Ep. 20 - Mikey Lee III
Blue Line Banter
On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by my favorite guest of all time – my son, my main man, Mikey Lee III. Mikey was born in 2013 and plays on the Junior Canes Super 8 hockey team as well as the 8U Snipers of the PHHL. Mikey started skating when he was three years old and fell in love with the game after attending his first Carolina Hurricanes game back in 2015. Our discussion covered Mikey’s early days in the game from learning to skate, to the Hurricanes First Goal Program, his first hat trick, all the way up to recent days and winning the championship at...
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Ep. 19 - Kaleb Dahlgren
Blue Line Banter
On April 6, 2018, sixteen people died and thirteen others were injured after a bus taking the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team to a playoff game collided with a transport truck in a rural intersection. The tragedy moved millions of people from across Canada and around the world to leave hockey sticks by their front door to show sympathy and support for the Broncos. On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Kaleb Dahlgren, the former assistant captain of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team and one of thirteen survivors of the tragic bus crash. In the face of...
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Ep. 18 - Alyssa Gagliardi
Blue Line Banter
On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Alyssa Gagliardi, head of Girls & Women’s Youth and Amateur Hockey for the Carolina Hurricanes. Outside of that role Gags is also an Assistant Coach & Player Development Coach for the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes as well as a Board Member for the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association (PWHPA). Our discussion covered Alyssa’s early days playing youth hockey and moving to Raleigh around 10 years old, her time spent playing at hockey powerhouse Shattuck St. Mary’s where she won a National Championship, her...
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Ep. 17 - Sam Weinman
Blue Line Banter
On this episode of Blue Line Banter I’m joined by Sam Weinman, award-winning sports journalist and author of Win at Losing: How Our Biggest Setbacks Can Lead to Our Greatest Gains. Sam has long studied the ripple effects of losing. But as a father of two competitive boys, he struggled to convince them that failing - whether losing a hockey game or bombing a math test - can actually be a critical part of success. So he sought out the perspectives of men and women who have turned significant setbacks into meaningful comebacks - and sometimes even new careers - to illustrate how we can not only...
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Ep. 16 - Rich Cohen
Blue Line Banter
Hi everyone this is Michael Lee. On this episode of Blue Line Banter I’m joined by Rich Cohen. Rich is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football and also The Chicago Cubs: Story of a Curse. He is a co-creator of the HBO series Vinyl and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone. He has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Harper’s Magazine, among other publications. Our discussion today covers his most recent book, Pee Wees: Confessions of a Hockey Parent, which takes us...
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Ep. 15 - Larry Sprung
Blue Line Banter
On this episode of Blue Line Banter I’m joined by Larry Sprung. Outside of his day job running Mitlin Financial, Larry has a deep hockey background as a player, coach, and also as the father of two boys, Zach and Jeremy, who he’s been able to share this beautiful game with. Our discussion covered his early days at the rink playing with the Little Rangers in Rockland County, some of the unique characteristics that make the hockey community so special, the bond created by traveling to youth hockey tournaments and camps with his boys, the story about how he got an opportunity to play...
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Ep. 14 - Rob Schremp
Blue Line Banter
On this episode of Blue Line Banter I’m joined by Rob Schremp – and what an incredible journey in hockey he’s had. Rob was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, 25th overall, of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and played for the Oilers, New York Islanders, and Atlanta Thrashers in the NHL. Our discussion covered his youth playing days including his 11 year old campaign where he lit the lamp over 350 times and had over 600 points, winning the Memorial Cup with the London Knights in 2005, how the game has evolved over the years, how things are going for him and his family...
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Ep. 13 - Eric Rigsby & Jon Walker
Blue Line Banter
On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Eric Rigsby and Jon Walker, two of the four hosts on one of the leading podcasts in all of hockey, Beers in the Lot. Our discussion covered a range of topics including how they fell in love with the game, coaching youth hockey, playing in adult leagues and the Slapshot Cup Tournament in Johnstown PA, what led to the idea for their podcast Beers in the Lot, and of course many other stories that had all of us dying in laughter. These guys are such a blast to hang out with and I feel like we can talk together for days about hockey and life in...
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Ep. 12 - Sara Civian
Blue Line Banter
On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Sara Civian, Staff Writer for The Athletic, covering the Carolina Hurricanes. Prior to The Athletic, Sara covered the Boston Bruins and also spent five years as the managing editor for Onward State while attending Penn State University. Our discussion covered Sara’s early days growing up in Boston and playing high school lacrosse, her move to Raleigh NC to cover the Canes for The Athletic, the outlook for the Hurricanes upcoming season, a behind the scenes look at Sara’s gameday routine, and we of course touched on her fire...
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Ep. 11 - Thomas Whitmeyer-Weathers
Blue Line Banter
On this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Thomas Whitmeyer-Weathers, Director of Youth Hockey for Polar Ice NC and the General Manager of the new Wake Competition Center in Morrisville, NC – home of the Carolina Hurricanes team practice facility. Our discussion covered Thomas’s early days playing youth hockey and when he fell in love with the game, how coaching youth athletes has impacted his life, the mantra of “creating hockey players for life” and how important that concept is to him, playoff hockey in Raleigh NC, and Thomas also shared an amazing story about when he...
info_outlineOn this episode of Blue Line Banter I am joined by Chuck Norris, owner of the Fayetteville Marksmen, a veteran-owned and operated professional hockey team competing in the most elite independent hockey league in the United States, the Southern Professional Hockey League. Our discussion covered Chuck’s background and early days attending Detroit Red Wings games with his father, lessons learned as a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group and Paratrooper in the United States Army, the importance of doing things the right way, and his purchase of the Fayetteville Marksmen in April of 2017. Chuck Norris is the kind of guy you want leading you into battle and certainly someone I would never bet against. He had me ready to run through a couple brick walls after our discussion and I hope you find the conversation as inspiring as I did. Thanks for tuning in.