Sports In The Making

Mark Gleason - Network Sports Camera Operator & Radio DJ

Mark Gleason spends time with Don to talk about everything related to sports as a camera operator. He has worked on ESPN’s Armed Forces Classic and the Carrier Classic, countless Major League Baseball games and National Football League games. Prior to Game 2 of the National League Championship Series in Philadelphia, Mark was at his camera position in centerfield to explain how a camera works and what the controls are. He also shows his passion for his career and says that when he watches a ...

Mark Johnson - Voice of the Colorado Buffaloes

LOG: 00:00 - Heirloom Travel Promo (heirloomtravelandadventure.com) 00:38 - Heat Media Promo (heatmediavisuals.com) 00:59 - Episode Introduction, Boulder, Colorado 01:42 - Introduction to Mark Johnson, Voice of the Buffs. 02:15 - Where Mark’s love of sports came from. 03:35 - Mark’s start in broadcasting and the work he did early in his career. 04:55 - What the play-by-play announcer role does and should be doing for the audience. 06:15 - How getting repetitions was important for Mar...

Oscar Sanchez - Director of Broadcast Operations & Creator, "Ministry of Broadcasting"

LOG: 00:00 - Heirloom Travel & Adventure Promo 00:41 - Episode Introduction 02:35 - How Oscar Sanchez describes the sports broadcasting industry. 04:25 - How Oscar got into sports television. 07:24 - How he worked in all aspects of television but had more control working behind the scenes. 09:09 - Making the jump to sports from news and entertainment. 11:50 - What his role is at CONCACAF. 14:12 - How people working in sports television should understand all positions. 16:50 - Where ...

Jed Drake - Emerging Technology Consultant & Former ESPN SVP & Executive Producer

0:00 - Episode #38 Introduction 1:20 - Introduction to Jed Drake and how he started in broadcast television, first as a local reporter covering the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980. 5:38 - Jed reconciling his Olympic coverage with Roone Arledge 7:05 - When Jed joined ESPN as a production assistant 10:35 - Working the early days at ESPN and how he got opportunities with a start up sports network. 12:40 - What the most fun working at ESPN was for Jed. 14:00 - What makes people standout in a ...

Owen Scannell - Founder & CEO, Premier Rugby Sevens

00:00 - Open 01:00 - Introduction to Owen Scannell 01:37 - How Owen started Premier Rugby Sevens and how Collegiate Rugby Sevens helped new viewers understand the sport. 07:00 - Premier Rugby Sevens Clip from Pittsburgh Tournament 08:50 - When Owen thought he had a viable new sport in the U.S. 12:15 - Growing PR7s with partners were incremental 14:10 - How he’s built the league with a strong team of people who understand rugby. 19:20 - Objectives on game day for PR7s. 24:00 - PR7s co...

Mike DesRoches - National Accounts Organization, Sports & New Media, Sony Electronics, Inc.

0:00 - Episode Introduction to Mike DesRoches 1:15 - Where Mike’s love of sports came from 2:10 - Mike played D1 college baseball 2:40 - How Mike started working for Sony 4:00 - What Mike does with Sony now with broadcast sports 6:00 - How I met Mike at the Denver AVEXpo and how Mike helps the sports networks 9:10 - The kinds of innovations that cameras have achieved and where camera technology is going 14:15 - How autofocus has improved drastically (with video) 16:10 How the camera ...

Amy Smolens - TV Production Veteran & Pioneer

00:00 - Episode Introduction 01:30 - How Amy got into sports broadcasting working with the tv broadcasts for the New York Yankees 4:20 - How the Yankees’ Don Carney, Executive Producer & Director took a risk hiring Amy and women in sports tv. 6:20 - When Amy was 11 years old she participated in the New York Nets’ “Run, Dribble & Shoot” contest but wasn’t allowed to compete for the finals 9:50 - Amy visited with Jim Garvey, who refused to let her play, many years later in California (pict...

Terry Brady - Broadcast Operations Consultant & Former Director of Operations, ESPN

00:00 - Episode Introduction 01:45 - How Terry and I met working in the Dominican Baseball League for ESPN (with some pictures) 03:15 - Terry’s thoughts about Dominican Baseball 04:10 - Terry’s memory of visiting with Baseball HOF Pitcher Juan Marichal 05:55 - What an Operations Producer does 07:45 - How Ops Producers are able to save a show and what the preparation is to make sure a show goes off well 09:40 - How Terry got into the sports tv business 14:15 - One of Terry’s first even...

