you know uh he uh I think I think fishing he doesn't like fishing because
00:34:26
it's it's really melted ice and that drives him crazy [Laughter] there was another uh sketch that I love
00:34:35
the rehearsal because this it made me laugh because we were all these celebrities trying to give you advice
00:34:43
in the locker room so Phil once again was playing Jack Nicholson I was doing Travolta and we're just giving you like
00:34:50
really a name advice but anyway every time Phil would talk to you in the rehearsal he would say great one just
00:34:57
like Jack Nicholson saying that and every time I saw your head go down and you were just laughing your ass off over
00:35:04
and over I'll speak to that I know put them aside on the Saturday you know Saturday as you
00:35:11
guys know is a long day and I said so just don't say a great one too many times in Paris
00:35:20
um but you know what listen it was uh I remember Dennis Miller was playing the owner of the team also and Dennis was
00:35:28
standing there he had a suit and tie on and he's trying to be serious and every
00:35:31
time I looked at him I kind of started to giggle because I think at the time he was doing Weekend Update and I'm like
00:35:38
okay and I would kind of giggle and chuckle but you know what it was all good Dennis is uh so funny I don't know
00:35:46
what he what his attitude was there it must have been all right you know come out now let's uh listen to these actors
00:35:52
okay they're gonna show you how to play hockey all right hey Johnny T what do
00:35:56
you got and I was Travolta and my only advice to you was you know maybe everybody could just rush at the net
00:36:02
like really really fast like everybody goes right at the net super fast and I did I don't know if I weigh any
00:36:11
golf with Dennis but when I was younger you know Dennis is probably my favorite comic and we got to hang out right when
00:36:17
I got us now right before I was opening for him I used to open for Dana too and they were always nice but Dennis and I
00:36:23
were playing in Palm Springs he drives all the way out to Palm Springs the first crazy thing is he goes all right
00:36:29
spudley we're gonna play uh you know wherever out there in our garden he goes
00:36:32
all right so you got your car follow me I'm like follow you three hours to Palm
00:36:36
Springs we can't ride together and then uh we get out there Eddie on the first
00:36:41
hole for one thing I do is I go yo hey it was a par five I go where's the where's the fly I guess spudley you
00:36:48
don't have to worry about the green for another [ __ ] 12 shots just hit it oh
00:36:52
okay and then he goes and then he duffs two shots he goes let's get the [ __ ] out
00:36:57
of here I'm going home I go back to LA I go dude don't have this much of a temper
00:37:01
God damn that's Dennis Wayne doesn't know this but I was sort of uh the uh
00:37:08
Dave simenko of SNL I like that you got that name I just read it off the computer
00:37:15
[Laughter] I was sort of the enforcer and regulator like when I was around Farley and people
00:37:23
would bump him they would go to start a fight and they'd look at me behind him
00:37:27
and they go okay all good all good you know because they knew I'd jump in well who was that guy Wayne what is your
00:37:34
uh remembrance of Dave Smith well he first of all he was amazing because uh probably the toughest maybe toughest
00:37:44
athlete toughest hockey player I ever saw and the nicest man he would never try to hurt anyone we were playing the
00:37:51
game one time and I knew the kid on the other team and he was kind of bumping him and he said
00:37:58
hey stay away from I'm gonna fight you stay away from him and the kid just kept going back at him
00:38:04
so finally he dropped his gloves he threw one punch and two guys carried him by our bench and his nose was sideways
00:38:12
and I was sitting on the bench and I said to him I told you to stay away from him
00:38:17
but he was so I not only uh his teammates but he was kind of a hero in Canada and in Edmonton
00:38:26
uh blue collar guy hard worker just I can't say enough good things about him he meant so much to my career
00:38:35
and I don't know uh people don't aren't as familiar with hockey is that you
00:38:39
would have players or teammates that part of their job was to protect you right or you how come you didn't get
00:38:47
hurt so much I uh or because weren't they trying to hurt you or Jam me up again
00:38:52
I would have tried to hurt me I just make sense I guess and part of it was luck um
00:39:01
quickness you know just to get out of the way um you know when I turned Pro in 1978 I was
00:39:10
148 pounds um I remember the first day in the locker room players were looking at me
00:39:16
going there's no way this kid is going to survive playing against men and you know I just
00:39:24
I guess I started at six and when I played against 11 year olds I just learned how to protect myself
00:39:30
because I was always the smallest guy and even when I turned pro at 17 I was playing against them with men and that's
00:39:37
just the way I did it um I promised my dad I would finish high school and I did I played with men who
00:39:45
treated me like a teammate and yet respected me as a person and I was very lucky
00:39:51
did you did you uh pay attention to like nutrition I mean what was your pre-game
