Welcome to this week's Open Mike. I'm Mike and I'll be your master of ceremonies for the day. Feel free to use this space to vent, rant, share a story and/or ask a question of the hivemind.
April 06, 2026
Today, I took the teenagers to see the new Star Wars. At this point, I've lost track of the movie titles, but I'm pretty sure this was #8. Everything I write here will be spoiler-free, so don't get your knickers in a knot. I'm just going to share some general
In this 296th episode, Mike chats with stand up comedian Ron James about moving to LA, returning home to hone his craft and finding his voice. This episode is exactly 2:04:56. You can listen to this episode in a variety of ways: Subscribe in iTunesListen via Google Play
Johnny Bower was 93. Nicknamed "The China Wall", the Hall of Famer won four Stanley Cups tending goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs. In retirement, no Leafs alumnus was more active than Johnny Bower. Often at this time of year I'd share Johnny Bower's "Honky the Christmas Goose". Sung with
Irv Weinstein was 87. He was the legendary WKBW-TV anchor who used alliterative expressions like “pistol packing punks” as the king of local television news in Buffalo for decades. From this side of Lake Ontario, Irv was Buffalo. Here's something I wrote about Buffalo Eyewitness News about a decade ago.
In this 295th episode, Mike celebrates Festivus with Elvis as they discuss a cornucopia of topics. This episode is exactly 2:16:22. You can listen to this episode in a variety of ways: Subscribe in iTunesListen via Google Play MusicListen via StitcherFollow on tuneinSubscribe directly to the feed at
In a word: wonderful.
Welcome to this week's Open Mike. I'm Mike and I'll be your master of ceremonies for the day. Feel free to use this space to vent, rant, share a story and/or ask a question of the hivemind.
Dick Enberg was 82. He was one of the most versatile and enthusiastic sports announcer of his era, calling major league baseball, college and pro football, college basketball, boxing, tennis, golf, Olympics, Rose Bowls and Super Bowls and Breeders’ Cup horse racing.
June Rowlands was 93. She was Toronto's first female mayor, elected in 1991. She served as the city’s 60th mayor until 1994.
In this 294th episode, Mike chats with Marc Weisblott of 12:36 about the current state of the media in Canada. This episode is exactly 2:05:47. You can listen to this episode in a variety of ways: Subscribe in iTunesListen via Google Play MusicListen via StitcherFollow on tuneinSubscribe
Tis the season for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the 1964 stop-motion animated Christmas special from Rankin/Bass Productions when it was known as Videocraft International. When Elliot Cowan visited me last April, he gave me an old Rankin/Bass brochure from his father, Bernard Cowan. You may recall all characters
This is a call to all listeners of Toronto Mike'd. I have a request to make of you... Record a clip of yourself with your smartphone and email the audio file to me at mike@torontomike.com. In the subject line, just include the keyword "300". Please introduce yourself with
In this 293rd episode, Mike and Ed Conroy present Retrontario Christmas Crackers Vol. 1 featuring Mark Dailey, Elwy Yost, Heather Conkie, Peter Silverman, TODAY’S SPECIAL, Uncle Bobby, Lynn Griffin, Harry Forbes, Harvey Atkin, The Racoons, Billy Van, Olivia Hussey, Tommy Ambrose, Ivor Raymonde, Scrooge, The Beach Boys and a
Welcome to this week's Open Mike. I'm Mike and I'll be your master of ceremonies for the day. Feel free to use this space to vent, rant, share a story and/or ask a question of the hivemind.
In this 292nd episode, Mike chats with Meredith Shaw about her career in music, on radio on CHUM FM and modelling. Then, Christmas songs are played with passion! This episode is exactly 1:42:49. You can listen to this episode in a variety of ways: Subscribe in iTunesListen via
In a surprise announcement, MLSE is the proud new owner of the Toronto Argonauts. It was previously owned by the Kilmer Group (Larry Tanenbaum) and Bell Canada, but now it's owned by the Kilmer Group, Bell Canada, and Rogers. The Argos join the Maple Leafs, Raptors, TFC and Marlies as
A couple of winters ago, I wrote this entry about how I bike Toronto winters. In a nutshell, I layer up, slow the heck down, and alter my routes. These rules have served me well the last several winters as I've rarely seen a day that wasn't enjoyably bikeable. I
In this 291st episode, Mike chats with Andy Frost about his years at Q107, Psychedelic Psunday, being the PA announcer at Leafs games and his son Morgan being drafted in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. This episode is exactly 1:34:52. You can listen to this
That was quite the night. After watching TFC's thrilling win, I biked to BMO Field to soak in the thrills of victory. Then, to Massey Hall to see the Barenaked Ladies. With BNL, two things are guaranteed: you'll get great songs and truly funny banter. That banter, which is always
Welcome to this week's Open Mike. I'm Mike and I'll be your master of ceremonies for the day. Feel free to use this space to vent, rant, share a story and/or ask a question of the hivemind.
In this 290th episode, Mike chats with Gill Deacon about being in a band, Gord Downie, her broadcasting career, her battle with cancer, her current hosting duties on Here and Now on CBC Radio and her favourite holiday music. This episode is exactly 1:33:51. You can listen to
I just got a new LG G5 Android phone, a clean slate. Well, it's not exactly clean, because it comes with a bunch of LG apps I have absolutely no use for, but once I cleaned up that mess, I could customize everything to my liking. This is my current