Dave Raymond - CEO, Hero of Happiness, The Original Philly Phanatic & Mascot Incubator

0:00 Episode Introduction 1:50 The meaning of the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series 3:00 How Dave grew up in Maryland and being the son of Hall of Fame College Football Coach Harold “Tubby” Raymond 5:55 Where Dave got his work ethic 7:50 How he became the Phillie Phanatic 11:00 How quickly the Phanatic had success and passing it along to Tom Burgoyne 13:25 Wearing the costume was physically demanding for Dave 17:20 What he did to create, sometimes unintentional, the personalit...

Highlights From First 19 Episodes

A recap of the first fourteen episodes of Sports In The Making and includes short sections from some of the most memorable responses.   Recap Highlights: 00:00 Introduction to Episode 1:40 Episode 2 - Scott Hecht talking about a make-or-break moment in his tv career https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLkgyVd4XSs&t=10s 6:40 Episode 3 - John Howard shares the most intense moment of his career as technical director on the Super Bowl. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7h2US1BANk&t=8s 10:51 E...

Andrew Irvine - Game Design Manager, MLB The Show & Former ESPN Event Producer

LOG: 0:00 - Introduction 1:15 - How Drew first thought about getting into sports 3:00 - How he didn’t make the initial cut to work for ESPN as a staff employee but was eventually hired 5:10 - What a remote Production Assistant is at ESPN 6:05 - How he advanced from PA to Associate Producer 7:45 - What an AP’s responsibility is in remote/event production 11:20 - What it took for Drew to get from AP to Producer 12:30 - What role he took in building Longhorn Network 14:10 - His first p...

Marc Rowley - CEO OwnYourStream.com, Inventor of PylonCam & Former Coordinating Producer, ESPN

LOG: 00:00 - Introduction 01:39 - How a camera falling on Marc’s head got him into television 3:44 - How ESPN Coordinating Producer Chris Farrow (SITM Guest #4) hired Marc offered him a job 5:04 - What Marc’s early career jobs were including editing, pulling cable, etc. 6:35 - What the process of getting a job at ESPN was like when Marc went to work there which included 3 primary things 8:36 - Marc’s thoughts on taking initiative and following up 9:00 - How he got into the CERN super ...

Brian Williams - Producer, Director, Sports Television & Events

00:00 - Intro to Episode 01:50 - How Brian got into sports broadcasting 03:30 - What sports USA Network covered in the 1980’s 06:50 - How as a producer Brian is connected to each aspect of the production 08:50 - How he manages broadcasting shows around the world 10:27 - What a control room monitor wall looks like and what he looks at 12:50 - How complicated a production can be when sending it to the world 15:40 - How much prep work is necessary to make a production 17:10 - What Brian...

Claudia Trejos - On-Air Reporter, Analyst & Hall of Fame

LOG: 00:00 - Episode Introduction 02:25 - Introduction to Claudia Trejos and how she got into sports broadcasting 03:40 - How boxing is a part of her life 05:30 - How Claudia’s passion for sports is important for how she works in her career 07:20 - How Claudia has a presence that makes an impact on her performance in the boxing industry despite “imposter syndrome” 10:28 - She has worked from the ground up in TV, pulling cable, production assistant, grip and how it helps her to have con...

Dave Kroner - VP Creative Services, TV Graphics & Owner, Extreme Ninja Challenge

00:00 - Intro to Episode #27 01:30 - How Dave Kroner got into sports television 02:58 - What Dave wanted to do as a career in sports television 04:20 - What he has seen change over the years with the graphics technology 08:20 - The different types of graphics used on sports tv broadcasts 11:12 - Dave’s role as Sr. Graphics Developer at ESPN 13:30 - How graphics is different internationally 16:12 - Differences working with global sports networks versus regional 19:00 - What goes into ...

Allyson J. Davis - Marketing, Media and Production Executive

00:00:00 Introduction To Allyson J. Davis 00:01:30 What Allyson is doing currently 00:01:55 What her responsibilities are as a marketing executive 00:04:20 How the media landscape has changed with marketing 00:06:35 How Allyson got into sports and then went into the marketing side of the business 00:09:25 How important it is for someone to love sports when working in sports 00:10:05 How she got started working in sports media 00:14:35 How she became the Director of Marketing for Fox S...