00:39:56
meal back in those days in the 70s it was awful you know every game day though I would eat steak and potato at 12 30
00:40:05
and never change from the age of 16 to the day I retired but in those days you know in between
00:40:12
periods I'd have a piece of pizza chocolate bar or a sandwich I just you know knowledge is everything
00:40:20
right from concussions we know more about it Nutrition Fitness training these athletes today
00:40:28
are so much better just the knowledge they have um so yeah it was a different time a
00:40:34
different era um I bet there's a lot of professional athletes today I've never even seen a
00:40:41
cheeseburger or a hot dog that's just they're so uh dedicated now and they they have such
00:40:50
an understanding that we didn't know right we didn't understand and also I
00:40:55
don't know if this is real but a number that LeBron would throw out or maybe
00:40:59
Seth Curry is about a million dollars a year spent on their body I guess between
00:41:03
the full-time Bodywork person and Chambers and I don't know what but it seems extraordinary now what
00:41:11
professional athletes do Hey listen you know Dustin's in an individual sport he
00:41:16
has his own personal trainer he's had for 10 years he has a personal chef that
00:41:21
goes to the tournaments and the property that rests properly they have a masseuse
00:41:26
you know they're doing it properly right they understand this is their livelihood
00:41:31
whereas back in our day I mean you got to be 40 years old you're relatively older right
00:41:37
it's a difference yeah if you look at uh you know All in the Family remember that
00:41:42
show Dana Archie Bunker he was 21 he was 21 when they shot that um [Laughter] stifle yourself Edith no but it's true I
00:41:56
mean I think golfers are at first it was basketball players or they were all lanky in the old days and now they're
00:42:02
all ripped and then uh I think golfers are all getting stronger and hitting it farther and I think it's just part of it
00:42:09
everything's just getting better stronger people living longer people playing longer well listen every sport
00:42:16
has changed baseball athletes today are better uh football players are bigger and
00:42:21
stronger golfers or tiger changed all that when he became he became an athlete training and lifting weights and running
00:42:29
um and it has a trickle-down effect uh Tom Brady what he did in football um it's just it's a different world look
00:42:36
at Djokovic and Federer Federer is 41 playing well uh Borg retired at 26. it's just a
00:42:43
different yeah and also um you know the one thing I I don't know if I was trying to figure out anything
00:42:49
equivalent in other sports it seems like that your special gift was I I don't
00:42:55
know what the exact quote was but don't go to where where the puck is go to where it's going to be so if if Brady's
00:43:02
a quarterback and he's seen all this stuff happening on the field opportunities squashed maybe they're not
00:43:09
all in Split seconds is that equivalent is that related at all to what makes a great hockey player being able to see
00:43:17
the whole vision of the of the ice and anticipate right yeah I think that there's a couple of things one you're
00:43:25
right about that the the the vision the sixth sense of understanding what is out there in front
00:43:32
of him um and there's a lot of great athletes that have that and then there's the
00:43:37
special athletes like Jordan tiger um Brady uh Federer Djokovic medal that you can't teach being able to play Under
00:43:53
Pressure and either you you welcome The Challenge and you want to be there in that minute
00:44:00
and that moment or you can't handle it and there's two different kinds of
00:44:04
athletes some guys relish it uh right now you look at a kid like Patrick Mahomes he relishes being in that
00:44:13
Spotlight and taking on that pressure uh Lebron always takes on that pressure Brady did
00:44:21
um you know in our game guys like Mark Messi and Marilyn Mew they welcomed that challenge of being in
00:44:29
game seven and being on this in the spotlight and that's when they became the
00:44:35
their best that's when they became better athletes so you can teach a guy everything you want to teach him if he
00:44:42
can't handle the circumstances if they can't handle the pressure it's all for not and there's some
00:44:48
athletes that handle it better than others and some guys just they have a tough time under that microscope but the
00:44:55
great athletes and I I go back to watching George bradhead and Mcenroe play tennis and Larry Bird and Magic
00:45:01
Johnson the bigger the game the better they play and they just it was like what you
00:45:08
talked about one of your first questions to me did you dream about this as a kid
00:45:11
game seven scoring the winning goal or winning basket that's what those guys
00:45:16
did and you could see the smile on their faces the bigger the game the happier they were and that's why they became who
00:45:23
they became yeah do you see that in present generation there's Austin Matthews who's from my town of
00:45:30
Scottsdale there's a sid Crosby and do you know these guys you see them you talk to them yeah I know them all
00:45:36
