The Press Box

Hello, media consumers! Bryan welcomes Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay. He kicks off the show with five thoughts on the upcoming presidential debate (2:23). Then they discuss ESPN’s first bid to Stephen A. Smith and how it compares to Pat McAfee’s deal (20:21). Later, they talk about JJ Redick becoming the new Lakers head coach and leaving the podcast game (33:42). They close the show with the 48 New York tabloid headlines about Justin Timberlake’s arrest (54:07).Host: Bryan CurtisGuest: Jason GayProducer: Brian H. Waters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Final Edition, Bryan welcomes Dylan Byers and starts the show with a discussion about the word “defenestration" (1:20).Then they discuss the following: Dylan’s reaction to Charles Barkley’s "retirement” (2:42) What did David Zaslav and Warner Bros. Discovery do wrong during the NBA negotiations (9:18)? CNN producing the presidential debate (15:02) William Lewis, ’Washington Post’ publisher, gets embattled (30:16). Then, David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.Host: Bryan CurtisGuest: Dylan ByersProducer: Brian H. Waters  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David kick off the show by discussing yet another Charles Barkley “retirement announcement” (0:42). Then, they close out this NBA season with talk of ESPN adding an active player to their pregame show (13:14) and JJ Redick potentially being the first podcaster turned NBA coach (15:50). They then discuss the upcoming presidential debate and why it will be a huge night for CNN (19:40).Later in the Notebook Dump, they get into the Brat Pack documentary and why it is an interesting, secret media movie (32:01). Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week and David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David ShoemakerProducer: Brian H. Waters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Final Edition, Bryan welcomes Katie Baker, and they have a loaded show for you, with the following discussion topics: Brian Windhorst's Scarface-like message to Luka Doncic (1:45) Jayson Tatum’s reaction to Joe Mazzulla's quotes (5:57) Remembering Jerry West, a friend to sportswriters everywhere (14:03) The Olympics and Caitlin Clark discourse (24:03) The Hollywood junket crisis (37:14) Remembering Howard Fineman (52:14) Then, David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.Host: Bryan CurtisGuest: Katie BakerProducer: Brian H. Waters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David kick off the show with sounds from a couple of awkward interviews (1:05). Then, they get into the following topics: Reactions to ESPN’s halftime show criticism (9:31) Doris Burke makes television history (18:07) JJ Redick’s upside as an announcer (20:42) Later, in the Notebook Dump, they discuss a chaotic week at The Washington Post (33:01)Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week and David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David ShoemakerProducer: Brian H. Waters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, media consumers! The NBA Finals begin this week, so Bryan brings you the podcast a day early, and he welcomes one of the most prolific voices in basketball history, Bob Costas.They take a look back at Bob’s time with NBC, discussing the following: The first year of the NBA on NBC and how Bob was wanted as a play-by-play announcer (2:02) The art of putting together the story of the game (6:52) Michael Jordan’s run during the beginning of the NBC era (16:22) The O.J. Simpson chase during the 1994 NBA Finals (24:28) Calling what we thought at the time was Michael Jordan’s final shot in the NBA (41:01) The 1998-99 NBA lockout (45:22) Plus, David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.Host: Bryan CurtisGuest: Bob CostasProducer: Brian H. Waters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David kick off the show with some notes on the coverage of the Trump verdict (1:09). Then, they get into the following topics: What kind of story are the 2023-24 Dallas Mavericks (9:02) Charles Barkley’s free agency and what could happen with the talent from ‘Inside the NBA’ (18:19) Later in the Notebook Dump they discuss: Reactions to Colin Cowherd’s monologue about Trump’s conviction (32:43) The upcoming presidential debate and the advertisements that will be available for purchase (41:00) Bryan and David are in LearnedLeague trivia (43:15) Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week and David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David ShoemakerProducer: Brian H. Waters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, media consumers! Bryan welcomes the Ringer’s ultimate team player, Mallory Rubin. They kick off the show by discussing the live coverage of the Trump trial deliberations (4:47). Then they discuss baseball’s place in the media lineup as networks are willing to pay $2 billion for the NBA while ESPN is trying to get out of a $540 million deal with MLB (16:12). They close with a fun discussion about Mallory’s career, which includes a chat about the things she has done a nerd culture deep dive on (33:40).Plus, David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.Bryan and Mallory’s conversation was recorded before the jury of the Donald Trump trial was finished deliberating.Host: Bryan CurtisGuest: Mallory RubinProducer: Brian H. Waters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, media consumers! We lost a basketball and media legend this week, the one and only Bill Walton. Bryan and David kick off the show by reading some of his quotes and discussing how he was ahead of his time (0:20). Then, they get into the current reported plan to save The Washington Post, which includes subscription tiers and additional content for superfans (10:43).Later, in the Notebook Dump, they talk about how the NBA playoff pregame shows have added a member to the panel (32:10), the Mavericks’ “commanding” lead in the Western Conference finals (40:02), and the latest on NBA media rights and how Turner could have maintained the rights without a bidding war (42:37).Bryan closes the show with a fun story from the movies (47:29).Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week and David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David ShoemakerProducer: Brian H. Waters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello media consumers! We close out a busy week with two appearances! First, Howard Beck joins Bryan to discuss the NBA finalizing the rights deal (1:20), what is intriguing about NBC and Amazon’s coverage (9:30), and the NBA going back to broadcast television (18:00).Then, Sheil Kapadia joins to discuss whether or not Charles Barkley would work with his ‘Inside the NBA’ teammates elsewhere (21:51), thoughts on ESPN’s number one announce team (25:23), ESPN’s ‘Up for Debate’ docuseries (36:55), and more.Host: Bryan CurtisGuests: Howard Beck and Sheil KapadiaProducer: Brian H. Waters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices