Up Close with Stephen Brunt

Teresa Resch, Toronto Tempo President

You’ll have to do some work to find Lakefield, Minnesota on a map. It’s a tiny speck of a farming community in the state’s southwest corner – a place that has more in common with the Dakotas than with Minneapolis. That’s where Teresa Resch grew up – a high school athlete who figured she’d wind up close to home, working in agriculture until a very different opportunity beckoned. It’s not like there was an obvious path from playing small college volleyball into professional sports management. And even if there was, it’s not like there were a lot of role models - women working in front offices who could point the way. But Resch kept making an impression – first with Disney, then with the nba, and then with Masai Ujiri. She’s a full-blown Torontonian now in the process of taking her next big professional step as the president of the city’s new WNBA franchise, the Tempo, which begins play in 2026. Stephen sat down with Teresa in the Toronto Raptors dressing room at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario. 00:00 - Intro 1:45 - Stephen welcome's Teresa to the podcast 2:38 - Teresa's career path 5:35 - Role models 6:30 - Challenges in sports business as a woman 11:20 - What did she learn from Masai Ujiri 11:50 - Growth of women's team sports 16:40 - What is it like building a franchise This series is supported by GroupM Motion Entertainment. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Victor Montagliani, President of CONCACAF & VP of the FIFA Council

Victor Montagliani likes to talk about growing up tough in East Vancouver. A neighbourhood where street smarts got you farther than book smarts. It’s amazing how those skills and that attitude have come in handy in a world that couldn’t be farther removed from East Van - the lofty heights of international soccer. As the President of CONCACAF – the federation that oversees the sport in north america and the caribbean, an organization that was rife with corruption before he took over, and a Vice President of the FIFA Council – that’s who runs the global game, including the World Cup, Montagliani is the most important Canadian sports official since Dick Pound sat in the inner circle of the International Olympic Committee. Rising through the soccer ranks – which in Canada starts with volunteers organizing kids’ leagues, he has shown an aptitude for making deals and getting things done, both in front of and behind the scenes. Montagliani’s tenure has included turmoil and triumph, unprecedented success on the pitch and high drama off it. Soccer has never mattered more in Canada as the women’s national team – the drone spying scandal aside – remains one of the best in the sport. The men’s team returned to the World Cup in 2022, and now seems on the verge of even bigger breakthroughs. Canada has a men’s and women’s professional leagues for the first time in our history – the former funded through a controversial arrangement called Canadian Soccer Business (CSB). And next year, Canada will play co-host to the world cup – something unimaginable only a few years ago. You can connect the dots from just about all of that to Victor Montagliani, one way or another.  Stephen sat down with Victor in his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia at the beautiful Fairmont Pacific Rim. TIME STAMPS 4:00 - Stephen welcomes Victor to the podcast 4:42 - Victor's career track 7:41 - Transition from the old Canada Soccer to the new Canada Soccer 12:15 - Elected President of Canada Soccer (2012) 15:23 - Changing the culture 18:56 - Funding the professionalization of the game in Canada 21:26 - Explaining the Canadian Soccer Business deal 31:18 - Winning the 2026 World Cup bid 35:07 - Comfort in World Football 37:03 - Drone scandal 40:48 - Hiring Jesse Marsch 45:38 - The Gold Cup 46:58 - World Cup 2026 Audio Credits: Global News, KATL and Sportsnet. This series is supported by GroupM Motion Entertainment. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Jim Rutherford, Vancouver Canucks President of Hockey Operations

