Omicron is here, and it's as catchy as all hell. One billion Canadians will have this COVID-19 variant by Christmas.... give or take. Truth be told, I checked out of the case counting game long ago. I got my COVID-19 vaccinations as soon as I could, as did my wife
Every week for the past few years, I've had the pleasure of co-hosting and producing Hebsy on Sports with Mark Hebscher. Long before I worked with Hebsy, I was a big fan. We met when I invited him over to be my guest on Toronto Mike'd in 2014. The rest
I was lucky enough to score a ticket to tonight's match at BMO Field between Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls. TFC was sleepy in the first half, but the second half was rather exciting as Ralph Priso scored in the 62nd minute to tie things up. But
On 4/20 (how could I forget that date?) I received my first COVID-19 vaccination shot. Like many Gen Xers in this province, I grabbed myself a shot of AZ. I wanted the first vaccination I could get, and that happened to be AstraZeneca. Eight weeks to the day, I'm
Last Sunday morning, while reading about all the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine sitting in pharmacies while Boomers took a pass, I tweeted a plea to let Generation X get the jab. I knew I'd get the AstraZeneca in a heartbeat. Got any AZ for us youngins? pic.twitter.com/bvi4UvcwDp —
Dear Ann Landers, We've been mired in this COVID-19 pandemic for over 13 months and it feels like we've learned nothing. Yesterday, the Premier of Ontario announced several initiatives to curb the spread of this virus and it makes little sense to me. For example, they're closing playgrounds again. Are
Tomorrow at 5:30pm, we're recording our 52nd Pandemic Friday episode of Toronto Mike'd. That's right, Pandemic Friday will record on a Thursday. Very few Pandemic Friday episodes have actually been recorded on a Friday! But 52 weeks... that's one year. Everything shut down about one year ago. We've been
The WarningPremier Doug Ford has seen the modelling, and it'll knock ya off your chair! Seriously, you won't believe how bad it's getting. Changes are coming... be ready, Ontario... Ford says "you'll fall off your chair" when people see the new modelling, repeats his oft-claimed "
It's been a tough year for all of us. As I type COVID-19 cases are peaking, but multiple vaccinations are on the way. It's time to hold on. There's light at the end of the tunnel. I thought it was time for a gentle reminder that we've been here before.
There is light at the end of the tunnel. Health Canada has given the green light to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, a key step toward launching the biggest inoculation program in the country's history. 249,000 doses of the two-dose vaccine will be on hand by year's end. Hang in there,
For the first time ever, Ontario is reporting 700 new cases of COVID-19. A new single day record! If you're curious where in the province these new cases are being reported, here's the elite eight areas: Toronto: 344Peel Region: 104Ottawa: 89York Region: 56Niagara Region: 20Halton Region: 15Hamilton: 13Simcoe Muskoka: 12We're
It's been 99 days since I last recorded an episode of Toronto Mike'd in the physical presence of my guest. Excluding episode 666 with my wife, of course. Over that 99 days I've recorded 75 episodes. 99 days and 75 episodes into this global pandemic, I'm ready to record again
In this 669th episode, Mike checks in with Toronto Mike'd partners who help fuel the #realtalk to learn how their business has adapted to the physical distancing order since episode 601. Conversations are had with Troy Burtch from Great Lakes Brewery, Anthony Petrucci from Palma Pasta, Austin Keitner from The
How is everybody holding up? We're almost at the 3 month mark of this COVID-19 social distancing order. I've been using Friday the 13th of March 2020 as my marker for the last typical day. My kids were in school that day. My youngest spent the day in daycare. I
In this 653rd episode, Mike chats with Dr. Brian Goldman, host of White Coat, Black Art on CBC Radio, and the new podcast The Dose, about that and many COVID-19 questions from you and me. This episode is exactly 1:28:01. You can listen to this episode in a
My last conventional recording of Toronto Mike'd was episode 596 and my guest was The Toronto Star's David Rider on a rather eerie Friday the 13th in March. Later that day I'd pick up the kids from school and we haven't been back since. That was almost 2.5 months
My good friend Mark Carey has a plan to help our most vulnerable during this COVID-19 pandemic. He's going to run around Toronto on May 30 in an effort we're creatively calling the "Run Around Toronto". The Run Around Toronto is a solo 135km run around the perimeter of Toronto,
I'm not really missing sports yet, but that doesn't mean I haven't peeked at some of the sports reruns airing on TSN and Sportsnet this past month. I've seen game 6 of the Leafs and Kings, the Alomar HR off Eckersley and the '92 World Series clincher. I haven't watched
I spoke with a small business owner this morning. Like many of us, he's struggling economically throughout this COVID-19 pandemic. He shared a story about his ordeal with major landlords in Ontario that I'd like to amplify with an entry here. I'd like to keep this individual's identity private, so
I mentioned 13 days ago that things develop quickly when a pandemic comes a knockin'. I actually titled that entry "Shut 'Em Down?". I didn't need that question mark at the end. We're shut down. I hope everyone is hanging in there and staying sane. Here's how things have changed
My how things develop quickly when a pandemic comes a knockin'. Earlier this month, I posted my COVID-19 attack plan. In a nutshell, I wasn't going to panic, I was going to listen to experts, exercise caution and wash my hands like I've never washed them before. Things are escalating.
Ontario now has 15 positive cases of COVID-19. Nobody in Canada has died from the virus and the risk of contracting the virus in Ontario remains low. But as things change rapidly and the world strives to contain the outbreak, I thought it might be wise to start a thread
