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Sports In The Making

37 Episodes

66 minutes | Dec 15, 2022

Mike DesRoches - National Accounts Organization, Sports & New Media, Sony Electronics, Inc.

0:00 - Episode Introduction to Mike DesRoches 1:15 - Where Mike’s love of sports came from 2:10 - Mike played D1 college baseball 2:40 - How Mike started working for Sony 4:00 - What Mike does with Sony now with broadcast sports 6:00 - How I met Mike at the Denver AVEXpo and how Mike helps the sports networks 9:10 - The kinds of innovations that cameras have achieved and where camera technology is going 14:15 - How autofocus has improved drastically (with video) 16:10 How the camera operator benefits from the autofocus technology on broadcast tv 22:50 - Mike having a relationship with the broadcasters 23:30 - What the blend is between artistic and executing shots during a broadcast 25:00 - How long the tests take before revealing the technology on-air 28:35 - How cinematic cameras are readily available for producers and directors 29:30 - How many possibilities there are for camera placement in a broadcast 32:30 - Working with stadiums and arenas to enhance the entertainment value for video 36:00 - Where the future trends of camera technology will be with virtual, esports, etc. 38:40 - Mike’s favorite events he’s been a part of 41:40 - Photos & stories from some of the events he’s been a part of (Al Michaels) - Survivor TV Show crew - Dallas Cowboys NFL game - ASU Sun Devils - Clemson in-house video crew - Larry Fitzgerald - NHRA - Minnesota Vikings - LA Dodgers - PGA Golf - UFC - RSN SVG panelist - Odell Beckham, Jr. NYGiants Game - Washington Huskies 55:15 - How Mike got his foot in the door with Sony, how he got to his current position and how he changed the way Sony reached out to clients 59:40 - Mike on building relationships 1:00:15 - Mike’s most special credential 1:01:55 - Favorite sports movie 1:03:25 - How people can get in touch with Mike DesRoches 1:04:40 - Episode Wrap #jim dove #espn #nbc #sony #camera #autofocus #sonyfs7 #sonyfx9 #depthoffield #innovation #broadcasting #fs700 #fs7 #fx9 #stadium #arena #cinematic #sportsbroadcasting #engineering #technology

65 minutes | Dec 8, 2022

Amy Smolens - TV Production Veteran & Pioneer

54 minutes | Dec 1, 2022

Terry Brady - Broadcast Operations Consultant & Former Director of Operations, ESPN

00:00 - Episode Introduction 01:45 - How Terry and I met working in the Dominican Baseball League for ESPN (with some pictures) 03:15 - Terry’s thoughts about Dominican Baseball 04:10 - Terry’s memory of visiting with Baseball HOF Pitcher Juan Marichal 05:55 - What an Operations Producer does 07:45 - How Ops Producers are able to save a show and what the preparation is to make sure a show goes off well 09:40 - How Terry got into the sports tv business 14:15 - One of Terry’s first events with ESPN was on the World Cup 14:55 - Terry’s reporting days dealing with sheep 16:40 - Why Terry chose operations instead of other jobs in television 18:50 - When an Operations Producer’s job begins once the network gets the rights to an event 22:12 - Most significant change in tv production from Terry’s perspective 23:55 - How each event dictates what goes into the operations 26:15 - The number of events Terry has worked on outside the U.S. and how tv is the same or different 28: 55 - Of the many high profile sports Terry’s worked on, which is his favorite 33:05 - What an Ops Producer does once the event starts 35:10 - Some notable people Terry has met 36:40 - Meeting the Phillie Phanatic mascot 37:55 - What goes into winning an Emmy from the operations side 39:35 - How the operations department prepares for the worst scenarios 43:55 - How operations teams work in all kinds of weather and need to have the right skills 46:45 - The difference between remote production operations and studio production operations 49:30 - What qualities are good for people to have when working in production operations 51:15 - What his favorite credential is from all of the events he’s worked on 52:45 - Wrap of episode ### More Episodes: Dave Raymond, The Original Phillie Phanatic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emA-0xQ4jws&t=1427s Andrew Irvine, MLB The Show Producer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwM9CGHRz_0&t=3s Marc Rowley, Inventor of Pylon Cam - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC5cMC3JkdA&t=9s Claudia Trejos - Boxing Broadcaster & Hall of Famer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mntXcgXajOw&t=10s

59 minutes | Nov 3, 2022

Dave Raymond - CEO, Hero of Happiness, The Original Philly Phanatic & Mascot Incubator

