Press Pass Podcast

Brandon Tierney was hosting "Tiki and Tierney" remotely for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now he and Tiki Barber are back in a brand new studio. He joined Press Pass to discuss the transition back from remote work, his chemistry with Barber, and some of his favorite recurring guests.  Tierney also went deep on his thoughts about his beloved Jets, the New York Yankees and how Major League Baseball must seize the momentum it has built over the past two years.

Arif Hasan from The Athletic joins Liam McKeone to discuss how he went from politics to writing, his early days as a blogger for The Daily Norseman, the importance of Dalvin Cook to the Vikings, and more.

Stan Verrett has always wanted to host SportsCenter. From his first job as a host of a radio show for the blind in his hometown of New Orleans to his Howard University days, to Charlotte and Virginia and back to Louisiana, Verrett's end goal was always the same. All the sacrifices made, all the long hours worked, has led him to here, as one of the face's of ESPN's flagship show and the original host of the SportsCenter airing out of the Los Angeles studio.    Verrett joined the Press Pass podcast to tell us how he got here. Each step of the road described in painstaking detail, the dedication it took to even get a shot at the job articulated. Verrett is one of a lucky few, his face and voice synonymous with SportsCenter as we know it today. He knows that, and knows better than anyone just how hard it is to get there. 

Max Adler from Golf Digest joins Liam McKeone for a special edition of the Press Pass Podcast. He discusses his journey to become the editorial director of Golf Digest and the remarkable story of Valentino Dixon, a wrongfully-convicted murder who was released after a half-decade of work from Max and others.

Jay King From The Athletic joins the Press Pass Podcast to discuss his late entry into journalism, going from MassLive to The Athletic, the impact of Marcus Smart in the Celtics locker room, and more.

Michael DiRocco is ESPN's Jacksonville Jaguars beat reporter. He joined the Press Pass podcast ahead of the most exciting season in recent memory for the woebegone franchise to discuss the upcoming football year and his career arc, working his way up the newspaper ranks and the decision to join ESPN around the turn of the decade.  Michael explains what it was like to cover the University of Florida during their heyday of the 2000s (both football and basketball) and the singularly unique experience of watching the Tim Tebow phenomena unfold before his very eyes. He also touches upon making the jump from newspaper to ESPN and uthe experience of working for the Worldwide Leader over the last decade. Finally, Michael explains what the energy has been like in Jacksonville after the Trevor Lawrence pick and his experience covering Urban Meyer at Florida and why he wasn't surprised the former college coach made the jump to the big leagues. 

Mirin Fader from Bleacher Report comes on the Press Pass Podcast to discuss her experience as a long-form reporter, her interactions with the Ball family, print journalism vs. digital journalism, and more.

Kevin Clark wears many hats for The Ringer. He writes weekly feature columns on the NFL, hosts a podcast, and helped create the popular Slow News Day show. Kevin joined the Press Pass Podcast to document how he got here, starting from his early days growing up in a journalism family and an internship with the Sun-Sentinel in Miami before making his way to the Wall Street Journal as one of their first writers for the sports section. One day in 2016, he got an email from Bill Simmons. The rest, as they say, is history, and Kevin takes us through it all.     Kevin takes the audience through his career and what it was like helping build The Ringer from a good idea to one of the biggest brands in sports media today. He also touches upon the importance of versatility in media, his writing process, how much media has changed and how it will continue to evolve, and more. 

Charles McDonald from the New York Daily News talks about his early days as a film breakdown writer, Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones, where to grab the best crab cakes in Baltimore, and more.

Matt Sullivan is the author of "Can't Knock The Hustle," his new book about the Brooklyn Nets. Matt embedded with the organization for over a year and was with Brooklyn for the rollercoaster events of 2020, from the pandemic to social unrest to the bubble playoffs and everything in between.    Matt joined the Press Pass podcast to discuss what it was like writing his first book and how his past experiences as an investigative reporter and editor helped shape who he became as a book author. He also touched upon how the book evolved from when he first embedded early in the 2019-20 season to what the final product ultimately became.  

Haley O'Shaughnessy of The Ringer talks NBA conspiracies, her favorite non-superstars, and how interning for Sports Illustrated and PTI led her to The Ringer.

