Awful Announcing Podcast

It's a special episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast. The first half of our show has host Brandon Contes sitting down with fellow members of the Awful Announcing staff. Ben Koo, Andrew Bucholtz, and Sean Keeley discuss the winners from the 2023 Awfulies, including Pat McAfee winning Sports Media Person of the Year, Stephen A. Smith winning Best Sports Debate Personality, and Greg Olsen winning Game Analyst of the Year.Afterward, we put together a collection of clips from our first 30 episodes in 2023. We thank you for listening/viewing the podcast, and have a happy holiday season.For even more discussion, head over to awfulannouncing.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube: @awfulannouncing.-1:04: Pat McAfee as Sports Media Person of the Year-8:55: Kevin Brown suspended from Orioles as Top Sports Media Story-16:57: Greg Olsen as Game Analyst of the Year-26:46: Stephen A. Smith as Best Sports Debate Personality, First Take as Best Sports Debate Show, and Skip Bayless as Worst Sports Debate Personality-38:01: Disney selling ABC as Most Overblown Sports Media Story-39:33: College football changes in 2024-41:07: Ted Lasso as Best Scripted Sports TV Show-43:39: Bomani Jones on Stephen A. Smith entering politics (Episode 1)-45:31: Mark Schlereth on the softness of today’s NBA (Episode 6)-47:13: Brian Windhorst on covering LeBron James (Episode 7)-54:03: Craig Carton on getting the opportunity to return to WFAN (Episode 16)-55:12: Chris Myers on interviewing O.J. Simpson (Episode 18)-59:27: Pablo Torre on confronting Dan LeBatard about interviewing Donald Trump (Episode 20)-1:05:23: Michelle Beadle on LeBron James and Rachel Nichols’ roles in getting Michelle replaced on “NBA Countdown” (Episode 21)-1:10:45: Trey Wingo on working “SportsCenter” with Bob Ley on 9/11 (Episode 23)-1:15:45: Jay Crawford on Jalen Rose being banned from “First Take” (Episode 24)-1:22:20: Dan Patrick on anchoring “SportsCenter” with Keith Olbermann (Episode 26)-1:28:50: Jason Benetti on working with Bill Walton (Episode 29) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Brandon Contes interviews Fox NFL rules analyst Dean Blandino. Brandon and Dean discuss a wide range of topics including Dean's thoughts on the Brotherly Shove, being on Jerry Jones' party bus, being Fox's rules analyst, and more.For even more discussion, head over to awfulannouncing.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube: @awfulannouncing.-:42: What Dean misses most about Long Island-1:39: What Dean misses most about being NFL VP of Officiating-2:35: Is refereeing a “thankless job?”-4:00: Being a replay official-4:51: Goals from having internship in NFL officiating department-5:25: How do referees get to the NFL?-6:29: Officials looking down on Dean because Dean wasn’t an on-field ref-7:31: Could Dean have been an on-field ref?-7:51: Calls from coaches as VP of Officiating-8:25: Coaches Dean dreaded talking to?-9:26: Players who were more difficult to deal with?-10:20: Going from VP of Officiating to an on-air rules analyst for Fox -11:35: Communicating with Mike Pereira-12:00: Does Dean have issues with saying something was a bad call on air?-13:42: Working with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman-14:20: Does Dean prefer the booth or the command center?-15:06: Does Dean have more to offer as an analyst?-16:33: Working with Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen-17:16: Prospect of working with Tom Brady-17:50: Has Brady reached out about anything rules or broadcasting related?-18:13: Aaron Rodgers’ comments about networks stealing the best referees to be rules analysts-19:18: Should NFL referees be full-time?-21:06: What does an official do during the week?-22:21: What does Dean do during the week?-23:04: Sports betting and refereeing-24:23: NFL officials being approached to manipulate games for betting reasons?-25:28: NFL impacting scores in terms of adjusting how many flags are thrown from week to week?-27:05: Favorite rule change-27:41: Should there be more reviewable plays?-28:55: Working with the XFL-29:43: Brotherly Shove-31:43: Future of the NFL in terms of player safety-33:06: Rules protecting the quarterback-34:05: Does Dean receive more complaints when working at the league office or as a rules analyst?-34:50: Working the Super Bowl-35:51: Dean’s most controversial decision as a replay official-36:44: Being on Jerry Jones’ party bus-38:16: Was the NFL bothered by that?