0:00 Episode Introduction 1:50 The meaning of the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series 3:00 How Dave grew up in Maryland and being the son of Hall of Fame College Football Coach Harold “Tubby” Raymond 5:55 Where Dave got his work ethic 7:50 How he became the Phillie Phanatic 11:00 How quickly the Phanatic had success and passing it along to Tom Burgoyne 13:25 Wearing the costume was physically demanding for Dave 17:20 What he did to create, sometimes unintentional, the personality of the Phanatic 22:30 How he developed the character and how Dave drew inspiration from his mother 25:45 What some special moments for Dave was being the Phanatic 32:20 How Dave created mascot characters and how he feels a part of the Phanatic after all these years 35:38 How valuable a mascot can be to a professional sport team and how his company creates them 40:00 What justifies a mascot being paid upwards of $625,000 44:00 How Dave uses the stories of the mascot to help train people how to have fun 49:30 The Tommy Lasorda “incident.” youtube.com/watch?v=vX4L2LHGs98 52:50 Dave’s relationships with MLB umpires 54:15 His most memorable skit youtube.com/watch?v=kxfA72OTOXA 56:00 His most memorable item from the Phanatic 57:30 Don’s autographed picture of the Phanatic 58:15 Episode Close daveraymondspeaks.com raymondeg.com mascothalloffame.com facebook.com/sportsmaking youtube.com/@sportsmaking

78 minutes | Oct 27, 2022

Highlights From First 19 Episodes

63 minutes | Oct 20, 2022

Andrew Irvine - Game Design Manager, MLB The Show & Former ESPN Event Producer

LOG: 0:00 - Introduction 1:15 - How Drew first thought about getting into sports 3:00 - How he didn’t make the initial cut to work for ESPN as a staff employee but was eventually hired 5:10 - What a remote Production Assistant is at ESPN 6:05 - How he advanced from PA to Associate Producer 7:45 - What an AP’s responsibility is in remote/event production 11:20 - What it took for Drew to get from AP to Producer 12:30 - What role he took in building Longhorn Network 14:10 - His first producing moment 14:45 - How his nerves were producing his first event 15:30 - Some of Drew’s mentors 16:45 - His event that went awry 18:55 - What an ISO producer is 20:40 - Relationship between announcers and producers 22:30 - His thoughts on what makes a good play-by-play announcer, analyst and reporter 25:10 - Drew’s favorite events he’s covered 26:40 - How he started working for PlayStation 29:00 - He was a gamer when he was younger 29:45 - Building a video game for baseball 32:30 - How his current job as Game Design Manager has given him more time to spend with family 33:50 - What influence Drew has made on MLB The Show with the broadcast, announcers and audio 34:30 - How he comes up with ideas for the game and how they get done quickly 35:25 - What changes he’s made for the 2022 MLB The Show version that includes the new announce team 37:40 - How the game was able to get John Sciambi and Chris Singleton as the announcers 41:30 - How they manage the amount of announcer calls within the game 43:00 - Bringing live sports broadcast elements into video games and vice versa 45:40 - How the game looks real 48:00 - What the response to MLB The Show 2022 has been so far & how people react to him when they know he works on the game 49:30 - How Drew can top what he’s doing now on the game 52:05 - Revisiting how people react to him working at MLB The Show 53:30 - How baseball is a part of your life and playing for a men’s adult baseball league, the Bristol Knights 54:10 - Some memorable baseball pictures and statistics of Drew & Don 57:30 - The difference between college football and college baseball as far as the intensity 59:50 - What Drew’s first credential was working live sports television 1:01:05 - His favorite movie www.mlbtheshow.com

83 minutes | Oct 13, 2022

Marc Rowley - CEO OwnYourStream.com, Inventor of PylonCam & Former Coordinating Producer, ESPN

