Speak Up Sports

Season 7 finale! Thank you all for tuning in all season long! I'm thrilled to be joined today by my good friend who was on my inaugural season in 2021 - an MLB network reporter and mlb.com writer Jon Morosi! We will be talking all things baseball including the MLB HOF Induction Ceremony happening tomorrow, his role hosting "The Road to Cooperstown Podcast," potential interesting trades as we approach the trade deadline, and more.

Cheers to 100 episodes!! Thank you to everyone who has listened to my podcast journey over the past 3 years! Today on the podcast, I'm joined by Guardians beat reporter, Mandy Bell. We will be talking about her journey writing for mlb.com, her support of her good friend Sarah Langs, Guardians 2024 success this season so far, and lots more. 

Today on the podcast, I'm joined by CBS 60 minutes producer and Emmy award winner, Draggan Mihailovich. We will be discussing his time in college, covering the Olympics earlier on in his career, producing 60 minutes and more.

On the podcast today, I'm joined by longtime Astros beat reporter, Brian McTaggart. We will be talking about the first part of his career with the Houston Chronicle, the time he's spent covering the Astros for mlb.com, and lots more. 

Today on the podcast, I'm joined alongside bars All-American from the University of Arkansas, Reese Drotar. We will be discussing her journey to college gymnastics, being coached by Olympians, goals for her next college season, and more.

On the Speak Up Sports Podcast today, I'm joined alongside play by play broadcaster and voice of North Carolina FC and NC Courage, Dean Linke. We will be talking about his journey from sales manager to broadcaster, his different roles in soccer including hosting a podcast and more. 

This week on the podcast, I am joined by multimedia journalist and pre and post game host for the Oakland Athletics, Jessica Kleinschmidt. We will be discussing how she changed career fields, working in different roles throughout her career, her current job, and so much more.

Today on the podcast, I'm joined by a 3x U.S. National gymnastics team member and incoming freshman on LSU's team, Zoe Miller. We will be talking about her elite career, training alongside some of the best gymnasts in the world, her next chapter in college gymnastics, and lots more. 

On the podcast today, I am joined alongside MLB Network Radio Host, NCAA baseball analyst, and reporter for Bally Sports Cleveland, Jensen Lewis. We will be talking about his career in the sports media world, the surprise start for the Cleveland Guardians, and the CWS in Omaha. 

Welcome to Season 7 of the Speak Up Sports Podcast! Hosted by Anna Laible, writer for mlb.com and reporter for SI Kids for over 4 years, she is now a current student at UNC Chapel Hill. To kick off season 7, Anna sits down and talks with the most decorated player in field hockey history and the current Head Coach of the 2023 National Champion UNC Tar Heels, Erin Matson. They will be talking about how Erin picked UNC, her illustrious playing career, becoming the youngest head coach in Division 1 history, and more. 

This week on a special holiday episode of the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined alongside MLB Network High Heat Co-Host, Alanna Rizzo! We will be talking about her journey in the sports broadcasting world, her prep for her High Heat shows, and lots more. Happy holidays!

On the season 6 finale of the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined alongside a UNC alumna and current sideline reporter for ESPN, Marilyn Payne. We will be talking about her journey from college student to her different roles post-college to her current sideline job and more. 

On this week's episode, I am joined alongside Team USA professional rock climber, Natalia Grossman. We will be talking about how she got into rock climbing, what it is like to rock climb professionally, preparing for the Paris Olympics, and so much more.

This week on the Speak Up Sports Podcast,  I am joined by college sports play-by-play broadcaster for ESPN and SEC Network, Courtney Lyle. We will be talking about her journey from college to broadcasting, juggling calling different sports in the same week, and lots more. 

This week on the podcast, I am joined by ACC Network UNC play-by-play broadcaster who does so many different sports including soccer, baseball, volleyball and women's basketball and producer, Matt Krause. We will be talking about how he has learned to commentate on so many different sports and we will be breaking down some of UNC's top programs.

On this week's podcast episode, I am joined by 3x 1st team All-ACC selection for the UNC Tar Heels and NWSL athlete, Brianna Pinto. Brianna has been competing nationally and internationally since a very young age, winning the 2015 North Carolina Gatorade POY. We will be talking about her parents, who were also student athletes at UNC Chapel Hill, her collegiate career, being picked No. 3 in the NWSL draft, broadcasting college soccer and more.

On this week's episode, I am joined alongside a 4x All American outfielder, pro softball player, and 2022 Team USA World Games gold medalist, Amanda Lorenz. We will be talking about her collegiate journey, pro career so far, playing for Team USA soon, and much more. 

