We've saved the biggest guest for the AA Podcast thus far for our 78th episode as broadcasting legend Marv Albert joins us before TNT's All-Star Game coverage this weekend. Regarded as "the voice of basketball," Albert has been on hand to witness many of the greatest moment in NBA history. In addition, he's called Super Bowls, Stanley Cup Finals, NCAA Tournaments and much more as one of the top announcers of the last 50 years. Today we talk with Marv about the All-Star Game, the season so far, a...
Feb 12, 2014•37 min
For today's podcast we welcome one of the most accomplished NBA players of this generation - 7-time All-Star Grant Hill. Grant has made the full-time transition to broadcasting with Turner Sports as the co-host of Inside Stuff on NBA TV. Today, Grant chats with AA about that broadcast career and the NBA season so far. Topics include... -HIs roles at NBA All-Star weekend including being A GM for the Rising Stars Challenge. -Whether the NBA should make any changes to All-Star weekend to revive int...
Feb 06, 2014•37 min
To take a look at Fox's Super Bowl broadcast, we invite back an old friend of the program - Ed Sherman of the Sherman Report and the Chicago Tribune. We take an in-depth look at how Fox did the best job they could with the Super Bowl blowout and discuss Ed's new book about Babe Ruth's called shot. Topics include... -His glorious feud with Deadspin and how it all started. -How being called every four letter word by Tommy Craggs has helped his internet profile. -Fox's grade for the Super Bowl broa...
Feb 04, 2014•36 min
On this week's podcast we're joined by the voice of curling and lead announcer for NBC's Olympic curling coverage, Andrew Catalon. While Andrew works the Olympics for NBC, his full-time job is with CBS Sports and the CBS Sports Network. Andrew was named one of our Rising Stars for 2013 in the broadcast industry for his work on a multitude of sports. Today he joins us to talk about topics that include... -Just recently getting a full-time job with CBS Sports Network and giving up his local sports...
Jan 24, 2014•28 min
To break down the NFL Playoffs and take a look at the NFL announcing scene we're joined by Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated. Chris has taken over the mantle of ranking all the NFL announcers at SI in addition to covering the league and the NFL Draft as well. We cover a multitude of football related topics including... -Is this the best Final 4 in NFL history? -Would a victory in the AFC Championship Game mean more to Brady or Manning's legacy? -Why Manning's record breaking season has got such ...
Jan 16, 2014•39 min
ESPN presented a revolutionary night of television earlier this week with the BCS Megacast. The network presented several alternate feeds for the BCS title game that gave fans more options than ever before. By far the most acclaimed viewing option was the BCS Film Room on ESPNEWS which featured analysts and coaches breaking down game film in real time. The host/analyst of Film Room was ESPN senior recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill. He joined us on the podcast to talk about that production as well...
Jan 09, 2014•22 min
We're back for Part II of our Year In Review Podcast Extravaganza Extraordinaire and once again we welcome the Vito Corleone of the sports media industry, Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated. The Year in Review podcast has become a tradition unlike any other at AA as we look back at the biggest stories, newsmakers, and industry trends in 2013. Topics include... -Media feuds of the year, including RD's many, many... many social media scraps. -Jay Bilas as his person of the year in sports media ...
Dec 20, 2013•54 min
We take a look back at the business side of sports media in 2013 in a Year in Review podcast and who better than sports media savant John Ourand of SBJ to do just that. It was a massive year in sports media with the launch of Fox Sports 1, rights fees continuing to rise, and there being no more interesting time to cover the industry. We chatted with John about some of those stories including... -Why Fox Sports execs were SBJ's most influential people of 2013 -Has FS1 met expectations and how are...
Dec 12, 2013•32 min
This week we named our 13 Rising Stars for 2013 in sports media. One of those rising stars was Fox Sports 1 college football analyst and host Joel Klatt. The former Colorado QB has blossomed at Fox Sports 1 in an expanded role not just as a studio and game analyst, but as an anchor, even doing highlights on Fox NFL Sunday. Klatt joins us to talk about his young Fox career, this week's B1G title game, and much more including... -The challenges and excitement of building FS1 from the ground up. -G...
Dec 06, 2013•34 min
We're pleased to welcome one of the very best announcers in sports back to the AA Podcast - the voice of the NHL, Mike "Doc" Emrick. While most sports fans think of Thanksgiving as football time, NBC has a national broadcast on Black Friday between the Bruins and Rangers. We catch up with Doc looking ahead to that broadcast as well as some other early season storylines including... -How realignment has affected the NHL so far this season. -Why there's such a disparity between the Eastern and Wes...