-39:13: Stand up comedy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Brandon Contes interviews Fox broadcaster and new voice of the Detroit Tigers Jason Benetti. Brandon and Jason discuss a wide range of topics including working with Bill Walton, Kevin Brown's suspension from the Orioles, having cerebral palsy, leaving the Chicago White Sox to become the TV voice of the Detroit Tigers, and more.For even more discussion, head over to awfulannouncing.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube: @awfulannouncing.-:37: Being the voice of the Detroit Tigers-1:12: White Sox voice being a “dream job”-3:05: Being a White Sox fan while calling games-4:39: Is it easier or harder to call games of a team being a fan of?-7:23: Why was Detroit the right fit?-8:46: Relationship with White Sox front office -9:59: Complaints from Jerry Reinsdorf?-11:21: Is Reinsdorf the same owner with the White Sox as he is with the Bulls?-13:31: Surprised by the press and attention about getting the Tigers job-16:08: Striving to have a deep connection to fans on a local MLB broadcast-20:01: Did the Kevin Brown situation play a role in Jason going to the Tigers?-22:01: Would Jason have trouble working for a team that wouldn’t allow him to be critical of that team?-25:01: Interviewing for the Tigers-27:16: Challenge of replacing Hawk Harrelson-28:50: White Sox hiring Tony La Russa-30:25: La Russa sleeping in dugout-32:11: Being in the clubhouse and be available to the team before the game-34:20: Tigers analysts-35:09: Having a say in broadcast partners?-35:57: Doing national broadcasts along with local broadcasts-36:27: Is local MLB broadcasting always going to be a part of Jason’s career?-38:55: Having cerebral palsy and being a broadcaster-41:33: Being self-conscious about being on camera-42:35: Going to law school-44:27: Who would make a better attorney? Jason or Bill Walton?-46:21: Working with Walton-47:19: Things Walton said on the broadcast that surprised Jason?-50:12: Having trust in Walton’s filter for a national audience Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Brandon Contes interviews co-host of "Shan & RJ" on 105.3 The Fan, Shan Shariff. Brandon and Shan discuss a wide range of topics including hanging Mark Cuban selling the Mavericks, interviewing Jerry Jones every week, his dislike for Skip Bayless, his respect of Stephen A. Smith, his falling out with Dan Orlovsky, and more.For even more discussion, head over to awfulannouncing.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube: @awfulannouncing.-:37: Mark Cuban selling the Dallas Mavericks-1:58: Ulterior motives from Cuban?-3:12: Cuban retaining control of the team-4:26: How does Dallas feel about Mark Cuban?-6:05: Is Jerry Jones liked in Dallas?-6:52: Interviewing Jones every week-8:34: Surprised Jones is this involved and open to the media at his age? -10:44: Surprising or strangest things Jones said that stick out?-14:10: Interviewing Michael Irvin as he reveals his Marriott encounter before the Super Bowl-15:49: Still interviewing Irvin?-17:30: Were there issues with how the interview happened?-18:57: When did Shan realize this was a major story?-20:18: Are fans buying into the Cowboys?-21:27: Do Cowboys fans have more faith in Dak Prescott or Mike McCarthy?-23:14: QB’s to trust to win in Philadelphia-24:49: Stephen A. Smith-27:46: Surprised Stephen A. came on the show?-28:21: Opinion of Stephen A. and “First Take”-31:27: Dan Orlovsky-33:58: How do Cowboys fans feel about Skip Bayless?-36:59: Would Shan prefer Skip to be genuine?-38:14: Does Dallas claim Skip Bayless?-39:02: Does Cowboys talk on debate shows do it any justice?-41:59: National voice aside from Skip Bayless that Shan rolls his eyes when they talk Cowboys-43:21: Doing sports talk radio in Kansas City-44:37: Nick Wright-45:30: Surprised that Wright is now on a national platform?-48:05: Shan’s “dream job?”-50:29: Fitting in at Dallas-52:48: Paying Mark Cuban’s restaurant tab-53:44: How do the Rangers stack up among the Dallas teams even after winning World Series?-55:11: Will the Cowboys model the Rangers and win the Super Bowl?-56:11: Rooting for the Cowboys Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Brandon Contes interviews NBA on TNT reporter and host of "NBA CrunchTime" on the NBA app, Jared Greenberg. Brandon and Jared discuss a wide range of topics including hanging out with the "Inside the NBA" guys, being in the bubble during COVID, being on the receiving end of Gregg Popovich's interviews, remembering Kobe Bryant, and more.For even more discussion, head over to awfulannouncing.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube: @awfulannouncing.