27 - Year-end spectacular! Team report cards, best sports moments and jeers of the year

Doug Smith and Laura Armstrong eschew the bad of 2016 and focus on the good ― sports! ― while reviewing the year in the final episode before a month-long break. The I’ll Have Another co-hosts pick their beer of the year, their favourite stories in hockey, basketball, soccer and baseball as well as get in a few more praises and jabs with their most beloved cheers and jeers of the last 12 months. Plus, a report card for Toronto’s five main franchises: TFC, the Raptors, the Blue Jays, the Maple Leafs and the Argos. All in all, the verdict is in: Smith and Armstrong agree 2016 was the best year in Toronto sports history. Who gets the honour of being named the city’s team of the year? You’ll have to listen to find out. But who’s the real winner of this successful sports season in The Six? The fans, of course.

After sitting in a cold press box Saturday night watching Toronto FC lose to Seattle Sounders on penalties, Doug Smith and Laura Armstrong have much to dissect on this week’s I’ll Have Another. Some stalwart opinions prevail as the co-hosts look back on the Reds coming just short of the championship: the grassroots movement that is TFC fandom is some of the best in the city and no; a game of that magnitude should not be decided on penalties. Smith even has some suggestion for how to change it. Also on tap: MacKinnon Brothers’ Crosscut Canadian Ale, jumping in on the debate about which of Canada’s athletes should win the Lou Marsh award with an out-of-the-box suggestion and — no surprise here — slagging the upcoming World Juniors.

Laura Armstrong told you Toronto FC was going to Major League Soccer’s cup final and she’s happy remind co-host Doug Smith of that in this week’s I’ll Have Another. Well, maybe she waivered during the Reds rollercoaster season. But that’s beside the point; TFC will play for the championship Saturday and between talk of forward Jozy Altidore, Seattle Sounders and the possibility of a parade, it’s kind of a big deal on this week’s episode. After a week’s hiatus, Smith and Armstrong also discuss the movement – or lack thereof – by the Blue Jays and whether or not the fact that the Toronto Raptors can’t seem to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers is cause for concern. Plus: Polly Wants A Pilsner, cheering Steve Kerr, medical marijuana and Houston’s Toyota Centre concession game, jeers for FIFA and Blue Jays fans and surprise praise for the Canadian Football League.

Sunday’s late night buzzer beater that wasn’t has everyone buzzing on this week’s I’ll Have Another. Doug Smith calls in from Sacramento to answer the obvious ― what exactly happened after Toronto Raptors Terrence Ross made that shot against the Kings ― and talk player reactions, the risk with replays and whether or not the away team would have actually won the game in overtime. Plus, what’s more worrying: the blown call or the Raptors giving up more than 30 points in the first quarter? Also on tap: coffee, sizing up the Grey Cup match up and whether anyone will actually attend, Toronto FC’s time to shine and double cheers for Jerry Howarth and the Canadian Football League.

It’s supposed to be a slow time of year for sports, but there is still a lot to talk about on the latest I’ll Have Another. Doug Smith and Laura Armstrong predict a downwards spiral for the Toronto Blue Jays, discuss whether DeMar DeRozan’s hot hands make him the No. 1 Raptor of all time and use United States men’s national team goalkeeper Tim Howard as the poster child for why international breaks during Major League Soccer’s playoffs is a bad idea. Also on tap: Whiprsnapr, all the way from Ottawa and cheering hockey — for once!

Need a break from the U.S. presidential election? The latest I’ll Have Another is just the thing. Co-hosts Doug Smith and Laura Armstrong spend a little time on Trump and a lot of time on Waterloo Classic pilsner, Toronto’s FC suddenly becoming the talk of the town and DeMar Derozan carrying the Raptors on his back. Also on tap: jeering Dallas Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban and Major League Soccer; cheering Raptors 905 trailblazer Nicki Gross and the NYPD; and debating which game will see more fans: Toronto FC’s home leg of the Eastern Conference final or the Grey Cup.

As October turns to November, I’ll Have Another puts its focus on fall sports in a rare, largely baseball free episode. Doug Smith and Laura Armstrong talk Toronto FC, Raptors and even a little Grey Cup in the Halloween day episode. It’s probably no surprise to regular listeners that no one at the table dressed up. Pumpkin stout beer, it turns out, is one of the few beverages Smith won’t down. As is Yuengling, you’ll discover during this week’s jeers, which also includes shots at Major League Soccer. Also on tap: the North London derby, Auston Matthews meeting Connor McDavid for the first time this season and Pickup Truck Pilsner.

I’ll Have Another reaches the 20-episode mark just as Toronto FC starts its playoff run and the Raptors kick off their season. It makes the episode right up the alleys of co-host Doug Smith, the Star’s veteran basketball reporter, and Laura Armstrong, the rookie who provides the paper’s soccer coverage. Smith and Armstrong praise the Reds for earning the team’s first home game in club history, to be played Wednesday, but doubt that will pull much attention away from the Raptors opening game against Detroit Pistons that same night. Also on tap: talking the Leafs “perfect” season so far, saying a proper goodbye to the Blue Jays and imploring the franchise to re-sign Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. Plus, some Blue Collar Pale Ale to toast a milestone episode.

As is becoming the norm, co-hosts Doug Smith and Laura Armstrong fall on opposite sides of the week’s big debate: whether or not the Blue Jays will make the World Series. Smith says yes; the team’s bats will get hot again and then nothing can stop them. Armstrong disagrees; losing the first two games to Cleveland means the Blue Jays have dug a hole too big to crawl from. Also on this episode: praising the Leafs, slagging the Argos, discussing whether it’s appropriate to play the ALCS game seven at your wedding and a belated jeer for Canadian pole vaulter Sean Barber.

The Toronto Blue Jays clawed its way to the Wildcard Game over the weekend, giving the I’ll Have Another team a lot to talk about. Did the team mess up its chances of progressing to the American League Division Series by using pitchers Aaron Sanchez and J.A. Happ against Boston over the weekend? Who starts against the Baltimore Orioles Tuesday, Marcus Stroman or Francisco Liriano? Will Buck Martinez remain as the voice of the Jays during the playoffs? But the question that causes the most friction between co-hosts Doug Smith and Laura Armstrong is more innocuous: What’s up with all things champagne showers? Have a listen to find out who’s pro-celebration and who’s a party pooper. Also on this week’s episode: talking the Raptors’ anthem stance, TFC’s recent tumble in the standings, sending good vibes to the best in sports fans, 16 year old Jonathan Pitre, and cracking open a heavily-debated brew.