Nov 27, 2013•21 min
With Thanksgiving week upon us, we're joined by one person who has the privilege of not working just one of the big games in store this weekend, but two of them. CBS's intrepid sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson works the Iron Bowl on Saturday between #1 Alabama and #4 Auburn but before that will also call the Thanksgiving Day game between the Raiders and Cowboys. In this podcast, Tracy chats with AA about the busy week and other topics including... -The differences in sideline reporting in the NFL...
Nov 26, 2013•33 min
In today's podcast we welcome one of the brightest minds covering sports and a lead college basketball analyst for ESPN, Jay Bilas. The former Duke player not only works in the College GameDay studio and calls games for ESPN, but also serves as an NBA Draft analyst. And he has one of the must-follow Twitter accounts in sports featuring his calls for NCAA reforms and Young Jeezy tweets. In this in-depth podcast, we chat with Jay about... -The Bill Raftery-sized hole in his life and his best Raft ...
Nov 14, 2013•49 min
Ahead of this week's United States Grand Prix it's an absolute pleasure to welcome aboard one of the most venerable voices in sports broadcasting, NBC Formula One analyst David Hobbs. David has announced motorsports on American television for over 35 years and moved to NBC this year with the network's Formula One coverage. In this podcast, we chat with David about this year's season, his history in television, and much more including... -The history making 1979 Daytona 500 as the first live 500 ...
Nov 12, 2013•33 min
This week's AA Podcast features a conversation with the top NFL reporter in America, ESPN's Adam Schefter. His reporting has been at the center of the unfolding bullying controversy in Miami involving Richie Incognito and jonathan Martin. Since joining ESPN in August 2009, Schefter has quickly become one of the top reporters in all of sports. In this interview, we not only chat with Schefter about his reporting about the Dolphins, but how NFL reporting has evolved and the amount of interest in t...
Nov 05, 2013•26 min
In this week's podcast, we invite one of the sports blogosphere's favs, Jimmy Traina, who is on the move from Sports Illustrated to Fox Sports. In the last several years, Jimmy has taken Hot Clicks at SI to one of the most popular features not just at the magazine, but across the web in sports. In this podcast, AA chats with Jimmy about the move, the evolution of Hot Clicks, and the media, and an assortment of topics including... -What it's like to now be co-workers with Erin Andrews. -Why make ...
Oct 24, 2013•37 min
We finally catch up with one of our favorites on this week's podcast, lead ESPN soccer analyst Taylor Twellman. The former MLS MVP has quickly become ESPN's top game analyst for the US Men's National Team and Major League Soccer broadcast. In this podcast we not only chat with Taylor about the USMNT clinching a World Cup berth (and keeping Mexico alive) but a number of other interesting topics as well, including... -Whether the US team thought about tanking against Panama. -How Mexico fell so fa...
Oct 18, 2013•34 min
One of the pleasant surprises of the MLB Postseason has been the entertaining crew TBS has assembled for their studio shows. One of their studio analysts is former Major League pitcher and best-selling author Dirk Hayhurst. After just 25 MLB appearances, Hayhurst has written extensively about his journeyman career and has embraced his travels to being a successful author and broadcaster. Today, Dirk chats with AA about the challenges he faces as a baseball analyst, this year's postseason, Garfoo...
Oct 09, 2013•36 min
In today's podcast we welcome the newest member of one of the most elite fraternities in broadcasting. 39 year old Kevin Burkhardt is the only rookie play by play man calling NFL games for one of the major networks and he joins us to talk about his remarkable career path and his first few weeks on the job for Fox. Kevin chats with AA about... -His experience through the first three weeks of the season and if he's had a "welcome to the big leagues" moment working for the NFL on Fox. -The most uni...
Sep 26, 2013•25 min
In today's podcast we welcome back CBS Sports college football insider for his annual visit to talk about the world of college football. Bruce published a fascinating all access piece inside Texas A&M football this week that's the focus of our early conversation before turning to the major college football media story of the past month, the Sports Illustrated investigation into Oklahoma. It's a very interesting conversation about the current state of reporting into college athletics, the med...
Sep 20, 2013•49 min
Today's AA Podcast welcomes the host of NASCAR Now, ESPN's Shannon Spake. Shannon came from Speed Channel to ESPN and now not only serves as a NASCAR host and reporter but as a college football and basketball reporter for the upcoming season. Additionally, she just signed a new contract extension with Bristol. We go inside that process as well as... -What led her to re-sign with ESPN and whether or not she had any thoughts about leaving ESPN for another opportunity. -The demise of her former emp...