Stu Holden is FOX Soccer's lead analyst. He joined the Press Pass Podcast to discuss Saturday's Copa América final between Argentina and Brazil, which naturally features two of the world's most exciting players in Lionel Messi and Neymar. Stu gives his analysis and prediction for the big game while taking a step back and evaluating what a Copa championship would do for the legacies of both international superstars.    Stu also took the time to talk about his transition from on-field play to the life of a broadcaster; he played soccer at the professional level both in the MLS and Premier League for nearly a decade. He discussed the differences between the two experiences, the advice he'd give to athletes-turned-broadcasters, and some of his greatest hits working as a broadcaster for FOX. 

Joe Davis has worked for FOX Sports since 2014 and became the full-time play-by-play broadcaster for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017. His swift rise in the industry has been noticed, as Davis is a 2021 Sports Emmy nominee in the Outstanding Sports Personality/Emerging On-Air Talent category.    He took the time to join the Press Pass Podcast about what it means to be nominated for a Sports Emmy and the path he took to arrive here. Davis also touched upon how his preparation for each broadcast has changed over the years and what it was like to fill in for Joe Buck during Game 7 of the NLCS in 2020. 

Sarah Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution talks her own journey through sports media and how the Atlanta Hawks will cope with the absence of Trae Young.

Mike Joy has been deep in the NASCAR media scene since the mid-70s and hasn't taken his foot off the gas since. Joy joins the Press Pass Podcast to discuss the life of a NASCAR PxP broadcaster, the relationship between media members like himself and NASCAR athletes, and how he got into race broadcasting in the first place. 

Travis Sawchik is a senior MLB writer for theScore. A proud Ohio State grad (to the chagrin of the host), Sawchik joined the Press Pass Podcast to discuss his career at length. Sawchik started off at a small newspaper in North Carolina covering local beats before working his way up the ranks, as a prospect works his way from Single-A to the Majors. He ended up at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, where Sawchik began to work sabermetrics and advanced stats into his writing.   Sawchik entered the online-only media game about five years ago and has bopped around, finally ending up at theScore as a senior writer with the ability to tell stories while dive into the obscure stats that a segment of the baseball fandom know and love. Listen to the podcast in full below, as well as on Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts.

Jovan Buha from the Athletic talks his journey through sports media and the upcoming Clippers season.

Matt Murphy is the youngest play-by-play broadcaster in the G-League, the man on the mic for the Delaware Blue Coats since 2018. He came on the Press Pass Podcast to talk about the life of a PBP man, what it was like to be the only play-by-play broadcaster in the G-League bubble this year, how he breaks down other broadcasters, the importance of preparation when it comes to broadcasting, and the legacy of Fordham broadcasting.

Stephen Cannella is the co-Editor-in-Chief of Sports Illustrated alongside Ryan Hunt. He joined the Press Pass Podcast to discuss his career at Sports Illustrated dating back to the mid-1990s, his rise through the ranks and his eventual promotion to co-EIC in 2019.  Cannella has been with the publication for every crucial stage of its modern evolution. He touches upon where Sports Illustrated has been, where it is now, and where he hopes to lead it with Hunt.

Matt Miller decided to leave Bleacher Report after more than a decade. The long-time NFL Draft discusses his decision to launch a Substack and why it was time to leave his long-time employer.

Press Pass Podcast: Shea Serrano From The Ringer by liam.mckeone

Kevin Kaduk, founder of Midway Minute, a Chicago sports newsletter, joins the podcast to talk about his new venture and discuss the best movies filmed in his great city. Just two sports-content enthusiasts drafting things. Like the internet should be. 

Press Pass Podcast w/ Liam McKeone: Daniel Oyefusi From the Baltimore Sun by liam.mckeone

Jeremy Schaap is one of ESPN's most decorated journalists. An 11-time Emmy award winner for his groundbreaking reporting, Schaap joined the Press Pass Podcast to walk us through the early days of his media career, which started very early indeed at the desk of his father, Dick Schaap. Schaap discusses the past, present, and future of Outside the Lines and the E:60 series, both of which will be a part of his notable legacy at the Worldwide Leader of Sports, and explains why he considers the reporting he did on the plight of migrant laborers in Qatar to be among the most important of his career. An experienced sports journalist who has (literally) been all over and written about some of the most important stories of this century, Schaap has plenty to ruminate on and a lot to say about it all.

