Ready, Break!: Recent Episodes
Deedee Mills Hagner
Welcome! I am your host, Deedee Hagner. My life has always been about sports. My dad was a coach. I played all of the sports my small hometown had for girls. I worked at the NCHSAA office, the UNC-CH wrestling office, the UNC-CH football office and spent almost 18 years working for the NFL and the Carolina Panthers. Are you ready to hear from athletes and those who work with athletes, not about X’s and O’s but about life? Are you ready to hear their stories? You know, the same stories we all have. Are you ready? I am. Welcome to Ready, Break!
Todd Maroldo gives insight into a life of being the most recognized team brand yet the least recognized person in sports.
Morgan Shaw Parker has spent over 25 years with the Kansas City Chiefs, Nike, the Atlanta Falcons, two premier sports marketing agencies and in September of 2021 became the President and COO of the WNBA Atlanta Dream. Her knowledge and the approach she takes will catapult the Atlanta Dream into being the model franchise for the WNBA.
From professional cheerleader to professional boxer, Ashley Sciscente is a force to be reckoned with. Set goal, achieve goal, exceed goal. Although she stumbled upon the boxing world, you don't stay or succeed without determination and hard work, characteristics that Ashley doesn't seem to lack in anything she does, including her day job.
Always the extrovert, former NFL LB Will Witherspoon remembers his playing days and the relationships he made and continues to cultivate. Now, he has his hands (literally) in numerous business ventures, including growing Shire Gate Farms.
Not only is Jillian Bockenek a multi-sport Special Olympian, horseback rider and flag football player, she is a diligent employee and even better friend. Jillian joins Carolina Panthers Community Relations Director, Riley Fields, to talk all things sports and Panthers Flag Football Challenger League.
Joan Wayne is a force to be reckoned with. She has lost track of the number of first place finishes she's accumulated and it's not just because, lately, Joan is the only one competing in each of her events. It's because, even at 97 years young, she is constantly analyzing and improving her strokes well on her way to her goal of swimming in the oldest bracket of the National Senior Games. Get ready to be inspired!
Being a midfielder for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women’s Soccer League seems almost ho hum compared to the many other accomplishments Brianna Pinto has already experienced in her short life. Stay tuned for Brianna to explode in the professional soccer realm, the FIFA world and maybe even the fashion industry.
Tar Heel born, Tar Heel bred. The Lebo Carolina Family tradition continues. Jeff, Melissa and Creighton Lebo talk playing, coaching and watching North Carolina basketball and the exciting 2021-22 season.
Act one was 14 seasons in the offensive line trenches with seven NFL teams. Now, deep in act two, Matthew Willig talks about his career, where being 6'8" has cast him in some interesting roles, especially his current one.
Former quarterback Charlie Batch had a 15-year NFL career, most of it in his hometown of Pittsburgh. Always a leader, Batch continues to play that role in retirement: expanding his foundation to serve more kids, landing a job in strategic investments and training his many dogs.
A standout football player and Hall of Famer for the Georgetown Hoyas, Janne Kouri was living the dream until a hot August day in 2006 changed everthing. Tragedy sparked a new passion and Janne is now changing lives, including his own, around the world.
Reminiscing with Susan Scott, one of Stuart Scott's three siblings, about how the ESPN legend turned a cancer diagnosis into a lesson in living that continues to help people today.
Guilt is smothering. Being vulnerable enough to have open and honest conversations with yourself and others can begin the healing process. Terry McDonough, Arizona Cardinals Senior Personnel Executive, opens up about a tragic accident, the results of the guilt he carried and how he found the strength to start living again.
The old saying goes that sports on a professional level is 10% physical and 90% mental. We're going to dive into that claim with Hall of Fame NFL kicker Morten Andersen and famed sport psychologist Dr. John Silva to see how the two prepared for pressure packed moments and how Morten kept his cool when the game was on the line.
Collegiate athletics entered a new era with the recently approved NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) rules that allow college athletes to monetize themselves while still competing in NCAA sanctioned events. With the new rules in place, we get schooled by former NFL offensive lineman Kevin Donnalley and Kara Cannizzaro, former standout UNC lacrosse player and current NIL guru, about what the ruling means for college athletes. Who can take advantage of these new rules, and how? And, what are some of the greater effects on amateur athletics?