LOG: 00:00 - Introduction 01:39 - How a camera falling on Marc’s head got him into television 3:44 - How ESPN Coordinating Producer Chris Farrow (SITM Guest #4) hired Marc offered him a job 5:04 - What Marc’s early career jobs were including editing, pulling cable, etc. 6:35 - What the process of getting a job at ESPN was like when Marc went to work there which included 3 primary things 8:36 - Marc’s thoughts on taking initiative and following up 9:00 - How he got into the CERN super collider in Switzerland 9:35 - What Marc produced at ESPN early in his producing career 11:34 - A partial list of Marc’s accolades while at ESPN 12:25 - How he started down the technology path 13:20 - Marc’s real mission with technology was to try to solve problems 15:10 - What one of the biggest lessons Marc learned when trying to make things happen in the technology space 16:38 - What he does when pitching new ideas to supervisors and to people in general 18:30 - How Marc and Don met and how the SportsCenter “Rundown” graphic came about 23:15 - What goes into building projects involving technology and the process of getting teams together 25:25 - How he became known as the Get “Stuff” Done guy at ESPN 26:15 - How playing video games has helped Marc in his career and how they are beneficial for the mind 28:30 - What some of the innovations Marc had prior to inventing the PylonCam and how it had nothing to do with technology 30:35 - What the role of graphics producer was before Marc and a coworker created that role 31:40 - Marc was the first e-sports producer at ESPN 33:10 - His thoughts on e-sports now 33:50 - Launching ESPN’s drone racing coverage as its first producer 34:40 - Continuing his accolades with first live 360 virtual reality use in Monday Night Football 35:50 - How the Emmy nominated PylonCam started 45:05 - Marc believes in giving up an idea to help create something bigger and how Pride can negatively affect a project 46:15 - How Legos are an important part of Marc’s life and being creative 50:35 - What the value of a Lego is for someone, even if they don’t work at ESPN 52:00 - How many inventions Marc has and how many things he touched at ESPN 54:30 - Marc holds a patent for minting Video in blockchain 56:30 - What NFT’s are, what minting video is and how it can benefit creators 1:03:45 - What the future is for Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), MojoVision 1:06:15 - What Marc things the future of the Metaverse is 1:07:40 - Why Mempoverse is the technology to watch 1:11:10 - What the future of this technology is for sports 1:13:05 - How AR can affect wagering 1:14:25 - How data can be beneficial for storytelling 1:16:40 - How long the brain can read a graphic on screen 1:17:50 - What the coolest memorabilia Marc has 1:19:30 - What the importance is on inviting people to eat lunch www.livecgi.com www.ownyourstream.com www.streammyscreen.com www.espn.com

66 minutes | Oct 6, 2022

Brian Williams - Producer, Director, Sports Television & Events

00:00 - Intro to Episode 01:50 - How Brian got into sports broadcasting 03:30 - What sports USA Network covered in the 1980’s 06:50 - How as a producer Brian is connected to each aspect of the production 08:50 - How he manages broadcasting shows around the world 10:27 - What a control room monitor wall looks like and what he looks at 12:50 - How complicated a production can be when sending it to the world 15:40 - How much prep work is necessary to make a production 17:10 - What Brian’s job was on the 2022 US Open Tennis 18:40 - Chris Evert’s last match and how the coverage compared to Serena Williams’ last match at the US Open 21:00 - How technology has advanced coverage of sporting events 22:20 - A selection of photos of Brian and his talent and crew and what they mean to a production and what the crew’s role was at the 2022 US Open 25:40 - Relationship between producers and announcers 32:50 - Listening is key in producing an event when working with announcers 34:40 - How the crew also contributes by listening and selling shots or information 35:45 - How the crew is valuable to the production such as a Stage Manager and playback operator 37:15 - Brian at the British Open, The Old Course at St. Andrews 38:10 - Coverage of Tiger Woods in 2014 at Royal Liverpool British Open 40:55 - Brian’s experience with Tiger Woods before he won his first Masters in 1997 43:45 - How Brian had to negotiate with Earl Woods, Tiger’s father to complete the documentary 45:40 - What Brian’s experience was playing golf with Tiger Woods 48:15 - How Brian was a part of the Women’s College Tennis Hall of Fame and being friends with Billie Jean King 50:35 - What some of Brian’s most memorable events he’s produced 53:15 - His experience when the bombing happened at the 2013 Boston Marathon 57:00 - Producing ESPN’s “The Impossible Jump” with Mike Metzger and Evil Knievel 1:01:20 - A signed poster of “The Impossible Jump” 1:01:50 - Developing relationships with celebrities and announcers 1:03:50 - Brian’s favorite sports movie www.brianwilliamstv.com

