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Last Word On Sports Media Podcast — Sports
Last Word On Sports Media Podcast

The Last Word On Sports Media Podcast is a sports media analysis and commentary show hosted by veteran broadcaster T.J. Rives. It explores the business, television production, legal affairs, personalities, and behind-the-scenes decision-making that shape the American sports media ecosystem.
Broadcasters, public relations executives, and network producers who want to keep up with industry trends, ratings, and network movements along with fans who enjoy analyzing game calls, officiating decisions, camera coverage, broadcast rights, and network programming will enjoy this podcast featuring content beyond just the scores on the field.

Coverage of major TV networks (ESPN, NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC) and streaming platforms (Amazon Prime, Netflix), including broadcast booth reviews, ratings breakdowns, and production quality.

Off-Field & Media Controversies: Discussions on newsroom conflicts of interest, journalist ethics, legal injunctions, and off-field scandals affecting teams and media figures.

Officiating & Rules Analysis: Expert breakdowns of replay decisions, stadium clock discrepancies, and officiating transparency.

League & Business Affairs: Coverage of college football realignment, conference politics, player NIL/roster disputes, and financial crises like team or league bankruptcy filings.

T.J. Rives regularly brings on high-profile guests—such as former team executives, public relations strategists, sports media critics, and veteran broadcasters—who provide firsthand insider perspective. Rather than focusing purely on standard game recaps, the show evaluates how stories are reported, who is telling them, and the media dynamics at play. The podcast quickly reacts to emerging, real-time storylines—ranging from viral officiating audio leaks and network power outages to legal disputes—offering sharp analysis while news is actively unfolding.

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Latest Episodes:

Full Ep: Fox Baseball "Field Of Dreams" & more! 8 17 21 Aug 17, 2021

Show notes

On the latest edition of the show, host T.J. Rives is back with the owner/operator of SportsMediaWatch.com, Jon Lewis.
The guys spend lots of time discussing the smashing, regular season success for Fox Sports last Thursday night with it's re-created "Field of Dreams" broadcast in the Iowa cornfield. The game between the White Sox and Yankees scored the highest non October rating in over 15 years for MLB.
Jon gives his opinions on why it resonated and whether it's a one-time event or should continue?
Then, they turn their attention to the NBA dubious anniversary of the Indiana Pacers brawling with fans nearly 20 years ago in the "Malice at the Palace." There is much to discuss on what happened that night and there is a new Netflix documentary, as well.
Finally, the guys play some more "Love it or Leave it," including Jon taking a certain New Year's Day Bowl game to task for it's attitude.
Hear it all on "The Sports Media Watch .com Podcast" and make sure to follow/subscribe on all the platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, etc.!!
Follow, Like and Comment on the Show:
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Come talk with TJ on X:
@ItsTJRives

Full Ep: Best of Season Two 8 17 21 Aug 17, 2021

Show notes

Time for another best of only this time it’s part one of season two which included 14 wonderful interviews. Snippets of 5 of them appear in the next episode including the recently retired Marv Albert who waxed nostalgia about his days broadcasting Michael Jordan and the Bulls during their championship run. Long time Chicago TV sports journalist Peggy Kusinski lets us in one her difficult time trying to prove she knew allot more about sports than people thought.
Jarrett Payton was brought back to the time when he had to cope with losing his father, the legendary Walter Payton to cancer.
Bears radio analyst Tom Thayer, a starting offensive guard on the Super Bowl winning team from 1985, discussed a meeting with the chairman of the board, THEE chairman of the board. And the always loquacious Charley Steiner remember quite a bru-ha-ha during Wimbledon 1981.
Great stories from great guests on Tell me a story I don’t know which is sponsored by Vienna beef (@viennabeef.com) and The Paulina Market (@paulinamarket.com). Hear full episodes and make sure to follow us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, etc.
Follow, Like and Comment on the Show:
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Come talk with TJ on X:
@ItsTJRives