Aug 23, 2013•19 min
Today we welcome ESPN college sports sideline reporter Samantha Ponder. Sam has become one of the most popular and recognizable personalities at ESPN almost overnight with her debut on College GameDay last year and subsequent marriage to Vikings QB Christian Ponder. I talked with Sam about her new life in the fishbowl, her rise at ESPN, and the upcoming college football season. Topics include... -Her meteoric rise through the industry and why the Spelling Bee is her favorite gig. -The one lesson...
Aug 20, 2013•40 min
The beginning of the EPL season is just a few short days away. It's a new beginning for American soccer fans as NBC has the rights to every EPL game after coverage from Fox Soccer and ESPN. Before the launch of the 2013-14 campaign, we're joined by new NBC Premier League host Rebecca Lowe. Rebecca moved not just from ESPN UK to NBC, but also transplanted across the Atlantic to anchor NBC's coverage stateside. In this week's podcast we chat with Rebecca about: -The one thing she's missed most abo...
Aug 14, 2013•27 min
We're pleased to welcome to this week's podcast one of the premier sportscasters in the country - ESPN's Mike Tirico. We chatted with Mike before the opening Monday Night Football telecast of the preseason in Atlanta about his busy summer calling many of the top sporting events around the world, his career, and his influences in broadcasting. Topics include... -What it's like to call the NBA Finals, Wimbledon, and the British Open in one summer. -How he transitions across different sports and me...
Aug 07, 2013•34 min
As we say goodbye to July, we welcome back to the show Rob Stone of Fox Sports. Rob is the studio host for Fox Soccer and will also have a role on Fox's college football coverage this fall. Today, Rob chats with AA about the USA's victory in the Gold Cup and the imminent launch of Fox Sports 1. Topics include... -The USMNT's record winning streak and how excited fans should truly be. -How expectations have changed for the USMNT and goals at next year's World Cup. -Gus Johnson joining Fox's socce...
Jul 31, 2013•34 min
The podcast returns with a full recap of the biggest sports media stories of the past month with Steve Lepore of SB Nation's Puck the Media. Steve anchors SB Nation's sports media coverage, which has grown in the past year with all the developments in the industry. We touch on all the hirings, announcements, new shows, and developments including... -Why Nate Silver's hire by ESPN is the most significant move of the summer. -Can Keith Olbermann last at ESPN2 in late night? -NASCAR's move to NBC a...
Jul 24, 2013•40 min
With the Stanley Cup Final in Boston and the series tied at 1-1, we're joined before a pivotal Game 3 by NBC's voice of the NHL - Mike "Doc" Emrick. Doc is widely regarded as the best play by play man in sports and has been honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame. We talk to Doc about the Bruins-Blackhawks series and some of the traits that make him one of the elite announcers in the business. Topics include: -How he keeps going for multiple overtime games. -The Doc Emrick lexicon -Does he ever get n...
Jun 17, 2013•23 min
We're back for a rare weekend podcast and have the privilege of interviewing one of our favorite guests - the voice of the NBA Finals, Mike Breen. This year's championship series is the 8th Finals for ESPN's lead NBA announcer. AA chatted with Mike Saturday afternoon during an off day of the series before a pivotal Game 5 with the series tied at 2-2. Topics include... -The flop of the Finals. -Broadcast partner Jeff Van Gundy's future and what Breen is willing to do to keep him in the booth. -Ho...
Jun 15, 2013•28 min
Who else could be the guest on the Silver Anniversary edition of the AA Podcast except our first and most frequent guest, the co-author of the #1 New York Times Best Seller Those Guys Have All The Fun - Jim Miller. With several stories surrounding ESPN in the last month, we catch up with Jim and get his take on the happenings in Bristol as well as a few stories he broke on his Twitter page. Topics include... -TBS hiring Keith Olbermann and where his long-term destination might be. -The reaction ...
Jun 07, 2013•31 min
On today's podcast we venture into the world of Formula 1 to chat with globetrotting NBC Sports pit reporter Will Buxton. Will covers every F1 race on the calendar live on-site for NBC and is in Monaco this week for the world's most glamorous race, the Monaco Grand Prix. NBC will be airing live coverage of the Monaco Grand Prix on broadcast network television this weekend. We chatted with Will from Monaco after Thursday's practice session about his work for NBC, the F1 season, and the magic of M...
May 24, 2013•32 min
Today's podcast guest is the lead analyst for the NHL on NBC, a Stanley Cup champ, and NHL veteran who played over 1,000 games in the NHL. After his playing and coaching careers, Eddie Olczyk has transitioned to a successful broadcasting career calling the Stanley Cup Finals and Olympics for NBC as well as the Blackhawks locally in Chicago. Eddie joins us to talk about the Red Wings-Blackhawks series, the rest of the conference semis, and of course, his passion for horse racing. Other topics inc...
May 21, 2013•27 min