USA Baseball's Olympic Gold, Miracle On Grass & TommyBall with David Fanucchi, Author & Ted Collins, Movie Producer

00:00 - Episode 25 introduction 00:45 - Introduction to Dave Fanucchi and how he began his career in sports. 03:35 - Introduction to Ted Collins and how he began his career in movie producing 09:30 - Ted Collins Working with Women of Wrestling (WOW), owned by Jeannie Buss, Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers 11:50 - What Women of Wrestling is about in 2022 and future years. 13:15 - How Dave Fanucchi got started with the USA Baseball Team as the Director of Communications in 1999, just as pr...

Andy Frye - Sportswriter and Contributor, Forbes

  2:28 - How Andy got his start as a sportswriter. 4:46 - How he was able to get his articles published when he was blogger and didn’t have a journalism degree. 6:42 - How he got his first article published on ESPN.com Page 2 covering “Fistball”. 9:13 - Whether he had any insecurities in pitching his next stories to sports digital publications and how relationships can help him get interviews. 11:54 - How Andy finds interesting people to interview. 16:00 - How Andy looks at doing inter...

Abe Morris - Professional Bull Rider, Rodeo Announcer & Baker

2:56 - What Abe’s been doing during Covid. 4:35 - How Abe started his Chocolate Chip Cookie business. 5:39 - How his cookies have become very popular at rodeos. 6:46 - What the secret recipe for his cookies are. 8:03 - How Abe started bull riding as a young kid in New Jersey. 9:45 - When did he realize he wanted to ride bulls as a career. 10:35 - How he was perceived in rodeo as a black bull rider and how some of the football players reacted to him being in rodeo. 13:31 - How the foo...

Steve Porino - Announcer, NBC Sports covering Alpine Skiing & The Tour de France

Twitter: @sporino Steve Porino in a Tree (NBC Olympics):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96tXdONcGAE&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1v7j0VXXzTxO74NpLrbeIlS_FYa_jMJLArPMh6YW0HreieyDb3t7c5tVA "The D Route":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFW4aKYnaPI 1:43 - What Steve has been doing during Covid-19 4:26 - How he made the US Ski Team as a downhill skier 7:02 - What the difference in talent is between an amateur and someone who is on the US Ski Team and how hundredths of seconds can make the ...

Tom Van Berg - Thoroughbred Horse Trainer, Son of Hall of Fame Trainer Jack Van Berg

2:29 - What the responsibilities of a thoroughbred horse trainer are. 3:57 - How much he was around his dad, Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg, when he was young. 5:08 - Why Tom wanted to study aerospace engineering instead of following his father into the thoroughbred world and his post college experiences. 9:07 - How Tom likes to bring people into the horse racing world to show them what it’s like rather than tell them. 11:33 - How Jack Van Berg got his work ethic and how he would ma...

Dan Lyle - Director of AEG Rugby & Former USA Rugby Player

1:43 - What Dan Lyle does as Director of Rugby for Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) 3:22 - What the differences are between Rugby and American Football and the history of how rugby started. 7:11 - What each position does in Rugby Sevens. 8:32 - What positions do in Rugby Union. 9:43 - Why Dan decided to pursue professional rugby outside of the United States instead of American football with the Minnesota Vikings. 14:15 - Was it a culture shock to play rugby overseas. 16:25 - What th...

Nick Gismondi - Announcer & Reporter, Chicago Blackhawks, NBC Sports Chicago & World Team Tennis

2:00 - Welcome to Nick Gismondi 2:45 - What Nick has been doing since Covid-19 disrupted sports. 4:23 - What it’s like working as an announcer for the Chicago Blackhawks, one of the Original Six NHL teams. 7:15 - What it’s like as the rink side reporter for the Blackhawks. 7:51 > 8:45 11:17 - How he came to love hockey & the NHL and how he got into sports broadcasting. 15:25 - How a chance meeting at Los Angeles International Airport changed his broadcasting career. 19:43 - How it take...

Aaron Eisman - Social Media Expert, Eisman Digital

01:41 - What makes social media so powerful. 03:47 - How social media has changed with sports networks in the last 5-7 years. 07:24 - How Aaron started in sports social media. 10:58 - How NBA on TNT, NBA TV, Bleacher Report and NFL Network handle their social media efforts. 15:08 - How getting social media correct is extremely important when publishing. 18:46 - How he uses his journalism skills to make social media posts effective. 21:38 - What the difference is working for a sports o...

