New look Tiger-Cats Game Day podcast debuts on Ticats Audio Network on Saturday morning

Their voices are as familiar as they are welcome.

No, we’re not talking about the Toronto Argonauts…although Louie Butko and Mike Daly certainly will be.

Not only is Saturday the start of the 2025 competitive season, with the Double Blue venturing into Hamilton Stadium (7 p.m.) for the first of back-to-back, home-and-away, exhibition games, it’s also launch day for the new Tiger-Cats Game Day podcast featuring Butko, the popular broadcasting veteran who’s spent 10 years in this market, and former Ticat safety and current Ticat analyst Mike Daly.

I’ve spent a serious amount of time with both these young men and I couldn’t be happier to have them back as integral parts of the Ticats Audio Network broadcast week. Butko and I were originals on the sadly-departed TSN 1150 all-sports radio station when it debuted on Labour Day 2015.  I was the drive-home show co-host and Louie-B as he was known then was the ascendant young producer, who quickly graduated to a smooth on-air co-host. He spent four years there, then moved to the Ticats covering the team for the organization, then was three years at CHCH, wearing several hats in sports, news and general podcasting.

Daly was a Vanier Cup champion with the 2011 McMaster Marauders and a hard-hitting, no-nonsense Ticat safety from 2016 through 2021, and returning briefly in late 2022. He won the Tom Pate Award, the CFL Players Association’s honour which celebrates athletic ability, sportsmanship and community work. We worked together on last year’s pre-game show and it was often as hard-hitting as Mike was as a player. During his playing career he was the football journalists’ go-to guy for a piercing explanation of what we’d just seen but sometimes didn’t understand.

Neither of these guys pull any punches, and they’ve already got chemistry together, so there should be some interesting discussions, and I highly recommend tuning in.

The podcast will be available every morning on Ticats game day. Give it a listen anytime on game day on the Ticats Audio Network, and if you enjoy it…listen to it twice.

CATS CLAUSES: One battle to watch in Saturday night’s game against the Argos is at punt/kick return. Incumbent Lawrence Woods III, second-year Cat Isaiah Wooden and rookie Phillips Brooks from Kansas State will handle duties Saturday. “The return position helps  settle the rest of the roster because it affects where we’re going to have our Designated Americans and at which positions,” Scott Milanovich said earlier in the week. “So that’s a big one for sure.” … the Ticats continue to show commitment to using a true tight end: Global player Jevoni Robinson was one of the most improved Ticats last year, American Camren McDonald was brought back recently and earlier this week the Ticats signed Canadian Bruno Labelle who was listed as a WR in his previous two years with Saskatchewan but played both  split end and “attached” end at University of Cincinnati. He was briefly with the Argonauts this spring … many of the Ticats’ Canadians had a reunion with their college coaches Friday morning because the coaches are here for Saturday’s Canada Football Chat’s CFL Prospect Game  Saturday morning at Hamilton Stadium… LB Trevor Hoyte is the No. 2 long snapper behind the talented Gordon Whyte,  he’s being  tutored daily by Whyte and special teams coordinator Dennis McKnight … former Blue Bomber Josh Johnson and Bowling Green rookie Odieu Hiliare continue to make impressions in the deep and difficult-to-crack competition for WR roles.