Rob Hayes: Recent Episodes
Awful Announcing
One of the premier sports blogs on the internet now has its own podcast. Some of the biggest names and newsmakers in the sports media will join us regularly on the AA Podcast.
4:20 - On getting the show together and the rehearsals taking place this week 5:50 - On the show feeling natural for everyone because sports betting is a passion of theirs 7:50 - When he sensed sports betting was starting to become less taboo 10:20 - Do they discuss how they'll try to market the show to all types and generations of sports fans 14:00 - His time working in Vegas and how it helped shape his worldview of sports wagering 15:20 - Why he feels baseball sets up best for the integration of wagering & live betting 20:00 - What his typical day looks like and what trends is he looking for to wager on a game 24:20 - Any futures bets he likes ahead of the NCAA Tournament, MLB season & The Masters
4:05 - Her love for the Howard Stern show 7:40 - Was being on the Stern "Wrap Up" show her most exciting moment as an interviewee 8:45 - Growing up with scoliosis and back surgery to now training for Iron Mans and running marathons 13:20 - Connecting with athletes due to their shared experiences 14:45 - When she went "all in" in broadcasting 18:50 - On sacrificing time with family for the job, and her kids being super excited about her role in Cars 3 20:00 - What was the first NASCAR event she ever attended, even before covering it professionally 22:10 - Who were early influences or helpful coworkers in the industry covering NASCAR 24:20 - What does she see as the biggest storylines throughout Daytona 500 week? 26:50 - Their brand new studio and is it difficult to not make the studio the new "star of the show?" 29:03 - Will FOX mention or reference sports wagering or gambling ahead of their coverage 31:00 - Predictions for the race
3:38: Ratings aside, should CBS feel good about what was in control of their broadcast? 7:11: On the wild live TV moment of the postgame scrum with Tracy Wolfson & Tom Brady 9:50: Has Jim Nantz changed for the better as a result of working alongside Tony Romo? 11:38 - How CBS should feel about the ratings, both on the TV side and on the digital side 14:22 - Should the digital numbers matter more to networks? Would the discussion be different if it were simply a good game? 16:10 - Did it feel like there wasn't a lot of juice leading up to the Super Bowl? 19:53 - What would have been the most ideal matchup for BOTH the NFL and the fans 20:30 - The Barstool vs NFL feud 24:20 - What should we be looking forward to most in sports media in February?
3:05 - Life on the road 6:30 - Why calling College Football trains you to be ready for any sportscasting opportunity 10:07 - What he considers the most difficult sport to do play-by-play for, and why you might be surprised by his answer 16:20 - Feeling comfortable as a broadcaster and early influences 21:00 - How he seeks out feedback on his broadcasts 24:25 - Going to Boston College, calling games and doing shows with Joe Tessatore and Boog Sciambi/Wanting to compete against them because of how talented they are 28:15 - Does he ever wish he would've stayed with talk radio and would he like to have his own full-time show down the road? 31:40 - How his gravitation to the talk radio side usually stems from moments when he's watching games 35:20 - Is there different preparation for the different analysts he works with (eg. Dick Vitale vs Fran Fraschilla) 37:40 - How he tanked his audition for the XFL 41:07 - His love for Phish and the first time he ever saw them live
3:40 - Has he gotten settled at ESPN yet 4:22 - Biggest change from Yahoo to ESPN 6:40 - Is there added pressure in trying to be the Schefter/Woj of MLB 9:20 - His football analogy to what the switch has been like 10:40 - Who his early media/journalism influences were 14:50 - Does he feel like writers need to become specialized? Or can they cover and break news across all sports? 19:40 - Transformation from feature writing to breaking news 21:40 - His appreciation and admiration for Ken Rosenthal & Woj 24:20 - Why covering breaking news can lead you to become a far better writer 25:15 - Who he'll miss most working with at Yahoo/stories from his time there 27:45 - The time he thought him and Pat Forde were going to die covering the Olympics in Rio 30:20 - His thoughts on the Kyler Murray story and what the public perception will be if he maximizes his money 34:50 - The remaining top free agents still hanging around in MLB
