Welcome to TBD #24! While lamenting the absence of their co-host Paul Johnson, Bill and Conor forge ahead discussing the recent Windy City Open, Bill's appearance on his new friend Barry Gibbs's In Squash podcast, the continued dominance of Nouran Gohar at Black Ball and the box office appeal of Mostafa Asal at canary Wharf. Subscribe and listen today! You never know, if we get enough listeners, Ali Farag may even come on the show! ***** REACH OUT: FAN FOLLOW UP > The Appendix!! In this segme...
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 78
Hello and welcome to another episode of Squash Radio! This week, Conor is joined by Nathan Lake, a top English professional player. The episode begins with Nathan discussing his recent matches at the Houston Open and reaching a career high rankings breaking into the 30's. The two discuss what it takes to play for England at the Commonwealth Games, which is one of the sport's highest honors. Nathan talks about the transition from the UK to the US, the differences he's noticed between squash in bo...
Feb 23, 2022•52 min•Ep. 77
Squash Radio is back with another episode! We have a really special guest this week. Alex Gough, former world #5 and current CEO of the PSA World Tour, joins Conor to discuss all things PSA! Alex begins the podcast by discussing how he became involved with the PSA, what it was like when he first started in 2008, and how it has constantly evolved and grown since then. He discusses previous tournaments, the evolution of the personnel, new projects, prize money, events, and so on. The two talk abou...
Feb 17, 2022•59 min•Ep. 76
Welcome back to another TBD episode with your three favorite hosts, Conor, Bill and PJ! This week the guys are joined by John Flanigan and Yoni Ellous from The University Club to discuss all things Windy City Open in Chicago. The guys start off by doing their best to pronounce Yoni's last name, and then get into the topic at hand. John talks about the behind the scenes work of getting the courts up and running (including the use of sledgehammers), and how they decide on the structure. They talk ...
Feb 10, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 75
Hey there squash fans! This week's guest is Will Hopton, the Executive Director of Squash on Fire in DC, former World #2 Rackets player & Doubles Champion as well as a lover of all racket sports! The episode starts off with a conversation about Will's background in Rackets. He explains how he got into the sport, his experience with coaching, and his passion for other racket sports. The topic changes when Conor asks about Will's current passion, Squash on Fire, in DC. Will explains a bit abou...
Feb 03, 2022•55 min•Ep. 74
Welcome to another episode of The Break Down with Conor, Bill and PJ! In an homage to Kornheiser and Wilbon, TBD is proud to present its very first rundown! Since the names PTI and PMT are already taken, and PJ’s salary doesn’t leave us any money to defend ourselves against copywrite infringement suits, we need your help producing a name for this segment! In this episode, the guys run through a wide range of topics, including the recent suspension of Mostafa Asal, the rise of Paul Coll (and Bill...
Jan 28, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 73
Welcome back to another episode of Squash Radio! This week’s guest is former world number 3 player, squash commentator, and cancer survivor: Simon Parke. The conversation starts off with Parke explaining how he got into squash commentary, and how it related to his squash game. He explains the mental challenges of squash, and reminisces on past games and tournaments. Conor changes the subject a bit when he asks Parke to expand a bit on his past health struggles, specifically his diagnosis and bat...
Jan 20, 2022•51 min•Ep. 72
In the first episode of the New Year, Conor and Bill sit down with the most talked about player on the PSA Tour, Mostafa Asal, the 20 year old Egyptian phenom who is taking the sport of squash by storm. Mostafa discusses what it is like traveling the world at such a young age, his love of chick-fil-a, and driving in Egypt. While we recorded the episode days before his recently announced suspension, we do delve into his thoughts on being the most compelling and polarizing figure the game has seen...
Jan 14, 2022•42 min•Ep. 71
Welcome back, squash fans! This week’s guest is most well known for being the Executive Director of Portland Community Squash in Maine: Barrett Takesian. Barrett is the master of building community, which is definitely a theme throughout this episode! The episode begins with an introduction of a new video project he’s been working on, in which he’s put his business model for growing squash programs, along with other programs, into a three-part model. He explains how he helped grow Portland Commu...
Nov 05, 2021•50 min•Ep. 70
Conor O’Malley & Bill Buckingham invite on the Head of College Squash to share what’s the latest as the season gets underway. REACH OUT: FAN FOLLOW UP > The Appendix!! In this segment, we will be sharing the feedback, comments, insights, you name it! So reach out us on social media or email squashradio@gmail.com . As always, thanks for listening! SPONSOR: This episode of Squash Radio (SQR+) sponsored by ProSportLED – the most advanced lighting technology for your racquet sport needs. ProS...