Atomic - eSports & Broadcast Productions

2:30 - How Covid-19 has affected the eSports industry. 3:22 - Kris Dahl is Principal at Atomic - What Atomic does and how it affects eSports. 4:41 - What Patrick Barthe’s responsibilities are with Atomic 5:13 - How Atomic started. 6:18 - What eSports is, how it’s grown and the importance of it now. 8:13 - How eSports has affected broadcast networks since the pandemic.  10:08 - What some of the challenges are in covering eSports events.  12:44 - How Atomic finds clients and how Atomic...

Ato Boldon NBC Sports Analyst & Sprint Coach

2:15 - Reflecting on the International Olympic Committee’s decision to delay the Games to 2021 2:48 - How the postponed Games will affect Olympic athletes. 4:32 - What challenges Olympic athletes have keeping their mental focus. 5:37 -  If he were coaching these athletes, how he would help keep their mental states intact for an additional year. 8:17 - Could the Olympics fall back to every four years as it had in the past for both Summer and Winter. 9:09 - Ato Boldon’s career accomplish...

Mary Kate Shea - Sr. Director of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, John Hancock

2:34 - What Mary Kate Shea does in her role as Senior Director with John Hancock. 3:27 - How she got to John Hancock and what the company’s role is with the Boston Marathon. 5:09 - How she was able to make this career and her background on marathons. 09:36 - 2013 was the first year she took the reigns of the Boston Marathon’s elite athletes and a treetops view of what her job entails including checking the athletes on race day. 10:55 - Meg Keflezhigi checking in and on his bib he honore...

Heather Novickis - Athlete Agent, Olympic, Paralympic & Endurance

2:31 - What Heather does as a Sports Athlete Agent 3:29 - When she knew being an agent is what she wanted to do. 6:13 - What she liked about work with Gold Medal Management. 8:19 - How storytelling is important in representing traditional or Olympic athletes rather than mainstream athletes. 9:35 - How Heather builds relationships and trust with athletes. 11:21 - Expectations athletes should have when working with an agent. 13:37 - How Human Interest Group finds brands that looks at an...

Brian Nupnau - Engineering Manager, Game Creek Video

3:26 - What Brian does as Manager of Engineers at Game Creek Video. 4:20 - What a television truck is made up of. 5:33 - How much mobile television trucks cost. 6:32 - How trucks are custom built for sports networks. 8:08 - How the trucks are planned for which event and how they are integrated. together. 10:43 - Planning ESPN’s MegaCast College Football National Championship. 12:29 - How much dedication an tv truck engineer puts into a production. 13:38 - How working in mobile televi...

Part 2: Ben Bouma - Sports TV Producer & Sports Management Consultant

PART 2: 2:09 - How he helped the Pittsburgh Steelers build their baseball PNC park. 5:29 - How he was able to get a new arena built for the Penn State hockey program. 10:12 - How Ben helped billionaire Terry Pegula buy the NHL Buffalo Sabres team. 13:52 - How the media tries to know what goes on in sports franchise deals. 15:55 - How negotiations happen between all parties to buy a sports franchise. 17:17 - Ben’s involvement in the group that wanted to purchase the Arizona Coyotes. 23...

Part 1: Ben Bouma - Sports TV Producer & Sports Management Consultant

4:21 - What Ben Bouma’s title is and how he can’t fit into a title. 6:10 - How Ben got into sports television and how he connected with broadcaster Kenny Albert. 11:40 - How he started producing NHL games for Fox Sports and then later with ESPN on Sunday Night Baseball. 14:03 - What his responsibilities were as a sidelines producer, who he started working with and how he prepared for his responsibilities as a sidelines producer. 16:15 - How it’s nearly impossible to have a perfect show....

Jimmy Serrano - Former MLB Pitcher, Kansas City Royals

2:34 - What August 7, 2004 mean to Jimmy. 3:07 - How much effort he put into getting to the Major Leagues and how rewarding it was getting the call to go. 3:58 - How many times he felt like giving up on his dream of reaching MLB 4:41 - Growing up in Grand Junction, CO 5:20 - How Jimmy and I know each other. 5:51 - How he ended up in Arizona to play baseball. 7:07 - Jimmy didn’t have any offers to play college baseball. 7:46 - He didn’t play the position he played in high school and h...

