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 for more information.

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 for more information.

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 for more information.

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 for more information.

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 for more information.

He might be one of the most powerful people in Canadian media. Keith Pelley started from humble beginnings and has climbed the media ladder achieving some of the greatest accomplishments in sports media. Keith now holds the title as the President & CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), one of the biggest sports ownership groups in North America.

Stephen Brunt sat down with Keith in the Toronto Raptors dressing room to discuss his early days at TSN after graduating from Ryerson's Radio Television Arts (RTA) program (2:00), working as a TV producer in the USA for FOX (10:30), being hired by Rick Brace to oversee TSN (16:00), run the 2010 Winter Olympic consortium in Vancouver (16:40), hired as the president of Rogers Media following the Olympics (22:00), details around the Rogers 12-yr NHL media rights deal (23:10), moving to London to run the European Golf Tour (DP World Tour) (29:50), coming back home to take the top job at MLSE (37:00), and Bell selling their stake in MLSE to Rogers (43:40).

Audio Credits: CBC, CBS, CTV, ESPN, Sportsnet Radio and TSN.

This series is supported by GroupM Motion Entertainment.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Up Close with Stephen Brunt. This six episode series debuts December 17, 2024.

This series is made possible with the support of GroupM Motion Entertainment.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.