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Real Life Podcast: Christmas delays, Connor McDavid’s magic, and Chalmers is a new man

Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Jan 8, 2026, 08:30 ESTUpdated: Jan 8, 2026, 21:46 EST
Thursday afternoon means a fresh episode of Real Life was recorded and edited, and it’s ready to help you wrap up the week. On today’s podcast, the guys discussed Christmas delays, sports rink advertising, the World Juniors, and more.
The guys kicked off the Thursday episode of Real Life with a conversation about Christmas delays and how long we’re allowed to accept them as excuses. Tyler has been waiting for parts to fix his toilet, but the company he ordered them from keeps citing the holiday break as the reason he doesn’t have them yet. Somehow, that led to a discussion about advertising at the arena and how times have changed so much in the last two decades.
Changing gears, the conversation turned to Connor McDavid’s brilliance, and how this 16-game heater he’s on is making everyone else look like dopes. From the goals to the shots to the speed, everything is clicking for the captain right now, and there doesn’t seem to be much the rest of the league can do about it. Sticking with hockey, the guys walked through Canada’s performance at the World Juniors, and whether losing to Czechia for the third straight year should raise alarms with Hockey Canada. Are we losing because hockey is a rich-kid sport? Were the boys thinking about this too much?
Finally, the guys wrapped up the podcast with the Thursday episode of Real Life with a random collection of topics, including Nation staff spending habits, beefs of the week, Chalmers’ New Year’s Eve hot tub trouble, and whatever else came to mind. Given that the boys haven’t recorded an episode in a few weeks, the last half of the podcast was all over the map. Needless to say, Thursday’s episode of real life was all over the map.
Listen to the Thursday episode of Real Life below:
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