Clip: Best of Season Two Tease 8 16 21 Aug 16, 2021

Show notes

Coming on Tuesday, it's time for another "best of," only this time it’s part one of season two which included 14 wonderful interviews. Snippets of 5 of them appear in the next episode.
Get ready for the likes of Marv Albert, Charley Steiner and Tom Thayer, etc.!
Great stories from great guests on Tell me a story I don’t know which is sponsored by Vienna beef (@viennabeef.com) and The Paulina Market (@paulinamarket.com). Hear full episodes and make sure to follow us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, etc.
Follow, Like and Comment on the Show:
Apple
Spotify
Amazon Music
Come talk with TJ on X:
@ItsTJRives

Full Ep: NBC Olympics ratings disaster, ESPN NBA studio reboot, Barstool and MLB, etc.! 8 10 21 Aug 10, 2021

Show notes

On the latest edition of the show, Jon Lewis is back with host T.J. Rives to discuss the ratings disaster of the just concluded Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
What will NBC have to do for sponsors after their ratings dropped more than 50% in primetime from Rio in 2016? However, Jon asserts that NBC knew it would be bad and has to have an overall plan for ads/helping increase viewers.
Up next, ESPN is still scrambling, but taking a new approach with a new NBA coverage point person. Jon has thoughts on what it will mean, or not for their pregame and half time shows? And, what might the newest version of the ABC/ESPN studio team look like?
Then, it's some more "Love it or Leave it?" with subjects like Barstool Sports looking to get into televising a bowl game and maybe, about to vie for the weeknight MLB package, as well. Plus, was Jon Lewis a big, little league home run hitter in his day and what does he think of the non-stop coverage upcoming by ESPN of the Little League World Series on TV? Does he "love it?"
Hear it all on "The Sports Media Watch .com Podcast" and make sure to follow/subscribe to us on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, etc.!!
Follow, Like and Comment on the Show:
Apple
Spotify
Amazon Music
Come talk with TJ on X:
@ItsTJRives

Full Ep: Jarrett Payton, Son of Hall of Famer "Sweetness" 8 10 21 Aug 10, 2021

Show notes

His surname is like royalty. Payton. Everyone knows his dad, the incomparable Walter Payton but trying to emerge from the shadows of his legendary father isn’t an issue for Jarrett Payton. He rather relishes the role. Carrying the name Payton was however, a burden especially when it came to playing sports.
Payton managed a short career in the NFL and CFL. Now in his 40s, Payton has established himself as a sportscaster in Chicago, a motivational speaker and restauranteur.
Still there are so many memories of his father whose he helped induct into the pro football hall of fame with an introductory speech at the tender age of 12. “To see all the fans in the crowd (at Canton) and clapping and I remember saying a joke, sit down I’ve got to get this over with.” He did, much to the delight of the crowd and his proud father.
During this wonderful interview, Payton talks about the day his father passed from bile duct cancer, how he dealt with that and how his life was changed by a moment in time in 1992.
Tell me a story I don’t know is sponsored by The Paulina Market (@paulinamarket.com) and Vienna Beef (@viennabef.com). Hear full episodes and make sure to follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, etc.
Follow, Like and Comment on the Show:
Apple
Spotify
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Come talk with TJ on X:
@ItsTJRives

Clip: Jarrett Payton, Son of Hall of Famer "Sweetness" 8 9 21 Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

His surname is like royalty. Payton. Everyone knows his dad, the incomparable Walter Payton but trying to emerge from the shadows of his legendary father isn’t an issue for Jarrett Payton. He rather relishes the role. Carrying the name Payton was however, a burden especially when it came to playing sports. Payton managed a short career in the NFL and CFL. Now in his 40s, Payton has established himself as a sportscaster in Chicago.
Hear the Full Conversation with Jarrett Payton, son of "Sweetness" on "Tell Me A Story I Don't Know" debuting Tuesday.
Tell me a story I don’t know is sponsored by The Paulina Market (@paulinamarket.com) and Vienna Beef (@viennabef.com). Hear full episodes and make sure to follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, etc.
Follow, Like and Comment on the Show:
Apple
Spotify
Amazon Music
Come talk with TJ on X:
@ItsTJRives

