The Finder With Tom Haberstroh Tom Haberstroh

One of my favorite people (and a favorite to so many others in the NBA universe), my friend Travonne “Tray” Edwards joins the pod at a very … let’s say transitional time in my life.
The copywriter at top ad agency Weiden-Kennedy / author of two books / confidante to NBA stars / Count The Dings co-founder / social media expert / Compton native / amazing teammate helps me untangle the web of emotions following my mother’s recent death.
First, the social media guru explains the memification of the Mexico aliens and how to game the Twitter/X/Instagram system. We ask: is it actually shameful to pay for Twitter Blue?
Then we get to the heavy stuff. The text he sent me after my mom died. Grief. Loss. Childhood trauma. Forgiveness and what it was like to have a mom who was 14. The difference between a mom and Mom. Gratitude. Spiritual healing. A lot.
Then he breaks some big news about Team USA.
As he texted me after, “it’s not a pod it’s a open convo.”
Enjoy. And go follow Tray.
Thank you to super producer Anthony Mayes.


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This week’s guest is ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback and terrific TV analyst for ESPN NFL Live and Monday Night Football. He’s also bff’s with my older brother Chuck.
This week on the pod, we discuss:
* Why don’t pro athletes play two sports anymore? My recent piece on Bo and Deion.
* Why specialization and year-round youth sports is “suffocating” kids
* Why Dan doesn’t want to parent like his father
* Did the end zone blooper make him a better TV analyst?
* Could Calvin Johnson have played in the NBA/MLB?
* Did the official NFL data get his first TD wrong?
* Why he loves to make fun of himself


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I was going to wait a bit before I launched a podcast on The Finder. And then on Tuesday, ESPN went ahead and announced ESPN The Sportsbook! Kinda.
I had lots of questions so I asked my two industry buddies/gurus to hop on — the Bens.
Ben Fawkes — formerly of ESPN Chalk, the gambling section of ESPN.com, and VSiN — came to us from Vegas to share his sports betting expertise from the inside.
Ben Aronson, a longtime media/marketing executive, weighs in on the sports business side.
A little rundown …
🔦 Why did this happen now? Was it the earnings call?
🔦 Why Penn? How much market share do they have?
🔦 How does this impact newsbreakers like Adam Schefter and Adrian Wojnarowski? Is this why Woj all of a sudden stopped tipping his NBA Draft picks?
🔦 Will this make ESPN’s app indispensable?
🔦 Should ESPN restrict what kind of bets ESPN Bet offers? Should employees be allowed to gamble on sports?
So … what’s your bet on how this plays out?


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Wondering where Habershow went? They boarded the pirate ship with Meadowlark Media. Subscribe to Basketball Illuminati now
Tired of agenda-driven basketball talk that only offers glimpses of the truth? Wish there was a place you could get the full picture? Basketball Illuminati offers you salvation. Go behind the scenes with insider analysis previously restricted from the general public. Fearless NBA Insiders Amin Elhassan and Tom Haberstroh peel back the curtain on the “why” things happen in the NBA.
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Amin and Tom break down the ramifications of the CJ McCollum trade, what it means for the future of the organization, how Damian Lillard will handle the breakup, and Tom's Trivia indicates how much of an outlier the pairing has been in NBA history.
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Tom and Amin are joined by just another kid from Akron, Rachel DeMita, to discuss her celebrity game resume, Shaq's life advice, the shell game that is the college recruiting process, H-O-R-S-E strategies, Barberton's famous fried chicken, and so much more.
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