Oct 28, 2021•35 min•Ep. 69
TBD #20 has arrived! On this milestone episode, PJ, Conor and Bill are joined by 2021 US Open Semi-finalist and team USA member Olivia Fiechter. Olivia talks about the many ways to pronounce her last name as well as her stunning run to the US Open semis in her hometown of Philadelphia. In the R&R segment we look back at our most memorable encounters with famous people (not including our interactions with PJ) . The doubters said we would never make it to 20, so give a listen and enjoy this ep...
Oct 23, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 68
Welcome back, squash fans! This week’s guest is Chris Smith, and the episode is structured a little differently than the others. The majority of it was recorded over three years ago, but was never released, so Conor recently recorded a quick follow up to bring it all together. The episode starts off with a brief conversation about where Chris is now and what has changed in his life over the past few years since the original conversation was recorded back in 2018. Most well known for being the He...
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 67
Welcome back to another episode of Squash Radio! This week’s guest is Aidan Harrison. Known for developing the squash program at the Onwentsia Club in Illinois, Aidan built the program from the ground up. 20 years later, he’s still enhancing the program daily. He’s responsible for growing the league’s participation by 800% by creating one of the most competitive programs in the state. Aidan is also one of the members of past guest and current #3, Amanda Sobhy’s coaching team. The episode starts ...
Oct 07, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 66
Welcome back, squash fans! This week we’re highlighting a guest that’s very near and dear to our hearts here at Squash Radio. He’s a former #4 player, gold medalist, one of the highest leading coaches in the world, lead commentator on Squash TV and (most importantly), cohost of The Breakdown with Conor and Bill: the one and only, Paul Johnson (aka PJ)! PJ begins the episode by giving a little background about his coaching career, and talks about the adjustments he had to make in his coaching sty...
Sep 29, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 65
Welcome to TBD #19! Gather round boys and girls, its story time as Conor, PJ and Bill welcome Squash Stories founder and moderator Jamie Maddox to the show. Jamie discusses the growth of his Facebook group, his alter ego Eshan, and his love of all things "El Shorbagy". You don't want to miss this episode of TBD. It's so good PJ may even give it a listen! REACH OUT: FAN FOLLOW UP > The Appendix!! In this segment, we will be sharing the feedback, comments, insights, you name it! So reach out us...
Sep 22, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 64
It’s that awesome time of the year again when the community takes time to highlight women’s squash with a week-long, multi-state and country celebration for Women's Squash Week! We thought this would be the perfect time to connect you to Kim Clearkin, who has been at the forefront of driving women's squash initiative forward for 15 years now, along with being the Senior Vice President at US Squash and Co-Chair of the Women’s Committee. We go through a quick background of this week, give you a sn...
Sep 20, 2021•23 min•Ep. 63
Welcome back, squash fans! This week we have Manek Mathur on the podcast. Most well known for being ranked the #1 doubles player on the SDA Tour, four-time College Squash National Team Champion, DJ and music producer and his new career path in the world of real estate. The episode starts with Manek’s experience playing at Trinity and the relationships he formed with his coach (Paul Assaiante) and fellow teammates. Originally from India, the transition to being an international student at Trinity...
Sep 16, 2021•52 min•Ep. 62
This week’s guest is Danielle Maur, former National Director of Racquet Sports at Life Time Fitness, CEO & Co-founder of Global Squash, and named on the list of the top 50 most influential people in the sport of squash by Squash Magazine. The episode begins with Danielle discussing her time at Life Time Fitness, from how she helped it grow, to her role in the education of the club, to how she advocated for squash courts to be part of fitness clubs. She continues on to discuss how important c...
Sep 09, 2021•56 min•Ep. 61
Welcome to TBD Episode 18! Conor, PJ and Bill welcome special guest Sheldon Anderson. Sheldon shares his insights on the state of officiating in squash and the continuing steps being taken to further professionalize this critical aspect of the sport. Based on Sheldon’s long career in the hospitality industry, this episode's R&R segment is devoted to sharing our top hotel experiences. Have a listen as the guys air their own dirty laundry! REACH OUT: FAN FOLLOW UP > The Appendix!! In this s...
Sep 02, 2021•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 60
It’s an honor to have past U.S. #1 Alicia McConnell, in the hot seat today! A sports fanatic from a young age, Alicia’s rise to stardom may have appeared seamless from the outside, but it was certainly not an easy journey. In this episode, Alicia describes the mental health struggles that she went through when she was playing professionally, the immense pressure that she felt, and the lack of support she received. We discuss how Alicia got through this, and she shares some valuable advice for an...