pretty well um we're we're at a Crossroads here we're from the late 90s talking about
00:45:42
now um Crosby and a vets can carry the mantle and they were amazing it was going to go down as one of the great
00:45:51
players of all time and Alex is too more importantly what they've done for the game and for the cities that they
00:45:57
live in Washington and Pittsburgh they're both Champions and we sort of passed the mantle now to guys like
00:46:03
Matthews and McDavid and Nathan McKinnon oh my car um these kids are amazing they're good
00:46:11
kids they work hard they understand this position they're in the spotlight they're in
00:46:17
um the game is probably in a better position now than it's ever been and they should feel proud about that
00:46:22
because they work hard and you know what it's tough grind but they all live up to
00:46:27
it but what Crosby and Ovechkin Did They Carried the manso for a good 20 years and they deserve a lot of credit
00:46:36
[Music] you know someone once said you miss 100 of the shots that you don't take
00:46:44
do you liked it it's on the office and it's like super famous I gotta be honest I'm tired of seeing it
00:46:52
I see it everywhere and it's funny they put Wayne Gretzky and then underneath that it's a great
00:46:57
quote Yeah that's funny as [ __ ] that he steals it and still gives it to you uh
00:47:02
also uh your uh lovely daughter was in grown-ups too um which uh spayed at a pardon met her on that she
00:47:12
was perfectly uh sweet and polite and nice and I hope she had fun on that she seems to be doing well I see her out
00:47:20
more out in the world I don't see her personally but I see she's doing great
00:47:23
yeah we're she's doing unreal two beautiful Grand boys that you know people say to me all the time isn't it
00:47:31
great being a grandparent I'm like we're not normal grandparents they travel two
00:47:35
weeks a month and I I'm like a father again I said I gotta get up at 6 30. Janet make some breakfast we take them
00:47:42
to school and it's all fun but we're not like those regular grandparents that
00:47:47
hand them back at the end of the day wow my son and his wife and daughter live here and my other son and his fiance
00:47:56
live here so we're all here except for the two kids in college we're in Florida
00:48:00
and it's really nice wow yeah you just seemed uh really really really blessed with this family
00:48:08
um what I want to talk about for a second is the revolution in in um marketing like I I bet Gordon Howe
00:48:15
didn't make that much money during his career but now athletes create Global
00:48:20
Brands and all kinds of things and you're you're Pro the most successful
00:48:25
hockey player as a post career entrepreneur I I believe or whatever um I just wanted to call that out greatness
00:48:36
wins because I watched a documentary on Misty Copeland last night or she was on on a Gardener's show anyway she's she's
00:48:44
a partner with you and Derek Jeter we're doing that's still going on um do you do you have a beer company or
00:48:51
a sort of or any kind of oh I have a winery in Canada which some people know about some people don't
00:48:59
we're in Niagara on the Lake um before the pandemic we're probably one of the most visited wineries in the
00:49:07
world about half a million people a year uh partly because four million people a
00:49:12
year ago for their honeymoons uh we're 10 minutes away from that but we put out
00:49:18
a really nice red wine white wine ice wine vodka whiskey beer uh I have a great partner who's been in the business
00:49:26
with his family since 1955. we have an outdoor hockey rink in the wintertime the kids can skate and play
00:49:33
hockey and have games so you know what listen I said this earlier everything I have in the hockey
00:49:40
or in life is because of hockey doors have opened and people I've met as you said being with Misty and Derek
00:49:48
with the greatness winds I originally started with untuck it as an investor and that company did well and he decided
00:49:58
to Branch out Chris and you know what listen I I can't thank enough my family
00:50:05
and friends and people I've met it's just been a lot of fun for for all of us
00:50:10
it seems like it may be satisfies I don't know about Michael Jordan or Magic
00:50:14
Johnson it satisfies a little bit of post Athletics competitiveness in a way so you want to win it investing and have
00:50:21
your product be the best product so it feels like it's a natural fit just for
00:50:26
something it's exciting it's exciting and I love it and I'm enjoying it and
00:50:32
actually two weeks ago Derek and I had dinner together and there's a little bit
00:50:37
more involved day to day than I am but the truth be told uh for me the competitive
00:50:45
Spirit of winning hockey games is everything um and winning championships to replace
00:50:52
that I don't think I'll ever have that same high that's just me being honest
00:50:57
but I'm loving what I'm doing being a grandparent um my family is everything and I've been
00:51:05
I'm lucky that my kids are healthy and my wife deserves a lot of credit my the
00:51:10
greatest compliment you can get as a parent is when people say you know what your kids are so polite and that's
00:51:15
because of my wife and what how she raised them she was around way more than I was when I was working
00:51:20