4:00 - His connection to Statin Island and his connection to the Impractical Jokers 6:00 - His move to New York several years ago, working at the new ESPN Seaport studios and the family connection it has for him 10:10 - Is it surreal since he joined ESPN 18+ years ago 14:40 - Early role models in the industry and trying to remain himself as a personality 19:45 - Does he feel like he gets enough feedback from his peers/bosses 22:50 - What does he remember about his first episode of hosting Around the Horn 26:40 - The moments throughout his career where he started to change and work through the uncomfortable to feel more himself 32:00 - The importance of authenticity in this business 35:40 - His struggles with mental health and anxiety and if it helped connecting and sharing those details with viewers/social media 42:50 - His goal to find more humanity in sports television and his connection and love
4:01 - The star panel he'll be a part of for "The Match" Tiger vs Phil 5:58 - Embracing the unknown and throwing out the rundown/staying in the moment 7:28 - Starting in local news and changing how content gets delivered over the last 10 years 10:13 - On making mistakes early and whether "going viral" is possible anymore 12:55 - How Awful Announcing played a role in his rise in the industry / the Seinfeldcast & Rapcast 19:00 - The feeling of watching his sportscasts go viral 20:50 - Any current/past influences on his work 23:35 - Describing what the Simms & Lefkoe show is 26:45 - Why hasn't the rest of the media focused on NFL personality driven content & why their show works because they're not in bed with the NFL 27:57 - How the origin and initial pitch of the show transformed over time 31:25 - On golf finally taking a risk and doing something genuinely cool with Tiger vs Phil 34:50 - The sports wagering rise in coverage of our favorite sports
3:30 - How she plans to get Astros updates while working Thursday's game (her husband pitches for Houston) 5:10 - What led her to pursue basketball, both playing it in D1 and covering it professionally? 7:50 - Her family ties to modeling, competition and sports and the role they played in her life 9:30 - How being named Miss Teen Ohio made her grow up really quickly as a kid 11:33 - Who was the first interview that made her geek out/get nervous 13:40 - Her first broadcasting moment getting thrown into the fire 17:00 - Who were role model broadcast figures for her 19:35 - Working with high profile women in sports on CBS Sports Network (eg. Lesley Visser, Andrea Kremer etc) 20:30 - What she considered her biggest challenge working her way up at CBSSN 23:00 - On all the roles she had at CBS before moving on to Turner 24:20 - Why she left CBS for Turner 26:50 - Her colleague Kevin Harlan getting to call a game with Olivia Harlan-Dekker on Monday 27:40 - What storyline(s) from the NBA is she most excited about this year 29:40 - Her work with HelpCureHD and helping to fight Huntington's Disease
3:20 - Did she have a vision for what she wanted to do when she started at NFL Films in 1984 7:20 - What she remembers about her first job at a newspaper and how drastically it's changed now 10:40 - On going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and doing it as a mother 17:00 - When she found her voice and confidence as a broadcaster and journalist 19:30 - How she views the conversation of more diversity and more women earning opportunities to call games 23:40 - How she and Hannah Storm were approached about their new opportunity to call Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video 26:30 - What she hopes viewers will take away from their broadcast and why they don't want it to be traditional 33:40 - On how television and sports broadcasts is constantly changing and why that's a good thing 36:45 - Looking back at her longtime career, is there one story or one piece in particular she's most proud of?
