George Chuvalo was a five-time Canadian heavyweight champion and two-time world heavyweight title challenger who wasn't knocked down in any of his 93 fights. His personal life was riddled with tragedy, as he lost three children and his wife to suicide and/or drug abuse.

Here's my lengthy conversation about George with his son Mitch, episode 1035 of Toronto Mike'd.

Here's an excerpted version I just dropped as episode 1970 of Toronto Mike'd.

In 8 days I'll participate in the Terry Fox Run and I'm kindly asking you to donate what you can.

Toronto Mike

In 1980 Terry showed us what courage, compassion and determination look like. Today that example is needed more than ever and I am inspired to join more than 100,000 Terry Foxers this fall who are...

Terry Fox Run

I wasn't on the waterfront last night, so I didn't see the Loblaws drone-powered ad that appeared in the night sky around 11pm. I only learned about the ad this evening on As It Happens, and to quote the urban planner Sean Galbraith:

What dystopian hell are we in for now?

Loblaw Companies Limited acquired all the required permits, so no law was broken, and that's the problem. There are already too many spots in the city to market goods and services. The sky should be the one place that isn't commercialized.

Please and thank you.

What used to be known as the Hollywood Suite Breakfast is now The Anthem Sports & Entertainment Breakfast. Anthem recently gobbled up Hollywood Suite and now own them and Game TV, Game+, Fight Network and AXS TV. But the annual breakfast, this year at The Royal York Hotel, continues to be an amazing event.

I caught up with so many FOTMs, and met a number of new people, and a few future FOTMs. Much love to David Kines and the crew for inviting me!

And now the professional photographs have arrived!

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 FOTM hivemind.

In August I wrote about Bell Media's The Social becoming a "video podcast". I wasn't sure what that meant, but now that it debuted this week, we have some clarity.

To be completely honest, it seems like the old show, only without the live studio audience. I'm not sure what makes it a "video podcast" except it apparently drops on YouTube an hour before it airs on CTV. Here's the debut episode from Season 14 so you can see how little has actually changed, other than the fact Melissa Grelo is no longer a co-host.

I have been producing podcasts since 2006. That's when we collected at Dan Duran's house to record the very first Humble and Fred podcast. At the time, it was clear what a podcast was, and what it was not. A podcast was an RSS feed that syndicated audio content, typically an MP3 file. RSS, of course, is XML, which means it's non-proprietary. Anyone can build an app that parses an XML file. It's true democratization.

Lately it seems marketing and PR people have tried to completely alter the term "podcast". The Social can re-brand itself a "video podcast", but it's essentially the same show as the old studio show, airing on traditional television while maintaining a presence on YouTube. That's not a podcast, despite what the Bell Media press release says.

Twenty years into my podcast production pivot, I realize I may sound stale resisting the definition creep for a term I never particularly cared for. I always found it too Apple. But it's the term that stuck and Apple could never own and control the RSS feed that drives the format. I like that. What I don't like is that every show, be it audio or video, available just about anywhere, has the term podcast slapped on.

If you like The Social, more power to you. I've never been their target audience. And speaking of audience, that's the only thing missing in their 14th season. And that does not a podcast make.

In this 1969th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg about the ongoing Kawhi Leonard saga. This episode is exactly 33:13.

You can listen to this episode in a variety of ways:

• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Follow on Spotify
• Follow on Amazon Music
• Subscribe on Podcast Addict
• Subscribe via Overcast
• Listen on tunein
• Subscribe directly to the feed at https://www.torontomike.com/podcast/rss/

There is a version of Toronto Mike'd without programmatic ads available to all Patrons. Consider becoming one at https://www.patreon.com/torontomike.

Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Electronic Products Recycling Association, Palma Pasta, Nick Ainis and Ridley Funeral Home.

Barry Melrose was the former Toronto Maple Leaf best known for being the coach of the Los Angeles Kings in their run to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final. I'll never forget that Campbell Conference Final the Leafs lost to the Kings in 7.

In this 1968th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Ralph Benmergui about people who think they hate jazz but don't realize they actually love it. This episode is exactly 1:15:36.

You can listen to this episode in a variety of ways:

• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Follow on Spotify
• Follow on Amazon Music
• Subscribe on Podcast Addict
• Subscribe via Overcast
• Listen on tunein
• Subscribe directly to the feed at https://www.torontomike.com/podcast/rss/

There is a version of Toronto Mike'd without programmatic ads available to all Patrons. Consider becoming one at https://www.patreon.com/torontomike.

Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Electronic Products Recycling Association, Palma Pasta, Nick Ainis and Ridley Funeral Home.

I was linked to a forbes.com article about podcasting, because it's very kind to me and my podcast Toronto Mike'd. It references the podcast explosion here in Canada and includes these paragraphs.

Another shining star is Mike Boon, who bills himself on his LinkedIn page as the "Canadian Godfather of Podcasting." After researching all that he’s accomplished on Canadian podcasting, I think we are ready to kiss the ring. On his Toronto Mike'd podcast, Boon discusses various issues of the day and chats with interesting guests about the serious and not-so-serious. It's authentic controlled chaos with a Toronto spin.

What I really admire about Toronto Mike’d is that it acts like a de facto local newspaper. Want to know what's going on in Toronto? Listen to Toronto Mike'd. He truly has the pulse of the city.

To be clear, you don't have to be Canadian to enjoy Toronto Mike'd. It seems like he's an institution in the Toronto area. I enjoyed his insights, his humor, his openness, and his longevity.

I'm flattered, honoured even, but I don't believe a human wrote this Forbes article. It reads to me as if crafted by AI. For starters, it includes a copy and paste of the Toronto Mike'd bio.

Toronto Mike discusses various issues of the day and chats with interesting guests about the serious and not-so-serious. It's authentic controlled chaos with a Toronto spin.

I know, I know... just take the great compliment. But AI is a boot-licker. It's overly complimentary, and if you start to believe AI's praise, you're destined to have a false sense of grandeur.

I'd rather earn my grandeur.

I was gifted a last-minute ticket to see Wu-Tang Clan at the Amp last night. The weather was perfect as I biked over for a couple of hours of 90s hip-hop.

I was on the floor, and it was great vibes and an even better times. The Final Chamber? We'll see.. I suspect this isn't the last of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa in Toronto.

Taking the spot of Ol' Dirty Bastard was his first born son, now known as Young Dirty Bastard.

In this 1967th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Gilberto Fernandes about his new book Militants, Mobsters and Mavericks: The Men Who Built Modern Toronto in the 1960s–70s. This episode is exactly 1:17:04.

You can listen to this episode in a variety of ways:

• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Follow on Spotify
• Follow on Amazon Music
• Subscribe on Podcast Addict
• Subscribe via Overcast
• Listen on tunein
• Subscribe directly to the feed at https://www.torontomike.com/podcast/rss/

There is a version of Toronto Mike'd without programmatic ads available to all Patrons. Consider becoming one at https://www.patreon.com/torontomike.

Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Electronic Products Recycling Association, Palma Pasta, Nick Ainis and Ridley Funeral Home.

I was at the Canadian National Exhibition yesterday, and took in the Canadian International Air Show. It was bittersweet as the this year's air show marks the final Toronto appearance of the Snowbirds, until their fleet is replaced in the 2030s at the earliest.

A tear came to my eye when I saw the Snowbirds in formation with the WW2 Lancaster from the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. A fitting farewell.

For a period of time, I wore Bluetooth headphones when riding my bike. I found the lack of wires convenient. I probably did this for a few years.

Over time, the Bluetooth headphones needed charging more frequently. I could feel the battery deteriorate. Eventually, I had to charge my headphones between each ride, and if I was out for an extended period of time, the battery would die.

When that happened, I had to buy a new pair, but I never did find another pair that felt and sounded and worked the way that first one did. Of course I returned to the same manufacturer, but no luck. At some point I grew tired of having to charge my headphones, the inherent degradation of sound quality via Bluetooth and the cost of these things. I don't care to spend $100 on a pair of headphones so I can listen to music and podcasts while cycling.

As a teen, I biked everywhere, with a Sony Walkman and wired headphones. I just ran the wire under my shirt so it didn't get caught anywhere. I realized, I could still do this. I could return to the bud earphones that connect to my phone via a good old fashioned wire. Sure, the 3.5 mm port has disappeared (don't get me started on that), but with my adapter I've been living life like it's the 90s.

These wired headphones still let me answer phone calls and chat hands-free, as well as letting me pause and play my audio, but they retail for $30 and periodically go on sale for $20. And no charging required!

Otto Jelinek, along with his sister Mariea, won the 1962 World Figure Skating Championships and represented Canada at the 1960 Winter Olympics. He went on to a successful career in politics where he was elected to the House of Commons in 1972, becoming Minister of National Revenue in 1989.