67 minutes | Sep 29, 2022

Claudia Trejos - On-Air Reporter, Analyst & Hall of Fame

LOG: 00:00 - Episode Introduction 02:25 - Introduction to Claudia Trejos and how she got into sports broadcasting 03:40 - How boxing is a part of her life 05:30 - How Claudia’s passion for sports is important for how she works in her career 07:20 - How Claudia has a presence that makes an impact on her performance in the boxing industry despite “imposter syndrome” 10:28 - She has worked from the ground up in TV, pulling cable, production assistant, grip and how it helps her to have confidence as an on-air personality 13:20 - How she prepares for a big fight like the Canelo vs. GGG event in September 2020 16:50 - How she is able to develop relationships with elite athletes that helps with her on-air storytelling 20:10 - Claudia shares examples of how boxers are human and how Anthony Joshua lost a big fight he was expected to win 22:40 - She explains why she has so much respect for Olympic athletes 26:30 - Her observation from the 2016 Olympics and the camaraderie with Olympic athletes 27:05 - Each of our Olympic experiences 28:05 Whether there is a difference covering sports in Spanish versus English 31:00 - How being a Latina helps her approach athletes 33:30 - How it feels for Claudia being inducted into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame 38:00 - Bob Alexander who she’s worked with ringside, called her name at the FBHOF 39:05 - Whether Claudia’s daughter wants to follow her career in broadcasting 40:25 - How she started being a motivational speaker and coach 43:05 - How she helps people find ways to motivate themselves as a coach 46:15 - How Claudia is able to talk to celebrities and athletes when they are perceived as untouchable 50:42 - Memorable pictures that Claudia shares 54:00 - How Claudia is a cigar aficionado and how she grew up learning how to smoke cigars 57:30 - Claudia rates the cigars I have in my “humidor” 59:00 - Claudia’s cigar collection 1:01:20 - Claudia’s best memory she’s had in sports 1:03:10 - Claudia’s favorite sports movie 1:05:00 - Her memory of the time we shared producing events claudiatrejos.com

53 minutes | Sep 22, 2022

Dave Kroner - VP Creative Services, TV Graphics & Owner, Extreme Ninja Challenge

00:00 - Intro to Episode #27 01:30 - How Dave Kroner got into sports television 02:58 - What Dave wanted to do as a career in sports television 04:20 - What he has seen change over the years with the graphics technology 08:20 - The different types of graphics used on sports tv broadcasts 11:12 - Dave’s role as Sr. Graphics Developer at ESPN 13:30 - How graphics is different internationally 16:12 - Differences working with global sports networks versus regional 19:00 - What goes into designing an on-air graphics look and the relationship with the client 22:15 - What Dave’s process was for creating the Sports In The Making insert graphics look 25:05 - How Dave created the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) graphics look 29:20 - Dave explains the designs that went into creating Marquee’s bug graphics 31:30 - The relationship between the producer, graphics producer and graphics person 35:45 - What went into ESPN’s now defunct 3D graphics package 37:30 - The most memorable graphics package that Dave has worked on in his career 39:00 - How Dave has been able to see the world by working in sports graphics departments 40:10 - How Dave created a company called Xtreme Ninja Challenge (ENC), an obstacle course 45:00 - What ENC is about for participants 47:10 - What Dave would like viewers to know about what graphics does 49:20 - What memorabilia Dave has that is special to him 51:10 - Dave’s favorite sports movie https://myoldtownusa.com/attractions/xtreme-ninja-challenge/ https://www.tv-graphics.com/

84 minutes | Sep 15, 2022

Allyson J. Davis - Marketing, Media and Production Executive

00:00:00 Introduction To Allyson J. Davis 00:01:30 What Allyson is doing currently 00:01:55 What her responsibilities are as a marketing executive 00:04:20 How the media landscape has changed with marketing 00:06:35 How Allyson got into sports and then went into the marketing side of the business 00:09:25 How important it is for someone to love sports when working in sports 00:10:05 How she got started working in sports media 00:14:35 How she became the Director of Marketing for Fox Sports in Los Angeles 00:15:10 What goes into branding and rebranding a sports network 00:17:00 What goes into marketing a sports network outside of what we see on television 00:18:45 How marketing returning to a grass roots level again and digital is in a bit of disarray 00:20:30 Where ideas for marketing campaigns come from 00:22:30 The way marketing has been done in the past few years is now changing because of privacy concerns and making connections with people without technology 00:25:05 What a garden wall is for content and marketing 00:28:55 How different E! Entertainment was from sports 00:30:30 Some of the challenges being an entrepreneur with her own marketing agency 00:32:30 How Allyson got back into sports and started working at Universal Sports Network 00:37:45 How important networking is in this (and any) industry 00:41:15 What Universal Sports Network was for viewers and what it meant to Allyson 00:43:55 How athletes qualified for the Olympics and watching on USN; some of the things viewers would see on the network 00:46:55 How Allyson marketed USN to drive viewers with marquis events such as Rugby World Cup and the Boston Marathon 00:49:30 How the 2013 tragedy of the Boston Marathon affected marketing efforts 00:51:50 Photos of the 2014 Boston Marathon (on the video podcast) 00:52:40 How the production and marketing team came together to help in the healing process 00:54:45 What VP of Integrated Marketing is with Red Bull and what some of those responsibilities were 00:57:00 What the difference is between a brand and marketing 00:57:50 What responsibilities are of a VP/Executive 00:59:10 What she’s doing with cycling with her new position at Impact Partners 01:00:10 Photos of tv truck at Boston Marathon 01:01:00 How she connected with the documentary on the Women’s Tour de France 01:07:10 What the difference between the men’s version of the Tour de France and the women’s version 01:11:30 What the response to this year’s edition of the Women’s Tour de France was 01:13:22 Distribution strategy of the documentary, “Uphill Climb” and what the mission of the documentary is about 01:14:40 What will be in the film 01:15:35 What Impakt Partners is all about 1:18:20 How important sports are for women in the C-Suite 01:19:15 Allyson’s favorite sports movies 01:20:30 Allyson’s advice for people who want to get into sports marketing 01:22:30 Thanks & Wrap Up