INTRO: 2:40 - Did they know how they wanted High Noon to sound from the very beginning/not explaining the joke 5:00 - How he and Bomani first became friends 7:05 - Pitching the show to themselves 9:20 - Bomani and Le Batard as wedding guests 12:00 - Learning how to do TV without compromising integrity 15:20 - The power of transparency and being interesting without being "hot takey" 18:05 - What he remembers from their first show 18:50 - The backlash from the music playing the whole time 21:40 - Working with esteemed producer Erik Rydholm 24:30 - Our dislike of the word "talent" 25:30 - Is he responsible for "trust the process?" 28:40 - Does he think Sam Hinkie will get to be a GM or Executive ever again? 30:38 - The irony of Hinkie being let go to be replaced by Bryan Colangelo 32:30 - Can analytics eventually become commonplace in football in relation to the other sports? 35:55 - Is the future of football in trouble because of its inability to evolve? 38:40 - Could transparency work in favor of the NFL? 42:00 - RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS!
On her new deal/going from volleyball & women's basketball to everything she's doing in just four years (2:17) How she'd love to do something the NBA as part of all the work she's doing (3:44) How she once considered a career in medicine (5:33) Her first ever broadcast (6:30) The Taylor Rowe'd Trip with Holly Rowe (9:48) The best way to describe SEC Football & SEC Football Culture (12:06) The study that 45% of CFB fans are female (roughly 74 million fans) (15:43) What could college football and/or the NCAA fix - welfare of the student athletes / future of athletes being paid (19:08) Her new opportunity with Get Up (22:25) How she'll handle giving strong opinions on subjects that she also happens to cover (used Ohio State as an example) (23:52) Her ultimate goal of being on Good Morning America (25:40) Who she would take in College Fantasy Football in Week 1 (28:13)
RUNDOWN: 0:18 - Intro + Game Show 4:30 - Baseball's latest issues 10:00 - What was the most notable sports moment of the summer 14:40 - Who would ESPN choose to keep more: Schefter or Woj? 18:30 - Bill Simmons' new deal at HBO 23:30 - How could Simmons be better used at HBO? 32:12 - James Franco and a possible ESPN movie
RUNDOWN: 6:05 - His "summer internship" experience with Van Pelt on SC & "Drawing the World Cup" 10:20 - The one goal he had when he was doing his SVP SC hits 11:02 - Was there any benefit for the USMNT not being in this year's World Cup for the viewers? 15:40 - How far out is the U.S team from positioning themselves into being legit WC contenders consistently? 19:20 - Who first inspired him to play soccer + his family's unique athletic background 23:00 - How he never expected to enter the media and who helped him get started as an analyst 25:00 - His perspective on hot take culture in sports talk 27:15 - Has he done a 180 on any strong opinion he's had recently? 32:54 - Working with as many talented broadcasters as he has at ESPN 36:52 - The ThinkTaylor Foundation and helping educate the public on head injuries and concussions 40:42 - Can soccer become a more "safe" sport?
6:30 - What to look forward to in this episode with Saban, Harbaugh, Jimbo & Frost etc 10:30 - How his situation presents opportunities for hard nosed coaches to let loose 12:40 - Starting at ESPN and being different than a lot of the other reporters he was around 18:08 - When he finally found his voice at ESPN 23:30 - How he started getting new opportunities & how his friends were crucial in his rise 27:30 - How he first pitched Marty Smith's America 32:30 - Where did the "Marty Party" nickname come from? 35:40 - Who is someone you've met that the public has misjudged or doesn't truly understand 39:00 - His most embarrassing moments on television
NDOWN: 5:30 - Intro & the demise of The Bachelor 7:49 - What the NBA, WWE, & Soap Operas share in common 11:15 - Why the NBA has marketed itself so well to younger viewers 14:10 - Basketball's strength in media sharing and did the NBA ever approach him for his creative content 16:24 - Did he ever have an a-ha moment in the early stages for what he was doing 20:00 - How "Buckets" got started and how he got paired up with Cycle, ESPN & Cassidy Hubbarth 23:30 - Why crowdsourcing works for what he does and why more outlets need to learn and interact with their audience 26:20 - Did "living your life" on-air ever backfire on you? 29:00 - Grades Ben's "NBA Looks-Like" candidates (a la Le Batard Show) 30:56 - Biggest surprise from the NBA Playoffs thus far