Awful Announcing Podcast Awful Announcing

Host Brandon Contes interviews broadcasting legend Eli Gold. Brandon and Bob discuss a wide range of topics including being the voice of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Alabama not retaining him for 2024, telling a white lie to start broadcasting in NASCAR, Nick Saban retiring from coaching, and more.
NOTE: We apologize for some audio and visual issues during the episode.
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: Eli’s health
-1:11: Returning to broadcast booth post-cancer
-1:57: Were there retirement thoughts when Eli sat out?
-2:54: Being out of work for two hours
-4:02: Calling home games only at Alabama
-4:56: Was the cutback a warning sign that Alabama wasn’t going to retain Eli?
-6:00: Alabama’s reason for not retaining Eli
-7:47: Response from Alabama fans
-8:46: Being the voice of the Nick Saban era [NOTE] Eli’s audio cuts out from 9:10 to 9:15. For full context, Eli is talking about not being at Alabama’s 2024 Spring Game which honored Nick Saban and the 2023 team.
-11:00: Not being welcomed by Alabama fans when Eli joined in 1988
-12:24: Considering leaving Alabama during that time?
-14:49: Getting to Alabama
-16:12: Goal as aspiring sportscaster in NYC
-18:01: Broadcasters Eli looked up to growing up
-19:25: Crafting your own style
-21:45: Verne Lundquist’s last Masters
-22:43: Jacksonville State University
-23:32: Nashville Kats
-26:30: Preparing for opposing team
-27:25: Commute to Nashville
-28:01: Were there other job opportunities while Eli was at Alabama?
-28:59: Reaction to Nick Saban retiring
-30:20: Any solace in that Eli’s Alabama tenure ended when Saban’s did?
-31:15: Can Alabama succeed without Saban?
-32:21: How will Saban do at ESPN?
-33:49: Most memorable and favorite moments/games at Alabama
-35:46: Favorite sport to broadcast
-37:24: Getting involved in NASCAR
-40:51: Working the 1979 Daytona 500 on MRN and importance of that race to NASCAR
-42:00: Being too close to Dale Earnhardt’s 1982 Pocono crash
-44:45: Being on the call for Earnhardt’s fatal crash in the 2001 Daytona 500
-46:24: Which sport changed the most throughout Eli’s career? NASCAR or college football?

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Host Brandon Contes interviews broadcasting legend Bob Costas. Brandon and Bob discuss a wide range of topics including his feelings on Donald Trump before and after becoming president, Bob's infamous gun culture essay, how Tom Brady would be as a broadcaster, 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.
-1:07: Being selective with doing podcasts
-5:19: Thoughts about Joe Biden and Donald Trump
-13:19: Relationship with Trump pre-president
-17:55: Covering the Olympics
-19:50: Hearing back from China after being critical of them
-21:50: Responsibility of not “sticking to sports”
-24:14: Jim Nantz and the Masters
-26:27: Misconceptions surrounding gun culture essay
-33:47: Biggest detriment to the essay
-35:37: Can it be “not worth it” discussing serious topics when people can make their own headlines and twist around those words?
-36:34: NBC coming to Bob with issues they wanted him to talk about
-36:58: How did NFL owners and Roger Goodell react to some of Bob’s essays?
-38:04: Watching the NFL
-38:26: How will Tom Brady do as a broadcaster? Could Brady do this for a long time?
-40:23: Social media/aggregate media causing change in media
-48:41: Doing “Later” on NBC
-49:59: Can long-form interview format work on TV today?
-50:27: Why Bob feels he couldn’t do a show like “Later” anymore
-52:19: No studio audience on “Later”
-54:27: One thing in sports Bob would like to see happen before retirement

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Host Brandon Contes interviews "Parkins & Spiegel Show" co-host and co-author of the book "Pipeline to the Pros," Danny Parkins. Brandon and Danny discuss a wide range of topics including Caleb Williams (very likely) going to the Bears, being the best man at Nick Wright's vow renewal, breaking the news of the Jovan Belcher tragedy, 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: Writing a book
-3:46: Difficulties of writing a book
-5:57: Moments Danny felt like giving up on book?
-8:06: People who declined to be interviewed
-10:02: Jeff Van Gundy stories
-13:29: Duncan Robinson
-15:41: Will book change how DIII schools are valued?
-17:40: Sports media not playing sports stigma
-19:40: BrainUp
-21:56: Dealing with real things and sharing that with the audience
-24:10: Becoming comfortable with discussing difficult personal things
-26:31: Landing first full-time on-air radio job
-28:17: Kansas City and Nick Wright
-29:39: Jovan Belcher murder-suicide story
-32:06: Difficulty reporting a story like that
-34:21: Lines between sports journalists and radio hosts being blurred?
-35:49: Do aggregators make life difficult in terms of separating media journalism and media entertainment?
-37:51: Not sticking to sports
-40:20: Jason McIntyre’s comments about Chicago
-41:13: Colin Cowherd calling Danny the “most talented sports talk radio host”
-43:13: Feelings of ESPN embracing digital for shows compared to his situation
-46:41: Landing dream job at a young age
-48:12: Working with Dan McNeil
-49:28: Having a say in a co-host after Dan was fired?
-51:07: Caleb Williams
-52:37: Divide over trading the pick or drafting Williams?
-53:42: Fans concerned about Williams’ eccentricities?
-54:36: Being friends with Nick Wright