62 minutes | Sep 8, 2022

USA Baseball's Olympic Gold, Miracle On Grass & TommyBall with David Fanucchi, Author & Ted Collins, Movie Producer

00:00 - Episode 25 introduction 00:45 - Introduction to Dave Fanucchi and how he began his career in sports. 03:35 - Introduction to Ted Collins and how he began his career in movie producing 09:30 - Ted Collins Working with Women of Wrestling (WOW), owned by Jeannie Buss, Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers 11:50 - What Women of Wrestling is about in 2022 and future years. 13:15 - How Dave Fanucchi got started with the USA Baseball Team as the Director of Communications in 1999, just as professional baseball players were allowed to participate in the Olympic Games. 15:00 - Hall of Fame baseball manager Tommy Lasorda being introduced as the manager of the team. 16:12 - Team USA were underdogs against Korea, Japan and Cuba. 17:30 - How the idea for the book happened. 19:30 - How Dave was able to pitch the story to a movie producer. 22:20 - How Dave met Ted in Tommy Lasorda’s office. 24:00 - Ted was hooked on the idea of producing this film because of it’s underdog element. 26:10 - General public doesn’t know about how significant Team USA Baseball’s accomplishment was. 27:50 - What it means to “option” a book in order to make a movie. 29:30 - The type of movie Dave, Ted and the players want to make. 31:20 - The challenge of making a movie is having enough obstacles and drama to place into the script. 32:40 - Stories that didn’t make the book that could be part of the movie. 34:45 - The stories that Tommy Lasorda would tell while Dave was around him for 6 weeks. 36:30 - How that experience for Dave was one of the highlights of his career. 36:30 - My personal video clip of Tommy Lasorda talking to NYY outfielder Bernie Williams in the Dominican Republic and how getting any photos or video in the early 2000’s was not as easy as today. 41:20 - How and who Ted would like to cast for Tommy Lasorda’s role. 44:00 - How Ted envisions what the film will be in terms of the characters, the decisions that USA Baseball made and the environment at the time. 46:00 - How Dave perspective of being behind the doors helped him write the book and how Lasorda made the players believe they were going to win Gold. 47:30 - How this film will not be a Disney-type movie. 49:30 - Why Ted wants the movie to be called “Tommy Ball.” 50:45 - What some of the challenges are in getting a movie green-lit. 53:26 - How Ted is navigating the studios in making this movie. 54:15 - Who Ted thinks should portray Dave Fanucchi in the movie and if studios are interested in distributing the film. 56:20 - How Ted wasn’t afraid to approach actors at the 2022 MLB All Star Game. 58:00 - How Don and Dave knew each other from the minor league baseball team they worked at in Arizona. Twitter: @davefanucci @grittyfilmproductions @sportsmaking Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfanucchi/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-collins-2291006/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SportsMaking

55 minutes | Aug 6, 2020

Andy Frye - Sportswriter and Contributor, Forbes

2:28 - How Andy got his start as a sportswriter. 4:46 - How he was able to get his articles published when he was blogger and didn’t have a journalism degree. 6:42 - How he got his first article published on ESPN.com Page 2 covering “Fistball”. 9:13 - Whether he had any insecurities in pitching his next stories to sports digital publications and how relationships can help him get interviews. 11:54 - How Andy finds interesting people to interview. 16:00 - How Andy looks at doing interviews to find interesting things to talk about. 19:27 - What his methods are to help open up the interviewee to talk. 23:10 - What his interview with boxing trainer Teddy Atlas was like and some of what he talked about in their conversation. 26:21 - How he got a surprise response from Teddy him when talking about Mike Tyson. 28:28 - His conversation and thoughts on soccer broadcaster Andres Cantor, known for his "Goooooooool" call. 29:48 - His conversation and thoughts on professional basketball legend Julius "Dr. J" Irving. 32:07 - His conversation and thoughts on professional golfer Annika Sorenstam. 35:53 - His conversation and thoughts on former Oakland Raiders great quarterback Jim Plunkett. 38:01 - How Andy comes up with his stories, interviews and what his angle is when writing. 41:32 - How he prepares for an interview and how much time he has to spend with those he's interviewing. 43:51 - Who some of his sports writing influences have been. 46:12 - What advice he has for someone who wants to be a sportswriter. 50:05 - An introduction to Andy's new podcast "28 Minutes of Sport" 51:27 - Where people can find out more about Andy's articles. Twitter: @sportyfrye Instagram: @sportyfrye Google: Andy Frye Forbes LinkedIn: Andy Frye Website: andyfrye.com

65 minutes | Jul 23, 2020

Abe Morris - Professional Bull Rider, Rodeo Announcer & Baker

2:56 - What Abe’s been doing during Covid. 4:35 - How Abe started his Chocolate Chip Cookie business. 5:39 - How his cookies have become very popular at rodeos. 6:46 - What the secret recipe for his cookies are. 8:03 - How Abe started bull riding as a young kid in New Jersey. 9:45 - When did he realize he wanted to ride bulls as a career. 10:35 - How he was perceived in rodeo as a black bull rider and how some of the football players reacted to him being in rodeo. 13:31 - How the football team reacted when they came to watch him. 15:32 - When a student wrote an article on Abe, how he handled it. 17:52 - The night after the newspaper article came out Abe had a rodeo and he had to walk through a cheering group. 20:05 - What Abe’s experience was like in the rodeo culture being the only black man on the professional circuit. 22:48 - How Abe felt that the judges may have had some prejudice when judging his rides. 25:54 - How some of the best African American bull riders may have helped influence how he rode bulls. 27:34 - How in an individual sport Abe and other cowboys travel from rodeo to rodeo. 30:14 - What does wearing a buckle mean to a bull rider? 33:09 - What the future is for black cowboys in the sport. 34:22 - On whether there was any interest in bull riding by black cowboys. 36:51 - How Abe got his Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Announcers Card to announce rodeos and how he began working for Prime Sports Network and Fox Sports 38:31 - How he called rodeo events as an announcer. How he worked with some of the great bull riders of all time (Tuff Hedeman, Ty Murray, Gary Leffew, Cody Custer) including Lane Frost who the movie “8-seconds” was made after. 40:19 - Abe was one of the last people to interview Lane Frost before he was killed by a bull. 42:12 - He explains what happened before and after. 45:17 - How Abe feels like he contributed to educating fans about rodeo. 46:48 - What should fans pay attention to when they attend a rodeo or on television and how technique is a key factor for riding a bull effectively. 49:14 - Abe lists some of the great current bull riders in the PBR and the PRCA. 50:18 - What Abe’s book, “My Cowboy Hat Still Fits” is about. 52:09 - What went into writing Abe’s book. 54:57 - How he’s planning on another autobiography and how he’s focusing on his cookie business. 57:22 - How his cookie sell out quickly at rodeo events. 58:52 - Best advice Abe’s been given as a bull rider and an author. 1:01:54 - Best advice he can give on managing multiple projects. www.abemorris.com www.cowboychuteoutcookies.com

84 minutes | Jul 9, 2020

Steve Porino - Announcer, NBC Sports covering Alpine Skiing & The Tour de France

Twitter: @sporino Steve Porino in a Tree (NBC Olympics): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96tXdONcGAE&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1v7j0VXXzTxO74NpLrbeIlS_FYa_jMJLArPMh6YW0HreieyDb3t7c5tVA "The D Route": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFW4aKYnaPI 1:43 - What Steve has been doing during Covid-19 4:26 - How he made the US Ski Team as a downhill skier 7:02 - What the difference in talent is between an amateur and someone who is on the US Ski Team and how hundredths of seconds can make the difference between winning and being way off the podium. 9:23 - What the different ski disciplines are: Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom (GS) and Slalom and how US Ski Great Bill Johnson described some of them. 13:58 - What makes Bill Johnson, Bode Miller, Ted Ligety, Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin stand out differently than other skiers Steve has covered. 15:04 - Steve talks about Bode Miller’s talents, being an innovator and covering him during the Olympics. 19:15 - He talks about what made Lindsey Vonn special as a downhill racer. 23:23 - How Mikaela Shiffrin may have an opportunity to elevate alpine skiing in the US. 26:06 - How “burger school” helped Steve make the transition into broadcasting. 30:44 - How broadcasting can be challenging to make viewers understand something that’s complex and how he’s worked to simplify his announcing. 33:27 - What Steve things about when he’s covering the Olympics versus a World Cup race. 36:50 - How Steve became the motorcycle reporter on NBC’s coverage of The Tour de France. 42:28 - What his responsibilities are each day during Le Tour. 49:04 - How Steve describes what it’s like riding behind the peloton and a brief description on the anatomy of a peloton. 53:12 - How the caravan that follows the peloton is like a competition within a competition. 54:46 - What Steve’s responsibility is when there is a crash in the race and how he adjusts his coverage. 57:28 - What it’s like working with one of the most iconic cycling announcers in history, Phil Liggett 1:00:08 - How losing cycling announcer Paul Sherwin, another cycling great, was a big loss on the tv production and how he had a great sense of humor. 1:03:06 - Phil and Paul were one of the best broadcasting announcer combinations known throughout the world. 1:04:57 - What makes NBC’s coverage of the Tour de France special with the production and broadcast team. 1:10:56 - What some of the most memorable cycling moments Steve has had in his broadcasting experience that involved Chris Froome. 1:16:04 - What the best advice Steve has gotten working in the sports industry. 1:20:27 - When we will see Steve Porino again in the Covid era.

72 minutes | Jun 25, 2020

Tom Van Berg - Thoroughbred Horse Trainer, Son of Hall of Fame Trainer Jack Van Berg

2:29 - What the responsibilities of a thoroughbred horse trainer are. 3:57 - How much he was around his dad, Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg, when he was young. 5:08 - Why Tom wanted to study aerospace engineering instead of following his father into the thoroughbred world and his post college experiences. 9:07 - How Tom likes to bring people into the horse racing world to show them what it’s like rather than tell them. 11:33 - How Jack Van Berg got his work ethic and how he would make anyone feel comfortable. 13:53 - How Tom describes his dad as a “dad.” Chris Kotulak authored a book called “Jack, From Grit To Glory, The True Story of Jack Van Berg, an American Horse Racing Legend.” Tom talks about how the book affected him in painting a better picture of his dad. 17:22 - What Tom learned most about training horses from his dad. 20:35 - How Tom applies his dad’s philosophy in how he trains horses today and the differences than when Jack was at the peak of his career. 22:17 - What a typical day/week is for a horse trainer. 24:29 - What a horse trainer’s team looks like in helping to make a thoroughbred successful. 27:15 - How the horse racing industry is mostly made up of people who have grown up in the business. 29:49 - How a horse trainer works the business and ownership groups. 33:26 - What the Covid-19 situation is for horse owners & trainers 39:08 - How Tom’s been able to work within Covid-19 limitations. 43:43 - What Tom’s biggest win was in his training career. 48:22 - How Jack Van Berg still makes his presence known with Tom and the horse racing community. 53:00 - On whether Tom is brave enough to make a prediction on if any of his horses will win the Kentucky Derby. 55:00 - The difficulty on training a horse to be a Kentucky Derby contender. 59:49 - How Tom loves to get people involved in horse racing. 1:02:42 - How much care goes into training the horses. 1:05:12 - Best advice Tom has been given working in this industry. 1:06:17 - How a fan should watch horse racing either at the track or on television. 1:09:32 - The color of Van Berg Stables silk colors.

62 minutes | May 21, 2020

Dan Lyle - Director of AEG Rugby & Former USA Rugby Player

1:43 - What Dan Lyle does as Director of Rugby for Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) 3:22 - What the differences are between Rugby and American Football and the history of how rugby started. 7:11 - What each position does in Rugby Sevens. 8:32 - What positions do in Rugby Union. 9:43 - Why Dan decided to pursue professional rugby outside of the United States instead of American football with the Minnesota Vikings. 14:15 - Was it a culture shock to play rugby overseas. 16:25 - What the history of rugby is for the United States and how it fits in with rugby’s origin. 20:14 - How women are embracing rugby and why they are passionate about it. 22:02 - What the differences of tackling in rugby and American sports and how rugby tackling has been successful for NFL and Collegiate coaches. 25:19 - What some of the cultures are in rugby, including the “Haka” 25:59 - How there is a culture within the game of rugby. 28:44 - How Dan is able to grow help rugby in the U.S. 32:28 - Finding the face of rugby in the US with current cross over players. 35:28 - What the future of rugby is like in the US. 37:57 - What the challenges are to get new fans excited about rugby. 41:04 - How AEG is in the business of creating sports properties 42:14 - How Dan became the rugby analyst for NBC Sports. 44:35 - What Dan’s recommendation is for someone new to rugby who wants to learn the game. 46:59 - Who were some of the best rugby players Dan has seen in his lifetime. 50:25 - What Dan’s perspective is on the movie “Invictus,” starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman. 51:56 - How the movie and real-life events affected Dan and his view on how it affected society. 54:03 - What Dan would like people to know about rugby that they might not otherwise know. 55:54 - What the best advice Dan has been given working in sports. 58:33 - How people can find out more about rugby in the United States.