-:40: Seeing Victor Wembanyama up close-2:01: “NBA CrunchTime”-2:56: Preparation for “NBA CrunchTime”-6:55: Developing flow at hosting a whiparound show-10:46: Working at Warner Bros. Discovery-11:43: Pre-WBD-12:56: Covering Kyrie Irving in high school-13:25: “Inside the NBA”-17:04: “Inside the NBA” roles-18:47: Charles Barkley-19:55: Drinking with Barkley-22:10: Imaging Barkley retiring from “Inside the NBA”-24:36: Imagining Ernie Johnson retiring from “Inside the NBA”-25:21: What makes the “Inside the NBA” group so special?-27:07: Being in the bubble-29:32: Was it challenging being in one location for so long?-31:23: Jamal Murray interview-32:33: Approach to doing postgame interviews-35:06: Gregg Popovich-38:26: Favorite players or coaches to interview-39:31: Kevin Durant-42:57: Kobe Bryant-45:10: Covering Kobe’s death/dealing with Rick Fox hoax-47:45: Emotions at “Inside the NBA” when Kobe died-50:12: Rick Fox-52:08: Nets fandom when Jared was a kid-53:06: Ian Eagle-55:14: NBA In-Season Tournament-56:37: How will people view the In-Season Tournament in 10 years? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast, Charissa Thompson revealed she would make up a sideline report if extenuating circumstances prevented her from getting a report. Thompson noted instances like the head coach not coming out at halftime or that it was too late to get an interview as examples where Thompson would come up with basic talking points that a head coach might say if they were to talk to her. While Thompson revealed this years before, it's brought strong reactions and on a live edition of the "Awful Announcing Podcast," host Brandon Contes talks with Oakland A's reporter and "Short and to the Point" host Jessica Kleinschmidt about Thompson's comments.For even more discussion, head over to awfulannouncing.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube: @awfulannouncing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Brandon Contes interviews former "SportsCenter" and current host of "The Dan Patrick Show," Dan Patrick. Brandon and Dan discuss a wide range of topics including anchoring "SportsCenter," working in radio, retiring in four years, hosting "Jeopardy!," and more.For even more discussion, head over to awfulannouncing.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube: @awfulannouncing.-:40: Is this part of a retirement tour or a book tour?-1:00: Collaborating with Joel Cohen-2:55: Coming up with the format of the book-4:30: Writing a book forward-6:05: Most extensive book tour? Dan’s or Stephen A. Smith’s?-7:10: Retirement talk-8:22: Retirement announcement taking off-9:41: Concern about being someone that social media views is too old and wants to point out every mistake-11:08: Is four years long enough for Dan to welcome retirement?-13:34: Being the “old man” at “SportsCenter”-14:56: Radio-16:40: Making producers part of the show-18:28: Howard Stern-19:26: Celebrities on “The Dan Patrick Show”-20:38: Adam Sandler movies-21:38: Interest in acting?-22:12: “SportsCenter” as a creative outlet-23:21: Creative freedom at ESPN-25:05: Having more to offer as a radio host while at ESPN-26:34: Anchoring “SportsCenter” with Keith Olbermann-29:32: Confidence to push limits on “SportsCenter”-31:55: Moment that got Dan and Keith in management’s office-33:01: Future of “SportsCenter”-34:55: The impact of embrace debate-37:03: Do debate shows rely too much on topics like LeBron James and the Dallas Cowboys?-38:11: The “Dan Patrick brand”-39:20: Would Dan host a podcast in retirement?-40:17: Keith Olbermann not having a long-term home post-ESPN-42:03: Going political?/Sharing a name with an outspoken politician-44:11: Interviewing presidents-45:21: Interacting with Donald Trump-46:24: Someone Dan would like to interview that he hasn’t yet-48:27: Michael Jordan-49:19: Matt Harvey/Kyler Murray interviews-51:10: Did NBC/“Football Night in America” feel bigger than “SportsCenter”-52:28: Did “Football Night in America” affect what Dan could say about the NFL on his radio show?-54:01: “Jeopardy!”-56:31: Were there discussions for Dan to host after Trebek passed away?-58:12: Challenge of hosting “Jeopardy!”-59:18: Reaction to Aaron Rodgers hosting “Jeopardy!”-1:00:12: Was Dan glad “The Price is Right” didn’t reveal the pay in order to tempt him to host? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Brandon Contes interviews Steve Letarte, NASCAR on NBC analyst and former Daytona 500 winning crew chief for Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Brandon and Steve discuss a wide range of topics including working for Hendrick Motorsports, improving as a broadcaster, previewing the NASCAR Championship 4, the New England Patriots rebuilding, and more.For even more discussion, head over to awfulannouncing.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube: @awfulannouncing.