Dom Cosentino is an NFL senior features writer for theScore. He joined the Press Pass podcast to discuss his journey through sports media and how he ended up at theScore starting all the way back in Pittsburgh, when he'd publish a sports newsletter out of his parents' basement as a kid. After taking a job with a videoconferencing company out of college, Dom broke into the industry on a local township beat and wrote articles about the town's favorite pig dying. He moved on to the high school beat for a decade before deciding to try his hand at the online media industry, joining Deadspin as an editorial assistant. From there, he transitioned to covering the Jets as a full-time beat writer before ending up back at Deadspin, and was part of the staff that quite en masse after editor-in-chief Barry Petchesky was fired. Now he's at theScore.

Erik Horne is a breaking news editor for The Athletic. He joined the Press Pass podcast to discuss the path he took to get to this point. Horne touches upon the line he has to walk as a breaking news editor to entice readers to subscribe to The Athletic without giving up too much of his writers' work, the subscription-based model in sports media at large, and the importance of the connections he made with the National Association of Black Journalists as a young reporter. He also explained why Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit has the best setup for media members, what restaurants in OKC he's excited to back to once the world is normal again, and more.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski is perhaps best-known for his breaking news alerts, which have created their own Noun of Mass Destructions. But the venerable reporter has a long history in storytelling, which he was able to revisit with The Giannis Draft, a three-part narrative podcast debuting Nov. 16 for ESPN. He spoke to The Big Lead about the project, the lessons he learned in doing it, and if there may be more of these in the future. 

Kara Spak, a five-time Jeopardy champion and creator of one of the show's most viral clips ever, joined the Press Pass podcast to talk about her run and remember Alex Trebek. 

The versatile Adam Amin joined Fox Sports in July after ascending up ESPN's impressively crowded depth chart over a number of years. He jumped in with both feet, calling MLB games before getting his first opportunity to call the NFL. In a free-ranging hour-long conversation, Amin, the son of Pakistani immigrants, told The Big Lead how he deals with the racist vitriol he receives online, looks back on the path that brought him here, revisits an old Sports Night podcast, and clarifies what system settings he used when playing hockey video games in the 1990s. 

Ira Winderman has been covering the Miami Heat for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel since the franchise was founded in 1988. He took the time to chat with The Big Lead about his college days covering basketball (including a profile of a then-unknown SUNY point guard named Stan Van Gundy), his early years on the boxing beat for the Sun-Sentinel and moving up to Gainesville and covering University of Florida sports before moving on to cover the Heat. The longtime journalist shares his thoughts on the state of the industry, the rise of the Twitter reporter, and the experience of covering the extremely high peaks and low valleys of a basketball franchise since its inception. Ira also discusses the possibility of Giannis Antetokounmpo joining the Heat come 2021, his best Pat Riley story, why Jimmy Butler is perfect for this franchise, the magic of Erik Spoelstra, why the Heat's Finals run deserves a footnote (but not an asterisk), and what to expect from the exciting young duo of Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. Listen to the full podcast below or follow the link here.

Andrew Marchand of the New York Post is one of the most prolific sports media reporters on the beat. Perhaps no other reporter has been aggregated as frequently by The Big Lead. So how does he do it? What does the job entail?  In a wide-ranging discussion, he discussed how crucial his baseball beat writing days were, dealing with big egos, and juggling a vast arrays of sources, all of whom have an agenda. 

Nicki Jhabvala is the Washington Football Team beat reporter for the Washington Post. She took the time to chat with The Big Lead about how she got there, starting with an optimistic attempt to be a doctor that quickly turned into a journalism degree and an internship with Sports Illustrated For Kids. From there, she joined SI.com on the production and editing side before working at the New York Times as a copy editor. She then moved out to Denver, where she quickly was elevated to the Broncos beat and experienced covering a Super Bowl victory in 2016. Jhabvala briefly joined The Athletic and continued to write about the Broncos before deciding to make another change and headed to the nation's capital to cover the Football Team for The Post.   Jhabvala also discussed the deeper thinking behind Dwayne Haskins' benching, if Chase Young is the real deal, the strength of Ron Rivera as he battles cancer to coach this season while playing personnel manager and PR man, if the Football Team will become a permanent name, and what she believes are the chances they actually win the putrid NFC East.