56 minutes | May 14, 2020

Nick Gismondi - Announcer & Reporter, Chicago Blackhawks, NBC Sports Chicago & World Team Tennis

2:00 - Welcome to Nick Gismondi 2:45 - What Nick has been doing since Covid-19 disrupted sports. 4:23 - What it’s like working as an announcer for the Chicago Blackhawks, one of the Original Six NHL teams. 7:15 - What it’s like as the rink side reporter for the Blackhawks. 7:51 > 8:45 11:17 - How he came to love hockey & the NHL and how he got into sports broadcasting. 15:25 - How a chance meeting at Los Angeles International Airport changed his broadcasting career. 19:43 - How it takes tenacity to work in sports broadcasting as an on-air personality. 23:08 - Nick talks about his formula for building relationships. 26:33 - How Nick has developed relationships with celebrities, athletes and people in sports. 28:18 - What Nick does for World Team Tennis on CBS 31:06 - How the WTT show “Up Next with Nick Gismondi” began. 33:02 - Future guests on “Up Next with Nick Gismondi.” 34:45 - How Nick is able to connect with fans. 38:27 - Nick shares an anecdote working with Olympic Gold Medalist Dan Jansen while covering speed skating. 40:54 - What Nick’s future is for announcing. 41:56 - How Nick prepare to call a sport or event he’s never covered. 43:52 - What makes a good sports tv producer. 47:49 - Nick is in a military family and he talks about the relationship with sports and the military. 50:20 - What Nick would like people to know about what he does that they might not otherwise know. 51:43 - What the best advice he’s been given in the sports broadcasting industry. 53:20 - What rewards there are working in sports broadcasting.

52 minutes | May 7, 2020

Aaron Eisman - Social Media Expert, Eisman Digital

01:41 - What makes social media so powerful. 03:47 - How social media has changed with sports networks in the last 5-7 years. 07:24 - How Aaron started in sports social media. 10:58 - How NBA on TNT, NBA TV, Bleacher Report and NFL Network handle their social media efforts. 15:08 - How getting social media correct is extremely important when publishing. 18:46 - How he uses his journalism skills to make social media posts effective. 21:38 - What the difference is working for a sports organization and running his own company. 23:41 - How important strategy is for brands in growing followers, getting out content and crisis management. 25:57 - Who he works with and how he helps them with social media. 29:49 - How to create a strategy in promoting content such as the Sports In The Making podcast. 33:15 - What some of the most common mistakes people make when using social media. 35:10 - What some of the best social media campaigns Aaron has seen. 39:02 - How many professional athletes run their own social media accounts and how lesser known athletes manage theirs. 44:27 - What the future possibilities are for social media and how influencers have impacted some platforms. 48:10 - What the most important thing anyone using social media should know. 50:12 - For more information about Aaron and Eisman Digital, contact @eismandigital

49 minutes | Apr 30, 2020

Atomic - eSports & Broadcast Productions

2:30 - How Covid-19 has affected the eSports industry. 3:22 - Kris Dahl is Principal at Atomic - What Atomic does and how it affects eSports. 4:41 - What Patrick Barthe’s responsibilities are with Atomic 5:13 - How Atomic started. 6:18 - What eSports is, how it’s grown and the importance of it now. 8:13 - How eSports has affected broadcast networks since the pandemic. 10:08 - What some of the challenges are in covering eSports events. 12:44 - How Atomic finds clients and how Atomic puts the productions together. 15:49 - How technology for eSports affects the productions. 17:35 - What some of the gaming titles are. 18:58 - What the viewing numbers tell us on the potential for eSports. 21:04 - How much gamers can earn in competitions. 22:43 - How eSports can affect culture. 24:53 - What some of the drawbacks eSports can have. 26:42 - If eSports could have a future in the Olympics. 29:36 - How anti-doping is evident in eSports 32:19 - What kinds of innovations Atomic has been a part of and how they work with game developers to cover the events using technology. 34:13 - How Atomic makes creative innovations happen. 36:23 - What the future for youth is with gaming. 39:30 - What the most successful or notable event Atomic has been a part of. 42:14 - What they would like sports fans to know about eSports that they may not know. 44:45 - How people can find out more about Atomic.