This week on the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined by a former Texas A & M All-American pitcher and current pitching coach and softball broadcaster, Amanda Scarborough We will be talking about her pitching career, transition to calling games, coaching during the pandemic, and so much more.

This week on the podcast, I am joined with professional volleyball player, Ali Bastianelli. We will be talking about her career at Illinois, upcoming season with Athletes Unlimited, new pro league, and lots more. 

On this week's podcast episode, I am joined with USA Today MLB Insider and columnist, Bob Nightengale. We will be discussing his career in the sports industry, being a chairman for a BBWAA chapter, predictions for October baseball, and more!

On this week's episode, I am joined with WNBA analyst, LaChina Robinson! We will be chatting about all things WNBA including the growth of the league, predictions for the playoffs, and much more!

This week on the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined by MLB reporter and the co-host of MLB Central, Lauren Shehadi. We will be talking about how Lauren became interested in sports journalism, what it is liked hosting a show every weekday, and so much more! 

This week on the podcast, I am joined with 3x US National Aerobatic Champion, 6x US Aerobatic team member, and National Aviation HOF member, Patty Wagstaff. We will be talking about how she became a pilot, journey to breaking barriers, being a part of the US Aerobatic team, and lots more!

On this week's podcast episode, I am joined with UNC Women's Tennis National Champion, Carson Tanguilig. Since Carson won the doubles national title in addition to the team national championship with her teammate, Fiona Crawley, they earned a bid into the US Open and have their first round matchup today. We will be talking about how she found her love for tennis, winning the outdoor national title with UNC, and more. 

This week on the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am talking with Olympian, All American, and professional athlete, Bubba Nickles. We will be talking about how her nickname came to be, her Tokyo Olympic experience, professional career at Athletes Unlimited and in Japan, and more!

Welcome to Season 6 of the Speak Up Sports Podcast! On this week's premiere episode, Anna Laible is joined with legendary softball pitcher, Jennie Finch. Jennie was an All American, National Player of the Year, and National Champion at the University of Arizona. She is also an Olympic Gold Medalist, and USA Softball Hall of Fame Inductee amongst her many career accomplishments. Today, we will be talking about how she became a pitcher, her successful playing career, work as an MLB ambassador, and so much more!

On the season 5 finale of the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined with an amazing statistician for mlb.com and MLB Network, Sarah Langs. We will be talking about how she got into this career field, how she has overcome obstacles, and much more!

This week on the podcast, I am joined with a broadcaster for the Orioles and MLB Network, Melanie Newman. We will be discussing her journey into this career field, what her preparation for games look like, and lots more!

On this week's podcast episode, I am joined with Vice President, Athletic Director, and Professor at Duke University, Nina King. We will be talking about how she got into this position, her current role at her university, and more!

This week on the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am bringing together all of the interviews and recaps from the World Baseball Classic semifinal games and the championship game!! You will hear from current and past players, present and former WBC managers, and much more!! This episode features some of the superstars from this year's WBC like Trea Turner, Lars Nootbaar, and so many more!!

On this week's episode of the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined with NBA Reporter for ESPN, Kendra Andrews. We will be talking about how she first got involved reporting for ESPN, what it is like working alongside her sister, and more!

This week on the podcast, I am joined with 2022 Manager of the Year from the New York Mets, Buck Showalter. We will be talking about why Buck came back to manage, the off-season additions for his team, and lots more.

On this week's podcast episode, I am joined with the MLB Network Host of "Off Base" and Reporter, Lauren Gardner! We will be talking about how she first started with MLB Network, hosting her own show, covering MLB playoff games, and so much more.

This week on the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined with 2x Women's Beach Volleyball National Champion at USC, Julia Scoles. We will be talking about Julia's unique journey from indoor to beach volleyball, her future career goals, and much more!

On this week's episode of the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined with ESPN sideline reporter and SportsCenter reporter, Coley Harvey. Coley was at the heart of the Damar Hamlin coverage earlier this year. Today, we will be talking about how he first started with ESPN, his experience covering the Damar Hamlin story, and more!

This week on the podcast, I am joined with journalist and analyst for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball team, Buster Olney. As a part of ESPN for the last two decades, Buster is a mainstay in baseball coverage across many different platforms. Today, we will be talking about juggling all of his different roles at ESPN and talking about future storylines for the 2023 season.