Dean Walker, Production Executive & Coordinating Producer

2:17 - Why he’s stayed with TV for as long as he has. 3:55 - How Dean got into sports television the non-traditional school route. 12:25 - What goes into creating a network and how content drives the direction of the network. 14:38 - How many sports he’s covered in his career. 14:52 - Dean names some of the sports he’s covered. 16:31 - What the model for World Championship Sports Network and how world feed productions are designed. 19:16 - What the challenge is for presenting a sport ...

Dennis Spencer - VP Media, Lagardere Sports & Entertainment

2:31 - Dennis explains what Lagardere company is. 5:32 - What sports/media events and shows he works on with Lagardere. 7:27 - How the sports arbitrage business works in representing a sports property and how Lagardere helped the NBA with their international business. 9:09 - The competitiveness for sports media rights. 10:13 - The daunting task of securing rights and how individual sports properties have different goals in partnering with an agency. 11:30 - How tricky or complex it is ...

Carlos Alfonso - Former MLB Coach, San Francisco Giants & Houston Astros

  2:05 - How Carlos and I know each other. 2:50 - What it was like growing up in Cuba and how he came to love baseball. 3:20 - How he learned to play baseball on the beach in Cuba from an ex-MLB player. 4:25 - How he got to the United States in 1961 under the Peter Pan Movement sponsored by the Catholic Church. 5:15 - What the adjustment was like coming to the U.S. as a child. 7:43 - Being drafted in 1968, how he found out.  8:27 - The deal he made with his parents to play baseball i...

Paul Kirk - Associate AD Strategic Communications, University of Utah & Former Director of Media Relations, Denver Broncos

1:40 - What he does with the University of Utah Athletics. 3:10 - What the guidelines are for how the university media department protects the student athletes. 5:00 - How social media has affected his job in following the media and student athletes. 6:15 - How university media relations departments help athletes build their brands. 7:40 - How he deals with a potential mishap by use of social media by an athlete. 9:30 - How the media department builds relationships with the student ath...

Jenny Cavnar - Announcer, Colorado Rockies on AT&T Sports Network

2:00 - How seeing Monday Night Football Sidelines Reporter Melissa Stark inspired her to pursue a career in sports broadcasting. 3:40 - How conversations with her father, a high school Hall of Fame baseball coach, helped develop her for a career in baseball. 6:20 - Where she went to college, how internships were valuable for her and how she broke into the industry. 10:10 - How she won over her former boss with her sports knowledge when she was initially laughed at. 15:30 - What it was l...

Chris Farrow - Coordinating Producer, Ross Mobile Productions & Former CP, ESPN College Basketball

1:30 - Where his love of sports comes from? 2:05 - Did he think he wanted to work in sports? 2:45 - How his interest in basketball translate into him working in the sports industry. 3:28 - How he got into the sports the sports industry and later into sports television. 6:00 - Was it easy working as a font coordinator (graphics coordinator), What the next steps in his career were. 7:48 - Going to the NCAA to work in broadcast services. 8:55 - What his responsibilities at the NCAA were....

John Howard - Technical Director, NBC Sunday Night Football

1:30 - What is a Technical Director? John describes the front bench of the tv production truck as similar to being on the USS Enterprise from the Start Trek franchise. 4:00 - The role, responsibilities and procedures of a technical director for NBC’s Sunday Night Football. 7:30 - What technical aspects the TD is responsible for. 8:20 - What’s the routine on game day during Sunday Night Football. 11:00 - How the production crew goes through scenarios for an unusual scenario during a show...

David Loignon - Venue TV Producer, X-Games & Formula One

David Loignon is a seasoned television producer, having worked at TVG Network, the first interactive horse racing network in the U.S.  He has also produced the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as in-venue television for fans at the X-Games and Formula One races. 1:50  - How he got started in sports broadcasting. 3:00 - Helping to launch TVG Network and whether he thought it would survive. 4:15 - How he helped blend TVG’s idea of wagering on horse racing ...

Scott Hecht - Sr. Producer, Syracuse University & Former ESPN CP/Director

Scott Hecht has worked many different roles in sports broadcasting, including as a producer, director and coordinating producer/director, having been lead producer for the Phoenix Suns and San Diego Padres, lead director for TVG Network and as coordinating producer/director at ESPN.  He currently works as senior producer at Syracuse University Athletics. 1:36 - Where his love of sports started. 2:50 - When he knew he had to work in sports tv. 4:12 - How he got into the sports tv industry....

Introduction To Sports In The Making Podcast