049 Hither And Yon: Chris Yon, Camera Operator, Renaissance Man
NYC-based Chris Yon is a versatile, experienced camera operator with a long list of clients -- NBC, CBS, FOX, the MLB Network, plus local broadcasts of the Yankees and Mets. His interest in media started on the playground, where he and a buddy would deliver mock newscasts with the latest elementary school gossip and occasionally deliver play-by-play for kickball games. We worked together for six years in the Orlando studio at Golf Channel, where his positive attitude (and savage skill at impersonating our colleagues) made long studio days much more palatable. In this episode, Chris outlines his path from Pittsfield, Massachusetts to the big leagues, and how his willingness to learn new skills opened all kinds of doors. Chris Yon is the epitome of "always say yes."
048 Field Of Dreams: Chris Datres, Sports TV Field Producer, High School Umpire and Referee
The word "producer" has many different meanings in sports media. ESPN and Golf Channel veteran Chris Datres has worn many hats as a highlight producer, graphics producer, and field producer — the last of which means he's the eyes and ears for news on the road. He's also worn many chest protectors and whistles as a longtime high school baseball umpire and basketball referee. We cover his beginnings in Harrisburg, PA, his start in the industry, and our shared paths at both ESPN and Golf Channel, including a bizarre night during the last PGA Tour event at Walt Disney World in 2012. In addition to being a reliable and willing golf partner, Chris is a frequent co-host on "Making The Cut, with Whit Watson" on Orlando’s 96.9 The Game.
047 Golf Broadcaster Lisa Cornwell: The Women's Game, The Men's Game, The Mental Game
Longtime golf announcer Lisa Cornwell joins the podcast with thoughts on the current state of the professional game -- which, she says, is a very different answer between the women and the men. A former pupil of David Leadbetter, Lisa won the Arkansas Women's State Championship four times, and played college golf with an eye towards a pro career. We trace her pivot from playing golf to broadcasting the game, and how mental health played a role in that move. Some important topics here that I haven't discussed much in previous episodes.
046 Jack Graham: Sports Producer and Executive, ABC, NBC, Golf Channel
Will sports fans continue to search for their favorite teams on streaming services behind paywalls? What are the LIV Golf broadcasts doing to improve or change sports TV? Will Tiger and Rory's TGL work? Will Tiger play the PGA Tour Champions when he turns 50? Jack Graham is the man to ask. A former VP of Live Tournaments at Golf Channel and a longtime veteran of ABC and NBC, Jack has produced numerous sports around the world and managed talent, budgets, and schedules as a department head. We cover all of the topics above plus our industry's move to remote production and his beloved USC Trojans' move to the Big Ten.
045 Crooning Boone: Grant Boone, Golf Channel and CBS Sports Announcer
Grant Boone works as a golf announcer for NBC and Golf Channel, primarily on the LPGA Tour. His prior experience includes coverage of Amen Corner for the Masters on CBS, plus work in dozens of sports for ESPN, Turner and Fox. In this episode we discuss the 2024 US Women's Open, the state of the LPGA, what the LIV Golf rift has done to the men's game, and get some detail on Grant's uncle Pat.
044 Steady Eddie: Mike Germond, Steadicam Operator
Mike Germond has a resume’ that could fill a podcast. He works live sports events, corporate events, films, commercials, and concerts. His bread and butter is the Steadicam, a staple of sporting events and movies, a wearable rig that stabilizes the camera shot. He’s also certified by the FAA to shoot drone footage. If you have ever watched the NFL on NBC, you’ve seen Mike’s work, and you’ll also be looking through his lens at the Paris Olympics. We talk about his path in video and film production, the nuances of wearing the rig, and how remote production has changed our business — a recurring theme on this podcast.
043 NCAA Golf Championships, with Golf Channel’s Steve Burkowski
The month of May brings the onset of college golf's postseason. The men's and women's fields for the 2024 NCAA Golf Championships were announced on Golf Channel at the end of April; with regional play beginning May 6, Steve Burkowski joined the podcast to handicap the fields. "Burko" has been with Golf Channel for over 20 years, and has carved out a niche as the go-to resource for college and amateur golf. We talk about his path from New Jersey to the University of Florida and then go deep on what schools can win it all at the NCAA Championships at La Costa at the end of the month.