Aug 26, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 59
This week on The Breakdown, Conor, Bill and PJ start the episode off by checking in with each other and touch base on what they’ve been up to over the past couple of weeks, from PJ arriving back in the states, to golf games, to Bill’s love of Gerry Gibson. This episode mostly focuses on two main topics: the guys’ top three favorite sports movies of all time, and the Olympics. Of course squash comes up in relation to the Olympics, which leads to an interesting discussion about opinions on why squ...
Aug 18, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 58
In this episode of Squash Radio (SqR), Conor sits down with Anderson Good, the former Head Men’s and Women’s Squash Coach at George Washington University (GW). Anderson has the distinction of being one of the youngest Head Coach of a Division 1 program in college squash history. He took over the reins of the GW program from the talented Wendy Lawrence. The GW program made headlines in the Squash world during Covid-19, when the Athletic Department decided to cut Squash along with several other sp...
Aug 12, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 57
We are making Squash Radio history today with our first fellow podcaster in the hot seat. Bill Ullman is an investment banking and financial services veteran, a lifelong squash player, and host of Squashing the Market, a podcast where he sits down with various experts, leaders and CEOs to discuss the latest developments in the FinTech world. In this conversation, we hear about Bill's incredibly diverse journey, the different spaces he has worked in, and his decision to venture out on his own. Na...
Jul 22, 2021•58 min•Ep. 56
Thank again for tuning in and we hope you Enjoy the show! As you know, the biggest tournament in squash is going to be taking place this month. The timing is unusual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and there was a lot of ambiguity around whether it would happen at all, but that hasn’t taken away from the excitement we are all feeling. In today’s episode PJ explains why the World Championships are in a different league from other squash tournaments, and gives us a rundown of the various male and fe...
Jul 13, 2021•57 min•Ep. 55
Thank again for tuning in and we hope you Enjoy the show! It’s not every day, we get to welcome world record holders onto the show, and today, we are talking to not one but two of them! Cameron Pilley is a former world number 11 squash player hailing from Australia. He now lives in New York, where he is the director of junior squash at the Apawamis Club. John White, also from Down Under, the former world number one, and now works as the head coach for the men's and women’s teams at Drexel Univer...
Jun 29, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 54
Thank again for tuning in and we hope you Enjoy the show! Time Stamps for TBD Segments: R&R Topic: Top 3 GOAT’s of Sports [starts at 1:50 = 28 mins] Breakdown: Top 3 GOAT’s in Squash from Wael, PJ, Bill & Conor [starts at 30:10 = 25 mins] The Appendix: this is an evolution of the ‘Fan Follow up’ as a way for Conor’s appendix to live when his was removed! [starts at 56:50 = 11 mins] In today’s episode, we are joined by former world number 8, 2010 US Open champion, and 2009 Egyptian team w...
Jun 11, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 53
Thank again for tuning in and we hope you Enjoy the show! Time Stamps for TBD Segments: R&R Topic: Bill’s Top 3 grudges [starts at 2:10 m= 20 mins] Breakdown: When did you last mix up the squash ball you play with? Give it a shot! [starts at 23:00 = 22 mins] **NEW SEGMENT** Putting On Your PJ’s: Paul Johnson is back! We pay tribute to Malcolm Willstrop [starts at 44:50 = 22 mins] Today we are back with a bang, talking about long-held grudges and the issue of which balls to use on the court! ...
May 17, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 52
Jobs Talk with Conor, Bill, and PJ THE BREAK DOWN (TBD) #11?: Talking 9-5’s; in Sports & Squash Welcome back to Episode 11 of The Break Down! By popular demand, Conor and Bill welcome back Squash TV’s Paul Johnson, otherwise known as PJ Squash. Obviously there is a trend towards becoming a coach once the professionals players retire from the game, but today’s episode looks at some of the other job s you can do in the sports world that don’t require playing on the field, from beer vendor and ...
Apr 27, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 51
Today, Squash Radio (SQR) has another one of our youngest guests and recent Yale University graduate, Spencer Lovejoy, calling in from Connecticut! Spencer has just cracked the top 100 on the professional tour, held his spot at number one all four years at Yale. Dave Talbot recent shared on Squash Radio that Spencer is one of the Top 3 players he Coaches during his four decade career. Spencer has stayed on top of his game since graduation, playing Pro events even during the challenging Covid res...
Apr 16, 2021•56 min•Ep. 50
Harlemite and StreetSquash alum Raheem Logan is the author of the children’s book Black Boy Fly, an origin story about the love and challenges of squash. The children’s book is the first title to enter the squash literary canon from a hip hop millennial. The title comes from Kendrick Lamar’s song Black Boy Fly from the Good Kid Bad City album. The story follows a children’s literary tradition glorifying flight . The ability to fly is a common form of wish fulfillment. As in Maurice Sendak’s Outs...
Apr 07, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 49