Nicole Yang is one of the New England Patriots beat writers for the Boston Globe. She joined the Press Pass Podcast to discuss how she got there, starting from a co-op internship on Morrissey Boulevard to the general assignment desk to arguably the biggest beat in Boston. Only two weeks into her new gig, Nicole discusses how the early days have been, what it's like working for the Globe, and working alongside Ben Volin and Jim McBride. Nicole also touches upon the first few weeks of the Patriots season, how Cam Newton has looked in a Pats uniform, the likelihood of him staying past this year, what games on the schedule she's most excited for, what position this team might be in come season's end, why she played Settlers of Catan with Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams, and more. Listen to the full episode below or follow the link here.

Chris Cotillo is the Boston Red Sox beat writer for MassLive. He joined the Press Pass Podcast to discuss how he got his start in the business, going all the way back to his high school days when he was a teenage MLB insider breaking news on Twitter. Chris profiles his journey from there to working his way up the SB Nation rankings and finally ending up at MassLive as a proper beat writer for the Red Sox. He also discussed his latest project, an online journalism workshop for anybody and everybody who is interested in entering the sports media industry. Chris also discusses the no-good, very bad 2020 season for the Red Sox, how realistic an Alex Cora return might be, who they could target for their open managerial position, where expectations should be for the 2021 season, what the draft will look like, his favorite baseball memory, and more. Listen to the full episode below or follow the link here.

Trevor Lane is a senior writer and host for Lakers Nation. He joined the Press Pass podcast to discuss his career path and the struggles of the Los Angeles Lakers. Topics include: how he started his first blog, making the jump from self-publishing to working at Silver Screen and Roll, learning on the job, juggling teaching while writing, why he decided to take the leap of faith now and go full-time as a writer, and what he's most excited about going forward now that he can dedicate all of his time to basketball. Lane also discussed how the Lakers can bounce back from their Game 1 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, the impact of Alex Caruso, Anthony Davis at center, if we'll see a more aggressive LeBron James, his favorite Kobe Bryant memory, and more!

Mark Carman is a video host for Fansided and radio host for WGN Chicago. He joined the Press Pass podcast to discuss his early days in radio, the several instances he thought he was done with the industry and worked sales jobs before getting back in, his midlife crisis at 30, how he ended up working with a young Nick Wright in Kansas City, his journey back to Chicago, and more. He also touched upon the first few games of the White Sox season, what to expect from their exciting young core, Northwestern football, the future of the Chicago Bulls, his "mortifying" first experience interviewing Michael Jordan, his favorite sports memories and more.

Will Guillory is the New Orleans Pelicans beat writer for The Athletic. He joined the Press Pass Podcast to discuss his early years freelancing on a variety of beats, going from covering Tulane to the Pelicans in the midst of their craziest season yet, and how his life has changed since Zion Williamson was drafted. He also touched upon how the Pelicans will use their platform in Orlando to promote social justice and change, what Zion's minutes will look like when the season does restart, New Orleans' plans for Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram this offseason, and more.

Keith Law joins the Press Pass Podcast to discuss how he came to love baseball, his fascinating career journey, what he thinks of Major League Baseball's impending collective bargaining agreement negotiations and much more. Law's new book, 'The Inside Game: Bad Calls, Strange Moves and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves' is out now.

Maddy Glab is the official Buffalo Bills team multimedia reporter. She joined the Press Pass podcast to discuss the start of her career as an on-air talent at Missouri, her first job with Stanford, how she ended up at Tennessee and worked the sideline for SEC Network, why Buffalo reminds her of the SEC, why she decided to make the jump from college to the pros, and how her first year with the Bills went. She also detailed why Bills fans should be excited about free agent signing Mario Addison, how exactly Stefon Diggs will help Josh Allen in a pivotal year of growth for the young quarterback, if this is finally the year Buffalo will reign atop the AFC East, and more.

Greg Moore is a sports columnist over at The Arizona Republic. He joined The Big Lead to discuss his winding journey through media that brought him all over the country and in a variety of different newsrooms, including a particularly stacked squad in Kansas City alongside Jason Whitlock, Terez Paylor, and many others. Moore also explained why he thinks the Cardinals have as good a chance as any team to win the NFC West, how huge DeAndre Hopkins is going to be for Kyler Murray, why Isaiah Simmons has what it takes to succeed, and more.