but um I feel very fortunate I've had lived a wonderful life and met some wonderful
00:51:27
people into some great cities I wouldn't trade it for anything um it's been very enjoyable I just had a
00:51:36
I had a quick question on another frequency as hockey movies go yeah Slap Shot with Paul Newman Mighty Ducks with
00:51:46
Emilio Estevez or Miracle on Ice with Kurt Russell I don't know if you've seen
00:51:51
them but those are three I've seen them all okay well let's rank them You Ever Seen The Gabby doogood movie
00:52:00
I think President Ronald Reagan played a New York Ranger in 1947 you have to get a tape for that one day
00:52:08
it was actually pretty good he would get penalties on purpose so getting the Penalty Box and talk to this pretty lady
00:52:13
that ended up marrying and I think about Gabby that was one of the lucky movies I ever
00:52:19
saw um but I'll rate them like this uh one of the handsome Brothers I played
00:52:26
professionally with Steve Carlson one year in Edmonton um I I enjoyed Mighty Ducks because
00:52:34
Michael Eisner used to come to a lot of the hockey games with uh Janet and he said I'm gonna do a hockey movie called
00:52:41
The Mighty Ducks and then I'm gonna have an NHL team called the Mighty Ducks I
00:52:46
remember saying to him at dinner one night you're crazy how can you have an NHL team named might Mighty Ducks what
00:52:51
do I know and then uh the third one was Caddyshack right Miracle on Ice that was
00:52:58
about the Olympics we went to the premiere of The Miracle on Ice and unfortunately Mr Brooks had just passed
00:53:04
away it was very emotional uh it was a wonderful movie um you know it's hard for me to pick one
00:53:13
because they're so different but I will tell you this Rob Lowe did a movie with
00:53:18
Patrick Swayze called Youngblood yeah 80s and he called me one day and he said can I come out and skate with you guys
00:53:26
I'm doing this movie in Toronto we came out and skated in a morning skate with
00:53:31
the I was playing on Edmonton then the morning shoot around him and David Foster and they came out and skated and
00:53:36
he was actually a really good athlete he was good so a lot of the younger people
00:53:41
love that movie Youngblood but all in all the enjoyment of winning the gold medal Miracle on Ice is pretty special
00:53:48
yeah that's a big one yeah Kurt Russell's great Kurt Russell as a as a character that coach again again again
00:53:56
they're training him all night long I mean he was just torturing them uh in a good way
00:54:03
yeah it's great uh before I go uh before Wayne goes and then Dana goes third
00:54:10
um but uh I wanted to say uh Wayne first of all thanks for talking to us and I I
00:54:15
don't see you a lot but when I do uh on the golf course you're very polite very
00:54:19
cool to me um your wife very sweet fleeced me for maybe three four hundred dollars it's
00:54:24
fine okay and his wife plays and she's of course great and then um of course I got
00:54:32
roped into whatever and anyway I lost money long story short um but I think it's a business write-off
00:54:37
I think and that's it and Dan anything else you want to tell this uh young man
00:54:42
before we go I just want to say thanks for coming on and um you're our first athlete host I
00:54:49
believe uh so Peyton Manning also did a great job hosting Michael Jordan they're
00:54:55
always welcome but you're our first and my first Superstar athlete on that show
00:55:00
was your show and it always crossed my mind as a special show and um just been a pleasure talking to you
00:55:08
you um you I give you uh I call you the great one of Life Food hockey outside yeah it's got a lot going on
00:55:17
oh by the way one last thing just uh the NH NHL Turner Sports show that you do um for for Turner Sports National Hockey
00:55:26
League that you just started doing right last year uh is is kind of like Charles Barkley
00:55:32
it's sort of like Kenny Smith yeah are you enjoying that I love it I couldn't
00:55:37
be with a better company and the people are so nice and Charles obviously we see him a lot there because
00:55:44
their studios are side by each it's just been a wonderful fit and I get to be
00:55:49
around hockey periodically and I couldn't be happier and I want to thank you two guys for taking the time to talk
00:55:57
to me and you guys were always great to me and I wish you all the best of luck with your podcast hope it goes great
00:56:03
thank you we're doing everybody we're doing great um shout out to Paul Bisson at Anson
00:56:08
Carter and Liam McHugh I think I got those dates right your partners if you need me to help you with any of the
00:56:15
other athletes who do your show call me [Laughter] thank you buddy have a good day
00:56:22
appreciate it [Music] this has been a podcast presentation of cadence 13. please listen then rate
00:56:29
review and follow all episodes available now for free wherever you get your podcast no joke folks
00:56:37
fly on the wall has been a presentation of cadence 13. executive produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade Chris
00:56:43
Corcoran of cadence 13 and Charlie finan of brillstein entertainment the show's
00:56:48
lead producers Greg Holtzman with production and Engineering support from Serena Regan and Chris Basil of cadence
00:56:53
13.