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Guest host Jessica Kleinschmidt interviews ESPN MLB reporter Buster Olney. Jessica and Buster discuss a wide range of topics including the slow pace of the MLB offseason, Scott Boras taking some losses in negotiations, helping Buster Posey be more media friendly, and more.
NOTE: We recorded with Buster on Friday March 22, so in between recording and posting, some details about the Shohei Ohtani/Ippei Mizuhara gambling story have been updated.
For even more discussion, head over to awfulannouncing.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube: @awfulannouncing.
-:43: Baseball coverage changing over the years
-2:26: Relationship with players changing
-3:55: Clubhouse access
-6:00: Waiting around
-7:42: Covering Chuck Knoblauch during the "yips"
-9:30: Helping Buster Posey be more media friendly
-12:57: Embracing players as people in terms of social media
-14:16: Benefit to players having their wall back up?
-15:06: Embracing social media at the start
-16:04: Do the positives outweigh the negatives on social media?
-18:01: Buster being able to separate from work in his personal life
-21:06: This offseason compared to past years
-23:52: Who is a “middle class” MLB player?
-25:36: Players speaking up
-26:35: Buster’s take on a salary cap in MLB
-27:45: Top paying players involved in salary cap discussions?
-28:52: Scott Boras conspiracy theory
-31:26: TV concerns
-32:52: Increase in opt-out contracts
-34:54: Shohei Ohtani
-38:23: Ippei Mizuhara gambling scandal
-40:42: Personal relationship with an interpreter
-42:47: How would this go if it didn’t involve Ohtani?
-43:33: Not really unchartered territory
-45:20: Shock factor of Ohtani news
-46:42: Joey Votto
-48:49: Reds not bringing Votto back
-49:56: Votto’s potential post-playing future

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Host Brandon Contes interviews MMA reporter Ariel Helwani. Brandon and Ariel discuss a wide range of topics including discovering mixed martial arts and going to school to cover the sport, Dana White running the UFC, Joe Rogan as a UFC commentator, 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.-:45: Confidence level on the New York Knicks-4:05: Why be a fan of the Knicks instead of the Bulls in the 90s?-5:54: MMA fandom-9:20: Famous classmates at Syracuse-11:15: MMA as a stepping stone?-12:55: MMA 20 years from now?-15:05: Covering UFC for Fox and ESPN-18:29: Benefits to working with a big company rather than being independent?-20:32: Anticipating roadblocks at ESPN?-22:32: Leaving ESPN-24:24: Why is ESPN deal with UFC important?-26:30: UFC recognizing the value ESPN is bringing-27:36: Why did Ariel’s relationship with Dana White sour?-32:53: Does Ariel miss going to events?-34:58: How is Ariel perceived by UFC fans?-37:35: Did ESPN attempt to foster a conversation between Ariel and Dana?-39:45: Dana White, UFC, and the media-41:54: Does Ariel think that White thinks Ariel is good or bad for MMA?-44:19: Sean Strickland’s response to Alexander Lee’s question about Strickland’s previous anti-LGBTQ posts-47:32: White’s “freedom of speech” mandate for the UFC-50:20: ESPN’s lack of response to Strickland compared to network going after other athletes for controversial things they said-55:10: What is Dana White’s best quality?-57:30: Relationship with Joe Rogan-1:00:46: Kids being fans of UFC-1:02:14: Covering boxing in Saudi Arabia-1:06:01: Biggest thing Ariel does to be a great interviewer
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Host Brandon Contes interviews ESPN WNBA and college basketball analyst and Basketball Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo. Brandon and Rebecca discuss a wide range of topics including Caitlin Clark and the growth of women's college basketball, going to the White House to interview Barack Obama filling out his bracket, her reaction to Kim Mulkey's comments, 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: How Rebecca and husband Steve Rushin met-3:03: How does Steve feel about the WNBA now?-4:38: Viewpoint of athletes now being on the media side-6:18: Being interested in media-7:37: Envisioning top women’s college basketball games doing better ratings than the NBA-9:05: Importance of Caitlin Clark to women’s college basketball’s growth-10:51: Clark’s impact on women’s college basketball already changing the WNBA?-12:08: Jay Williams’ Caitlin Clark take-13:52: Getting caught up in a take-15:08: Maya Moore “nasty woman’ comment-16:51: Filling out a bracket with Barack Obama-18:00: Going to the White House -19:01: Playing in the 1996 Olympics-20:20: Excitement level of the start of the WNBA at the time-21:23: Envisioning the WNBA 25 years later?-22:10: Equality among women’s and men’s college basketball-24:21: Last year’s championship game on ABC-25:39: Frustrating that women’s college basketball and WNBA constantly need to prove to be on a bigger platform?-26:51: NIL helping grow the WNBA?-28:04: NIL in college sports-29:10: College coaches expressing disdain for NIL-31:13: South Carolina-LSU fight, Kim Mulkey’s comments-33:17: Added excitement calling title games-34:20: Preparing for NCAA Tournament-35:45: Relationship between WNBA and media-38:03: Are there enough beat reporters at games every day in order to build trust with players?-40:04: Does the WNBA get unfairly judged in comparison to the NBA?-41:15: Steph Curry-Sabrina Ionescu competition at the NBA Skills Challenge-42:51: Ryan Ruocco-44:11: Knowing when to lay out for the play-by-play voice-45:42: Ruocco growing with the WNBA-47:36: Doris Burke-50:05: Working NBA games?-53:02: Coaching at the college or pro level?
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