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477. Boston Globe Sports Media Reporter Chad Finn Oct 23, 2024

Show notes

Chad Finn is a sports and sports media columnist for the Boston Globe. He is the editor of “The Boston Globe Story of the Red Sox” and the recently released “The Boston Globe Story of the Celtics.'' Finn joined the Globe from the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire in 2003 as a sports copy editor and page designer before moving to the writing side and taking over the sports media beat in 2009. He has won multiple Associated Press Sports Editors awards, including for a multimedia project in 2018 on LeBron James's time in the NBA summer league in Boston. In this episode, Finn discusses the process of gathering archival coverage of the Celtics and putting together the recent book. He also talks about the emergence of former Patriots greats Tom Brady and Bill Belichick on television. He also discusses the state of sports radio, specifically in Boston, and the future of Major League Baseball on television with upheaval surrounding the regional sports network and an upcoming negotiation with ESPN. Order The Boston Globe Story of the Celtics here: https://a.co/d/flWtNwW

476. 2024-2025 NBA Season Preview w/Etan Thomas Oct 16, 2024

Show notes

Former NBA Center Etan Thomas makes his second appearance on the show. At the time of this episode's release, the NBA season will commence in six days. This is the final season of the NBA on TNT, as there is a new television contract starting next season. Thomas played in the NBA from 2000 to 2011, mostly with the Washington Wizards. In college, he was a star at Syracuse. Now, he is a television commentator, blogger, author, and political and social activist. In this episode, Thomas discussed the unique situation in Los Angeles where LeBron James is playing with his son Bronny. He commented on the importance of the New York Knicks being competitive and if the Boston Celtics are primed for a repeat championship. He also discussed the emergence of the WNBA in popularity and ratings.

475. Baltimore Orioles Announcer Kevin Brown Oct 09, 2024

Show notes

Kevin Brown recently completed his 6th season calling Orioles games on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). Brown is a graduate of Syracuse University and worked in Syracuse with the AAA-baseball team, the Syracuse Chiefs. He is also a play-by-play announcer for ESPN. In this episode, Brown tells the story of his ascension to his current position with the O's. He also addressed the controversy last year where he was removed from the booth for a short time and the outpouring of support from the baseball, broadcast, and fan community. He also talked about the unique brethren Syracuse alums are in the broadcast industry, and comments on the various Cuse alums in the baseball broadcast industry.

474. New York Yankees Radio Announcer Emmanuel Berbari Oct 02, 2024

Show notes

In 2024, longtime New York Yankees radio announcer John Sterling announced his abrupt retirement, effective immediately. With three-quarters of the season left, the Yankees decided to split the play-by-play duties among three broadcasters. Emmanuel Berbari is one of the three and called dozens of games this season. Sterling announced that he was returning to the booth for the final week of the regular season and playoffs through the potential World Series. Berbari is the youngest of the three broadcasters. In this episode, he explains his background calling games for Siena and filling it on WFAN radio. He was assigned Yankee post-game shows, and last season was given the opportunity to call three Yankees games in Pittsburgh. He explained how he was chosen, and offered insight as to the future for himself and the Yankees booth.

473. Former New York Jets WR Wesley Walker (#85) Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

Wesley Walker played wide receiver for the New York Jets for 13 seasons from 1977-1989. He was an NFL All-Pro, a 2x Pro Bowl representative, the NFL receiving yards leader in 1978, and a member of the New York Jets Ring of Honor. In this episode, Walker recounted the many highs and lows of his illustrious career. He speaks candidly about making the NFL without vision in one of his eyes. He discusses the passionate fan base the Jets have, and their recent decision to go back to the uniform and logo that Walker helped make famous.

472. The Pete Rose Documentary with EP Greg Grunberg Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

In 2024, HBO and MAX released a new four-part docuseries that chronicles the life, career, and scandal of baseball legend Pete Rose. “Charlie Hu$tle & the Matter of Pete Rose” examines all the intricacies of the Pete Rose story. Rose is heavily involved in the documentary but did not have creative control. Instead, the show is a deeply detailed count of all aspects of his betting on baseball, and subsequently being banned for life by the sport. Greg Grunberg is an actor who has been in countless movies and TV shows. He is best known for Heroes and has also been in both Star Wars and Star Trek. He came on the Hall of Justice podcast and mentioned his role as executive producer of the Pete Rose documentary. In this episode, Grunberg tells elaborate stories about the making of the documentary, and how they convinced Pete Rose to take part even when he couldn't control the subject matter. He also gave insight as to how MLB was involved in this film.