Press Pass Podcast: Brandon Tierney From CBS Sports by liam.mckeone

Todd Archer is ESPN's NFL Nation Dallas Cowboys reporter. He joined the Press Pass podcast to discuss his journey through sports media, starting with a small newspaper in Concord, New Hampshire, covering the Bengals in Cincinnati, and a brief stop in Miami before joining the Dallas Morning News and eventually ESPN. Archer also touches upon Dak Prescott's contract situation, what he saw in Tony Romo that indicated he would be a successful broadcaster, why Jason Witten and Boomer Esiason had similar traits but didn't succeed for other reasons, what to expect from CeeDee Lamb in his rookie season, what it's like to cover Jerry Jones, the changes Mike McCarthy will bring to Dallas, his advice to younger reporters, and more.

Dan Kurtz has been covering Korean baseball for over 20 years, yet never believed it would be as popular as it is right now as the only game in town. He joined the Press Pass Podcast for a conversation about how his site has been a labor of love, what the recent media crush has been like for him, and long-term viability of American interest.

Matt Miller from Bleacher Report joins the Press Pass Podcast to chat about the NFL draft.

Armando Salguero has covered the Miami Dolphins for the Miami Herald since 2003. He joined the Press Pass Podcast to discuss how he got his start in the industry with the Miami News in the early 80s, covering University of Miami football when it was the powerhouse to end all powerhouse programs led by Jimmy Johnson, the abundance of football talent in South Miami, how he went from the Herald to ESPN and back again, why Tua Tagovailoa faces an uphill battle to earn the starting spot even if he is healthy, how the Dolphins added some nasty to their offensive line this draft, why Brian Cox was far and away his favorite interview subject over the years, and more. Listen to the full podcast below, or follow the link here.

Vic Tafur covers the Las Vegas Raiders for The Athletic. He joined the Press Pass Podcast to discuss his winding journey through sports media, his early days down in Miami, how he ended up back where he started in Oakland, how he feels about the franchise moving to Las Vegas both as a longtime Bay Area resident and a journalist, the effect Henry Ruggs will have on the team's offense, their thinking behind drafting Damon Arnette, his favorite football memory, and more.

Robert Seidman of Sports TV Ratings joins the podcast to discuss how his site came to be, the market for such a niche interest, and react to huge numbers recently brought in by the NFL Draft and Michael Jordan documentary

Mike Reiss is ESPN's New England Patriots reporter. He joined the network in 2009 and has covered the Patriots since 1997. Mike joined the Press Pass Podcast to talk us through his journey in sports media, starting from his sophomore year in high school, his first job with Patriots Football Weekly, why he decided to join ESPN, and what he's enjoyed most over the last ten years at the network. He also touches upon what Tom Brady's departure means for his coverage and for the Patriots, how New England might handle the upcoming NFL Draft, his favorite football memory, and how to survive a Bill Belichick press conference, including a re-telling of the first question he ever asked the stoic coach.

Keith Smith is an NBA writer who writes for Yahoo! Sports, RealGM, CelticsBlog, and Basketball Talk. He came on the Press Pass podcast to discuss how he balanced writing about basketball while working another full-time job, why he finally decided to make the jump to full-time writing right around this year's All-Star Break, how he's dealt with the NBA shutting down as he made that jump, advice he'd give to freelancers pursuing a similar path, how he'd fix the Orlando Magic, what we're missing out on with no NBA playoffs, and more.

Ethan Strauss covers the Golden State Warriors and the NBA for The Athletic. He joined the Press Pass podcast to talk about his new book, The Victory Machine: The Rise and Fall of the Warriors Dynasty, going from reading articles for NBA PR to writing those same articles, his time at ESPN, the challenges that come along with writing a book, what the most realistic scenario for an NBA return in the near future would look like, what the Warriors might do with their lottery pick whenever the draft happens, and more. Listen to the full podcast below or follow the link here.

Kyle Neubeck covers the Philadelphia 76ers for PhillyVoice. He joined the Press Pass Podcast to discuss how he pivoted from teaching to writing in college, working from dawn to dusk as an intern for SportsRadio WIP while taking classes, his days at Liberty Ballers in the early stages of The Process, how he ended up at PhillyVoice, what went wrong with the Sixers this year, the viability of the Joel Embiid-Ben Simmons combo, and more. Listen to the full podcast below or follow the link here.