On this week's podcast episode, I am joined with 29x Paralympic Medalist (16x Gold Medalist) swimmer, Jessica Long. I enjoyed sharing her story on SI Kids before the Tokyo Games and her story continues to inspire me. Today, we will be talking about how she overcame being an amputee and orphan, her journey into swimming, her career as an elite athlete, and so much more!

This week on the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined with 2022 Radio Hall of Fame Inductee, Suzyn Waldman. Suzyn became the first woman to do play-by-play on a nationally televised MLB game and among her many career accomplishments was also the first full-time female color commentator for an MLB club (New York Yankees). Today, we will be talking about how she got into broadcasting, overcomes criticism from others, and lots more!

On this week's episode of the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined with Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee, Tamika Catchings. Tamika is a collegiate National Champion at Tennessee, 2012 WNBA Champion with the Indiana Fever, and 4x Olympic Gold Medalist for Team USA. Today, we will be talking about talking about her Hall of Fame basketball career, Tamika's and her sister's Catch the Stars Foundation, and so much more!

Welcome to Season 5 of the Speak Up Sports Podcast! Happy New Year to everyone! To start off this season, Dusty Baker is back to talk with Anna Laible after winning his 1st World Series title as a manager! Dusty is a 3x Manager of the Year, 9th all time on the regular season managerial wins list (2,093), and one of 7 managers to win the World Series as both a player and a manager. Today, we will be talking about him reaching the 2,000 career regular season wins milestone, winning the Fall Classic, and planning for the upcoming 2023 season.

On this week's special episode of the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined with the 1st African American Commissioner in any American student-sports conference and current Big Ten Commissioner, Kevin Warren. We will be talking about his career that led him into this position, groundbreaking deals for the Big Ten, the Big Ten Foundation, and more!

On the Season 4 finale of the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined with professional sports columnist, seven time author, and Olympic journalist extraordinaire, Christine Brennan. Christine has covered over a dozen Olympic Games throughout her prestigious writing career. We will be talking about how she got into this field, how she has juggled being a female trailblazer, her favorite Olympic experiences, and much more!!

On this week's episode, I am joined with the first female manager in professional affiliated baseball history, Rachel Balkovec. Her road to managing has been anything but easy! Today, we will be discussing Rachel's career journey, leadership by example, her future goals, and so much more!

This week on the podcast, I am joined with Emmy award winner, Senior writer for The Athletic, and MLB FOX Reporter, Ken Rosenthal. We will be talking about how Ken got into this industry, his signature bow tie, how he juggles writing and reporting, his storylines for this postseason, and more!

This week on the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined with 2x National Champion softball pitcher for the Oklahoma Sooners, Nicole May. Today, we will be talking about how she became a pitcher, what the incredible moments of winning two titles were, and lots more!

On this week's podcast episode, I am joined with the President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Josh Rawitch. After working in baseball for multiple decades, Josh became the HOF President last fall. Today, we will be discussing how Josh got into baseball, his career journey, his work at the Hall of Fame, and much more!

This week on the podcast, I am joined with Title IX trailblazer and founder of "Let Noor Run," Noor Abukaram. Noor's life changed after one race when she was disqualified for wearing a hijab. Since then, she has impacted high school sports by testifying in court to create a bill so that this kind of racial inequality would never happen again! Her story was featured in ESPN's fifty/50 shorts. Today, we will be talking about her sports journey, Senate Bill 288, and so much more!

On this week's episode, I am joined with volleyball Olympian and sports commentator, Ci Michel. Ci competed for Great Britain in the 2012 London Olympics, and is now a part of the broadcast team at Athletes Unlimited. We will be talking about her athletic journey, career after playing, and more!

This week on the Speak Up Sports Podcast, I am joined with the Co-Founder of Athletes Unlimited, Jon Patricof. Athletes Unlimited is a unique network of professional women's sports leagues, including softball, lacrosse, volleyball, and basketball. Today, we will be talking about how AU came to be, the point system, athlete resources, and so much more!

This week on the podcast, I am joined with ESPN Senior NFL Insider, Adam Schefter. Adam has been working with ESPN since 2009, and oftentimes, breaks the news about anything in the NFL. Adam and I will be talking about his career, this NFL offseason, his predictions for the 2022 season, and much more!

On this week's podcast episode, I am joined with former Oklahoma Sooners softball pitcher and National Champion, Hope Trautwein. Hope transferred to OU after playing for UNT, and recently finished her first professional season with WPF (Women's Professional Fastpitch). Today, we will be talking about her softball journey, collegiate career, and lots more!