042 Dave Mishkin: Voice of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Author of “Blind Squirrel”
Dave Mishkin has been the radio voice of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning for over 20 years, and recently published a fiction novel called "Blind Squirrel." As he tells it, the book is hockey-adjacent, and tells the story of Noah, a former pro hockey player who deals with mental health issues. As an aspiring writer myself, I was interested in hearing about Dave's process in writing. In this episode, we talk about his background as a student announcer at Yale, his journey through the minors, and the Lightning's three Stanley Cup wins and our mutual friend Paul Kennedy.
041 Ann Liguori: Sports Journalist, Entrepreneur, Author of “Life On The Green”
Ann Liguori wears many hats: sports journalist, entrepreneur, public speaker, and author. She was the first woman to host a call-in show on New York's WFAN, the original sports talk radio station in the US. She's covered multiple majors in golf and tennis, has reported from the Olympics, Ryder Cups, and Solheim Cups, and is perhaps best known for the long-running cable series "Sports Innerview with Ann Liguori." She was also a Golf Channel original, hosting a golf-centric interview show under the guidance of fellow podcast guest Mike Whelan. Ann has just published her latest book, "Life On The Green: Lessons and Wisdom from Legends of Golf." That's where our conversation starts.
040 Puttin’ On The (Ethan) Ritz: Sports TV Graphics Producer, Production Manager, Bar Trivia Ninja
Ethan Ritz is one of the smartest people I know. Grew up in Virginia, played college lacrosse at Tennessee, worked for Golf Channel for many years as a graphics producer and now holds a similar role at LIV Golf and farms himself out as a production manager. He's been there and done that, including the Olympics, the Ryder Cup, and all of golf's majors. We are a killer team at bar trivia nights. Nobody understands the dynamics of sports media freelancing better than Ethan.
039 Sports Photography, with Cy Cyr
Cy Cyr (pronounced 'sigh sear') is an acclaimed photographer based in Orlando. His sports credits include Golf Channel, NBC, Sports Illustrated, Golf Digest, and ESPN, and he's a go-to photog for the PGA Tour. Beyond sports, Cy is highly regarded in editorial, commercial, and portrait work, with clients like Mitsubishi, Yamaha, and Discovery Channel. He's been at this for over 25 years, a passion project that started when he was a high schooler in Maine. In this episode, we talk about his love for golf, his arsenal of equipment, and the essence of being a photographer. Plus: horses. And drones.
038 Dave Revsine, Big Ten Network and ESPN
Dave Revsine is the lead studio host and a play-by-play announcer for the Big Ten Network. He’s one of my oldest friends in the business, going back to the days of ESPN and the original launch of ESPNEWS. In this episode, we talk about his path from Chicago to an investment banking job he hated, his return to broadcasting, and how ESPN and the Big Ten Network changed his life. He describes his family’s connection to Northwestern University and how his fandom began on the South Side. Plus, thoughts on the Caitlin Clark phenomenon, the cable TV model, and how sports will be delivered in the future.
037 LeslieAnne Wade, Former CBS SVP, Communications, Consumer Media Expert
LeslieAnne Wade has enjoyed a remarkable career in sports communications and public relations. Starting in sports information at the college level, she later worked at USA Network, overseeing the first Ryder Cup televised live from Europe. She is perhaps best known for her tenure at CBS Sports, where she rose to the level of Senior Vice President. From the Masters to Super Bowls to March Madness, LeslieAnne had a front row seat. She now teaches, consults, and maintains a high level of visibility in the communications and PR space.