Full Ep: Rick Telander Legendary Chicago and SI writer 8 3 21 Aug 03, 2021

Show notes

So you think Rick Telander and you think Natan’s hot dog eating contest, right? It’s just one of the many facets of this award winning journalist and columnist who gained national acclaim for his work at Sports Illustrated and a book most publishers wanted nothing to do with. But Heaven is a Playground became a movie and is still in publication, 45 years after it was penned.
Telander has written countless articles about the NCAA and its inequities, appeared on a spectacularly popular TV show in Chicago called The Sportswriters on TV which spawned ESPN’s successful The Sports Reporters. Telander has won 9 Peter Lisagor awards, the Ring Lardner award and was nominated for Pulitzer Prize three times!
He was a also a cornerback for Northwestern in the late 60’s and early 70’s where his teammate was Mike Adamle and as for those hotdogs….Telander is a notorious eater having once consumed a dozen while covering a Chiocago white Sox game, He claims not to eat very many hot dogs anymore because there isn’t a hog dog stand near his home.
Tell me a story I don’t know is sponsored by Vienna Beef (@viennabeef.com) and by The Paulina Market (@paulinamarket.com). Hear full episodes and make sure to follow and review us open Apple Podcasts, Spotify, google, etc.
Follow, Like and Comment on the Show:
Apple
Spotify
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Come talk with TJ on X:
@ItsTJRives

Full Ep: Olympics, NBA on ESPN & more! 8 2 21 Aug 02, 2021

Show notes

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Sports Media Watch Podcast!
Host T.J. Rives is here with the owner/operator of SMW.com, "Paulsen" aka, Jon Lewis to discuss the latest in the sports media landscape every week.
On this first episode, it's time to dive into the Olympics coverage on NBC Sports in the U.S., where the ratings have plummeted from their past massive success. Jon gives his expert insight, as to the reasons why.
Also, the guys discuss the controversial subject of Simone Biles withdrawing from the gymnastics competition for having a mental block, known in their world as "the twisties." How was the story covered and couldn't have the media conversation been different and more thorough?
Jon also has great insight on the controversy at ESPN with Rachel Nichols and Maria Taylor that led to a very public problem during the NBA playoffs. Taylor has now departed ESPN for NBC and what will become of Nichols after her comments. Jon gives his thoughts on what he believes happens next, as well.
Finally, T.J. gets to know, as will the audience, more about Jon and what he wants to "love or leave" in terms of sports he plays, favorite foods, and a popular new Sports TV series that Jon wants no part of watching!
Hear it all on "TheSportsMediaWatch.com Podcast" and make sure to follow/subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Spotify, Google, etc.!!
Follow, Like and Comment on the Show:
Apple
Spotify
Amazon Music
Come talk with TJ on X:
@ItsTJRives

Clip: Rick Telander Legendary Chicago and SI writer Tease 8 2 21 Aug 02, 2021

Show notes

So, you think Rick Telander and you think Natan’s hot dog eating contest, right? It’s just one of the many facets of this award winning journalist and columnist who gained national acclaim for his work at Sports Illustrated.
Hear the Full Conversation with a Chicago sportswriting legend on "Tell me a story I don't know" coming on Tuesday. And make sure to follow/review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, etc.!
"Tell me a story I don’t know" is sponsored by Vienna Beef (@viennabeef.com) and by The Paulina Market (@paulinamarket.com)
Follow, Like and Comment on the Show:
Apple
Spotify
Amazon Music
Come talk with TJ on X:
@ItsTJRives

Full Ep: Tom Thayer Chicago Bears great/radio analyst 7 27 21 Jul 27, 2021

Show notes

He jokingly claimed to be the best surfer among the ‘85 Super Bowl Chicago Bears. Tom Thayer might be the only one who took up that sport. while also being the teams radio analyst the last 25 years. Thayer has actually been with the Bears since the Super Bowl season, joining them after a three year run with the ill fated USFL.
He brings a spirited and thoughtful insight to his analysis. “I still think it’s a work in progress” declares the humble Thayer. Most will disagree.
Thayer was an offensive lineman in high school then at Notre Dame before electing to join the fledgling USFL. But. since joining the Bears, he’s been a a popular fixture while making sure he works on his other craft. Thayer does his surfing in his home away from home, Hawaii.
"Tell me a story I don’t know" is sponsored by The Paulina Market (@paulinamarket.com) and by Vienna Beef (@viennabeef).
Hear full episodes and make sure to follow/review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, etc.!!
Follow, Like and Comment on the Show:
Apple
Spotify
Amazon Music
Come talk with TJ on X:
@ItsTJRives

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