471. NFL Team Valuations with CNBC's Michael Ozanian Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

As the 2024 NFL season has begun, questions are being answered about who the best and worst teams will be. This episode focuses on the financial value of the 32 NFL teams. Michael Ozanian makes his second appearance on the podcast after he released the valuations on the new CNBC Sport platform. Ozanian is the Senior Sports Reporter for CNBC, based at the network's Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. He is a lead reporter for CNBC's business of sports vertical, CNBC Sport. Ozanian focuses on the intersection of sports and money and provides his unique rankings of the most valuable sports leagues and teams. He reports on breaking news, insights, and analysis of the inner workings of the sports industry across all CNBC platforms. Before CNBC, Ozanian was with Forbes where he began in the statistics department in the mid-1980s and later transitioned into writing about high-priced stocks. He was the co-host of Forbes SportsMoney, a four-time Emmy Award-winning television show on the YES Network. In 2016, he made his first appearance on the podcast, Episode 64. Eight years and a new title later, he returned to the show. Check out CNBC Sport at https://www.cnbc.com/sports/.

470. 2024 NFL Season Preview with CBS' Andrew Catalon Sep 04, 2024

Show notes

CBS Sports play-by-play announcer Andrew Catalon is making his fourth appearance on the podcast. This time is to preview the upcoming 2024 NFL season, which commences the day after this episode's release. Catalon joined CBS Sports full-time in 2013. He serves as a play-by-play announcer for the NFL ON CBS, NCAA men's basketball, and golf. He has served as an announcer for the Network's Masters coverage since 2021, as well as serving as a host for select PGA TOUR events since 2020. Catalon has served as the preseason voice of the Buffalo Bills since 2015. In addition to his time at CBS Sports, Catalon has worked five Olympic Games for NBC. He also worked at Tennis Channel, SNY, and in local television for over a decade in Burlington, Vt. and Albany, N.Y. In this episode, he talks about his new broadcast partner Jason McCourty who joins Tiki Barber and AJ Ross in their CBS NFL broadcast booth. He also comments on the new kickoff rules and previews various teams that have high expectations. He also comments on how the NFL enjoys parity but in this particular season, there are so many title contenders.

469. The Story of Bowl Games and the New College Football Playoff Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

Steve Hogan is the CEO of Florida Citrus Sports which oversees both the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl and the Pop-Tarts Bowl (both played in Orlando, Florida). Both games are played at Orlando's Camping World Stadium which recently received an allocation of $400 million for renovations. The NFL Pro Bowl is returning to Orlando for the sixth time in eight years, and there is talk about playing a potential home game for the Jacksonville Jaguars and/or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hogan was instrumental in introducing the world to the first edible mascot at the Pop-Tarts Bowl in December. Named “Strawberry,” the mascot was the hit of Bowl Season and showed how bowls are working to market themselves in different ways. The Pop-Tarts Bowl was honored with the Best Brand Activation Award at the prestigious Sports Business Journal Awards in May. He is a thought leader in college football and can talk about the upcoming season with new looks in the SEC and Big Ten (Citrus Bowl conference staples). The new 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) starts this year, and there is fast momentum toward expanding to 14 teams soon (perhaps as early as 2026). It has been reported that the Rose Bowl is seeking to get out of the College Football Playoff semifinal rotation starting in 2026. Hogan addresses the state of the college football landscape as the 2024 season commences. This episode begins with a small tribute to the New York radio station WCBS Newsradio 880 which went off the air on August 25, 2024.

468. The Story of Aaron Rodgers with Ian O'Connor Aug 21, 2024

Show notes

Aaron Rodgers is the subject of a new book. Rodgers will go down in history as one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. He is also one of the most controversial figures in sports today. Ian O'Connor is a longtime reporter and author of five previous books, including four straight New York Times bestsellers. His new book “Out of the Darkness – The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers,” is released the same week as this episode. In this episode, O'Connor details the over 250 people he spoke to putting this book together. He also told the story of his meeting with Rodgers after completing the first manuscript. He covers his football greatness, but also Rodgers' controversies including his anti-vaccination stance during COVID, his comments about comedian Jimmy Kimmel, and his potential running for office with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. O'Connor is making his third appearance on the podcast. His first was episode 166 promoting his Belichick book and episode 407 on the reported PGA-LIV golf merger. Get “Out of the Darkness” here: https://a.co/d/20yEA5A

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