On paper, Jim Rutherford's hockey journey started 60 years ago as a goaltender for the Aurora Tigers of the SJHL. Since then, Rutherford has carved out amazing career for himself winning the Jim Gregory Award as General Manager of the year in 2016, being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and winning Stanley Cups with the Carolina Hurricanes and the Pittsburgh Penguins. At age 76. Rutherford is facing what may well be the biggest challenge of his NHL life. Navigating the Vancouver Canucks through a period of turbulence that has included a player conflict that divided the dressing room and forced an uncomfortable trade, a Jack Adams-winning coach choosing to walk away from a contract extension, and questions about whether the team will be able to keep its best young player. In a hockey market known for its passion, volatility and cuthroat media, it has been a rough ride this season. A stark contrast to last year, when the Canucks were celebrated one of the NHL’s good news stories, pushing the oilers to seven games in the second round of the playoffs and the now departed Rick Tocchet was named coach of the year. Through it all, Rutherford has responded with his characteristic mix of calm, good humour - and especially - refreshing candour. In a world in which so many executives behave like they are protecting state secrets, he’s a relative open book Stephen sat down with Jim at the Presidents Club at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia to talk about his early years in hockey, transitioning from player to executive, working for three distinct owners, the challenges in Vancouver, and manages superstar players. TIME STAMPS 2:30 - Playing for Eddie Bush 4:30 - Transitioning to the front office after his playing career 9:10 - What he learned during his first couple years on the job as a general managers 12:15 - How goaltenders understand the game differently 12:45 - Managing up and managing down 15:30 - After Carolina, what was the plan? 16:50 - Taking the job in Pittsburgh 19:40 - Coaching a superstar (Crosby) 24:50 - Leaving Pittsburgh 29:50 - Challenges in Vancouver 30:50 - Anything compare to what he has faced in Vancouver 34:00 - What gets Jim up in the morning 36:13 - Working in a Canadian hockey market 38:20 - When is the job done? Audio Credits: NBC Sports. This series is supported by GroupM Motion Entertainment. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Jesse Marsch, Canadian Men's National Soccer Team Head Coach

He's an American coaching the Canadian men's national soccer team and he's found the formula to winning. Jesse Marsch had a successful career on the pitch playing in Major League Soccer (MLS) after its formation following the 1994 World Cup in the United States. Soon after retiring, Marsch began a new chapter in his career off the pitch coaching international as well as domestically in MLS, Austrian Bundesliga, and the Premier League. After his departure from Leeds United, Marsch was a free agent not actively looking for work. But after a few calls with Kevin Blue (General Secretary and CEO) and Canada Soccer, he was appointed as head coach of the Canada men's national team in May 2024. Stephen had the opportunity to sit down with Marsch following a team practice in Toronto to discuss the success his squad saw at Copa America (2:45), risk in changing over the team (6:00), players accepting a new style of play (9:10), coaching Alphonso Davies (12:00), his perception of the job ahead of accepting the position (16:00), his mindset as he was between jobs (19:15), time coaching in Europe (22:00), his view of Canadian soccer culture (23:25), how he got the head coaching job with Canada (25:00), the current state of American soccer (26:15), and the ceiling for the Canadian men's soccer team (29:45). Audio Credits: CBC, CBS and One Soccer, This series is supported by GroupM Motion Entertainment. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Adam "COPE" Copeland, AEW Rated R Superstar

He is an 11-time wrestling world champion who resides in Asheville, North Carolina. Adam Copeland, formerly known as Edge, made his professional wrestling debut in 1992 in Toronto, Ontario. Over his 30 year career, Copeland has won a variety of championships, had multiple surgeries, retired due to a neck injury, became an actor (and author), came out of retirement, left the WWE to join a rival company in AEW, and so much more. Stephen Brunt sat down with Copeland in his home in Asheville six weeks after Hurricane Helene to discuss why him and his wife Beth chose North Carolina as the place to raise their family (3:00), growing up in Orangeville, ON (8:00), the influence his mother had on his life (9:00), being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan (13:30), becoming life long friends with Jason Reso aka Christian Cage (17:10), meeting Stu Hart and training in the Dungeon (29:00), how an essay contest through the Toronto Star changed his life (34:00), reflecting on his first professional show at Monarch Park (37:20), and training at Sully's Gym in Toronto under Ron Hutchison and Sweet Daddy Siki. Copeland also goes into detail about what goes into building a character (39:20), life on the road (1:03:30), his neck injury (1:07:00), stumbling into acting following his retirement (1:05:00), Vince McMahon (56:10), leaving the WWE (1:31:00), and why he chose to join AEW (1:28:40). Audio Credits: AEW, Alter Bridge, CBC, CBS, WBIR Channel 10 & WWE. This series is supported by GroupM Motion Entertainment. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.