April 2020 – scott spinelli

Season 2: Episode 3 – Adam Lefkoe, Bleacher Report/TNT

This week’s guest is Adam Lefkoe, known primarily for being one of the most positive human beings on Earth and an avid Eagles fan. He also hosts The Lefkoe Show podcast as well as NBA on TNT Tuesdays, with Shaq, Dwyane Wade and Candace Parker. So, he’s a multi-tasker. Either way, Adam’s another SU grad and friend and really fun guy to talk shop with.

Here’s some of what we discussed… (13:52) why Cam Jordan was one of his most surprising interviews, (15:21) how his simple desire to become friends with Ja Rule wound up as a podcast (and why he shouldn’t feel bad for loving his music), (25:00) the full story behind his viral reference-filled TV sportscasts, including how they started from a desire to interact with his friends and was nearly stopped before it started, (34:18) what he thinks about the title of “expert” in sports media, (42:00) the VERY humble beginnings of the Simms and Lefkoe podcast, (44:36) is there a workable way around paywalls?, (47:54) his rules for every episode of Ditch the Playbook, (54:42) his “this is my life?” moment with Samuel L. Jackson, (56:09) and what is THIS person’s number doing in his phone?

Music Credit:
OctoBlues Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Season 2: Episode 2 – Alastair Ingram, BC Athletics

This week’s guest is Alastair Ingram, associate director of communications for Boston College Athletics. Alastair, in addition to being a champion Banjo-Kazooie player and very good friend of mine from Syracuse, is also a play-by-play broadcaster with extensive credits in both radio and television across hockey and football.

We talked about (2:43) how he’s been able to continue broadcasting while working outside the booth, (10:20) the feeling of being hired for play-by-play of a sport he’d never called before, (22:11) how physically demanding calling hockey on the radio can be—seriously, (27:45) how you balance being the voice of a team and not sounding like a complete homer, (35:39) and which former NHL defenseman and broadcast partner of his had an unusual affinity for the pep band and 50/50 raffles. Also, as a fun fact, his refrigerator door was open throughout the interview.

Music Credit:
OctoBlues Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Season 2: Episode 1 – Nick Wright, FS1 and SiriusXM

To kick off Season 2, this week’s guest is Nick Wright, host of First Thing’s First on FS1 and What’s Wright on SiriusXM. It’s also possible you know Nick from any number of pro-LeBron James videos circulating throughout the internet.

Either way, Nick, like so many previous and future guests, is a pal from Syracuse and we hit on a number of things: (1:34) that time he was on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, (6:53) his origin story, including getting cut from the staff of the college radio station that’s inducting him into its hall of fame this summer, (18:25) how he might be the least successful person in his immediate family–as well as some AMAZING reassurance his mom gave him on his TV future, (37:27) how he deals with being “hated” online, (45:09) how he crafts arguments for his TV show, (48:37) the fear of being too repetitive topic-wise and (1:11:17) a pretty cool LeBron James story. We also talk about Nick’s (ultimately removed) character from my novel as well as which NBA player is the perfect level of famous (1:00:30).