036 Super Bowl Preview and Silly Prop Bets, with Todd Wright
Todd Wright is one of my oldest friends in the business. He’s known for “All Night with Todd Wright,” a national show on ESPN Radio that he started in 1996. He was also on nationwide on Sporting News Radio, and made frequent appearances on local radio in Tampa, where he still lives. We worked together for several years at the old Sun Sports, where Todd was a panelist on our talk shows. Now in semi-retirement from radio, Todd runs the Todd Wright Tour, a wildly successful amateur golf series in the Tampa Bay area, and hosts a couple of podcasts, including one dedicated to fantasy football. As someone with very little background in the NFL, I rely on Todd for all of my pro football questions. Hence, our Super Bowl preview — a mix of serious football talk and speculation on stupid prop bets. And for all those search engines out there: Taylor Swift.
035 Gary Christian: A Life In Golf
For an Englishman, Gary Christian has an All-American story. Coming from a working class background in Britain, he learned to play golf with a set of cut-down, hickory-shafted clubs. A successful amateur career led to a scholarship at a junior college in Alabama, where he played well enough to transfer to Auburn. Turning pro at the age of 28, he played minitours all over the US, eventually graduating to what is now the Korn Ferry Tour. There, he won twice before earning his PGA Tour card for the first time at the age of 40. When his playing career was cut short due to injury, he began a second act as a golf commentator. He's now in a transitional phase of his career, something that is imminently relatable. Our topics included career pivots, 'Welcome to Wrexham,' and what it's like to be paired with Tiger Woods.
034 Florida Man: Television’s Paul Kennedy
In 1988, a new regional sports network was launched in Tallahassee, Florida. Called 'Sunshine Network,' its first property was Florida State University, and the first announcer for FSU sports was Paul Kennedy. 36 years later, Paul is still broadcasting Florida sports. He was on the mic when the Orlando Magic played their first game; same for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He's done play-by-play for the Miami Marlins and hosted talk shows for the Miami Dolphins. There are few, if any, pro teams or major colleges in Florida that haven't welcomed Paul into the broadcast booth. In this episode, we dive into his packed resume' and follow his road to broadcasting, plus share some unique experiences outside the Sunshine State. We also hear about his varied interests outside of sports media.
033 Golf Commentator Jerry Foltz, Golf Channel and LIV
Jerry Foltz is a golf lifer. He picked up the game as a kid in Las Vegas, was an All-American in college at the University of Arizona, and then (in his words) "backed into" a career in golf broadcasting that started at Golf Channel and now continues with LIV Golf. In all, he's had well over 20 years on a microphone. In this episode, we trace his path from playing golf to talking about it on TV, and go deep on LIV and Jerry’s decision to join the upstart league. Jerry is a good friend, and this was a great interview.
032 Mike Soltys, Former PR Executive at ESPN
Mike Soltys spent 43 years at ESPN — as he puts it, 98 percent of the company's history. Originally hired as an unpaid intern by ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen, Mike rose to the very top of the Worldwide Leader's public relations department, documenting the biggest sporting events in the world and managing the explosive growth of the ESPN brand. He departed ESPN in June of 2023, part of cost-cutting moves by parent company Disney. In this episode, we look back at ESPN's history and look ahead to trends in sports media. Plus, details on Mike's upbringing in Connecticut and what motivated him to enter the industry.
031 Ron Sirak, Journalist.
If it happened in golf in the last 40 years, Ron Sirak probably saw it, and wrote about it. He's a former senior writer and executive editor for Golf Digest and Golf World magazines and a longtime contributor to Golf Channel. A champion of the women's game, he might be the only media member to cover all of the men's and women's major championships in the same year -- a feat he's accomplished multiple times. We discuss his upbringing in Western Pennsylvania, his time with the Associated Press, his magazine career, his TV work, and the state of journalism today.
030 Poker Star: Joe Stapleton, Commentator and Comic
Joe "Stapes" Stapleton is a star in the poker world -- as he once put it, he's "poker-famous." He's a longtime poker commentator with credits that include PokerStars, The World Series of Poker, The Big Game, and Poker Night in America. In a wide-ranging and thoughtful conversation, he outlines his path from upstate New York to Hollywood, where he's also a stand-up comic and host of the popular "Poker In The Ears" podcast. Joe originally moved to LA with dreams of being a TV comedy writer; his irreverent sense of humor and willingness to try anything opened doors that he didn't even know existed.