Month: March 2016

Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com is the guest this week. Here’s some of the stuff we talked about: why my niece will never understand Seinfeld (2:27), how Mike began his writing career in college with a “terrible resume” (9:35), how a sports management major at Drexel became the writer he is today (13:06), the challenge/value of having to cover things you literally have no idea about (16:35, 19:03), his mom’s incredible advice prior to his first ESPN appearance (22:08), the tightrope walk that is developing relationships with the players/coaches he covers (29:07), how he cultivates and trusts sources (34:57), the difficulty/opportunity covering a bad team presents (39:25), the strategy of handling yourself in a post-game scrum (49:23), what he’d love to do as a writer down the road (54:03), how I basically (sort of) came up with ESPNNewYork.com about two years before it was launched (56:00) and Mike takes his turn to ask me a (few) questions (1:04:21).

Mike Meltser of Sports Radio 610 in Houston, Texas is the guest this week. Mike hosts MaD Radio weekdays from 10 AM to 2 PM. Here are some of the things we talked about: what it’s like to have a former NFL player as a co-host (3:41), the hardest part of his job (7:23), how starting as primarily an update anchor in Houston helped him learn the local sports landscape (11:33), his tip for out-of-town sportscasters looking to learn their new home teams (15:11), switching between his on and off-air personas (19:12), the balancing act that is your personal and public life and when it’s best to have the two cross over (20:45), when dealing with Twitter reaction becomes exhausting and it might be best to hold it for his show (26:40), how covering losing teams can affect you personally (29:36), why it’s easier to build a winner in baseball than basketball (33:11), his strategy of contacting program directors to help build relationships and get feedback (37:37), the value of getting reps in to hone your voice as a broadcaster (40:06), if you’re looking to be on-air talent, should you take a producer job at the bigger station or on-air spot at a smaller station? (43:15), the role luck and talent play in getting a job (51:19), can Syracuse beat Gonzaga and will the Astros go to the World Series (56:20) and Mike’s turn at asking me a question (1:00:20).

Danny Parkins, co-host of “The Drive with Danny and CDot” on 610 Sports Radio in Kansas is the guest this week. Here’s some of the stuff we talked about: The difference between Paul Harris, former Syracuse forward, and Bo Jackson (1:51), developing on-air chemistry with someone you don’t know well (10:03), the only two things you should say when you don’t know something in your job and how to handle learning and/or becoming an authority about a new city’s sports scene (19:39), what exactly talk show hosts do to prepare both before and after shows (28:07), when it’s worth saving your sports opinions for your show as opposed to your Twitter feed (39:11), his incredible/almost unbelievable start in radio—at his weirdly famous high school (42:55) and the transition from living off gambling post-college to barely making enough to afford a room in his first radio job (50:05). He also gives his thoughts on the name of this podcast (55:09), Syracuse basketball in the NCAA tournament (1:00:08), the 2016 Royals (1:02:11), dreams of a Chicago-based future (1:04:28) and gladly takes his chance to ask me a question (1:08:20).