-:47: Adrenaline of calling a championship race-1:38: Working for Hendrick Motorsports at 16-4:39: How people become crew chiefs-5:52: “Pinch me” moments-7:39: What was more special? Winning the Daytona 500 with Jeff Gordon or with Dale Earnhardt Jr.-8:58: Interactions between a crew chief and a driver during a race-10:46: Steve’s interactions between Gordon and Dale Jr.-12:24: Watching the race as a crew chief on the pit box-13:03: Watching the race as an analyst in the broadcasting booth-14:35: Finding the balance in broadcasting to diehard and casual race fans-16:54: Does Steve have the itch to go back to being a full-time crew chief?-17:39: Ending up at NBC-19:03: Dale Jr. as a media personality-19:57: Working with Dale Jr.-21:17: How has Steve improved as a broadcaster?-24:09: NASCAR viewership-26:28: Rightsholders helping NASCAR reach younger demographics -28:45: Shortening races-31:05: “Dirty Mo Dough/Has betting changed NASCAR broadcasts?-35:00: Favorite bet for the final race-36:14: Are the Championship 4 the best four drivers of this season?-37:35: Internal competition among teammates-38:55: Differences of Phoenix Raceway since last March-40:50: The “race car drivers aren’t real athletes” argument-43:28: Mac Jones-44:35: Bill Belichick Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Brandon Contes interviews Jay Crawford, former ESPN "SportsCenter" anchor/"First Take" host and current host of the "Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show" and WKYC NBC anchor. Brandon and Jay discuss a wide range of topics including covering Deshaun Watson, working with Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith, coming back home to Cleveland, and more.For even more discussion, head over to awfulannouncing.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube: @awfulannouncing.-:48: Having a low 90s fastball-2:21: Jay’s Minor League Baseball career-7:19: Thoughts on playing a full season?-9:20: Going from ESPN to local TV in Cleveland-18:56: Audience for local sports show on YouTube-27:15: Covering the Deshaun Watson trade while also covering his sexual misconduct allegations-33:50: How do Cleveland sports fans feel about Watson?-36:46: Dealing with “The Decision” as a Cleveland sports fan and ESPN employee-41:36: Working with Skip Bayless-45:06: Is what Skip does an act?-49:14: Woody Paige/Skip Bayless fight-53:10: The blueberry muffin story-59:46: Did others like working with Stephen A./Skip?-1:06:42: Being in “Rocky Balboa”-1:07:44: Not being in “Draft Day” despite being a Cleveland Browns fan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Brandon Contes interviews Trey Wingo, former ESPN "SportsCenter" anchor and "NFL Live" host, and current co-host of the "Chasin' It" podcast with Chase Daniel. Brandon and Trey discuss a wide range of topics including having the scoop first that Aaron Rodgers was going to the Jets, not being a morning person, working with Bob Ley on 9/11, and more.For even more discussion, head over to awfulannouncing.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube: @awfulannouncing.-:48: Thinking of Hawaii-2:45: Is Taylor Swift “moving the needle” on Trey’s podcast?-4:19: Swift’s ability to overshadow the NFL-5:30: Chase Daniel-6:39: Daniel co-hosting “Golic & Wingo”-8:05: Freedom in the podcast space post-ESPN-9:04: Does Trey miss being at ESPN?-9:34: Leaving ESPN-11:00: Taking over for Mike Greenberg to host morning show with Mike Golic-12:49: “Golic & Wingo”-15:17: Taking the morning show offer-15:55: Would Golic and Wingo still be at ESPN if Trey stayed on as morning show host?-17:27: Is ESPN Radio a prominent platform anymore?-18:36: Focusing on major markets when doing national radio?-19:47: Having the Aaron Rodgers to the Jets scoop-22:07: Reaction to the reaction of the Rodgers report-22:49: Hearing from Rodgers’ camp?-23:23: Will Rodgers return this season?-24:22: Fame of being at ESPN-25:58: "SportsCenter"-28:43: Writing on "SportsCenter"-30:11: Anchoring "SportsCenter" with Bob Ley on 9/11-33:29: Comfort level in the moment covering 9/11 on live TV-35:11: Working the 2020 NFL Draft-38:55: Favorite episode or moment on "NFL Live"-42:01: Shift in how hard hits and head injuries are covered on "NFL Live"-44:19: NFL as a league long-term-47:23: Complaints from the NFL and Roger Goodell about things said on the air-48:37: Doing play-by-play-49:40: Would Trey go back to work full time at a network?-50:17: Thoughts on ESPN going all in on Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee-51:03: Would ESPN executives eventually sour on McAfee?-52:19: Stunt app Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.