Award-winning actor Ben Affleck headlines a cast for a new movie, The Way Back, directed by Gavin O'Connor.  Both Affleck and O'Connor are guests on this podcast.  On the show, Affleck talks about learning how to be a basketball coach. Plus, he offers his opinion on his favorite baseball team, the Boston Red Sox.

O'Connor joined the show on the actual day that was the 40th anniversary of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team.  He directed "Miracle" and offered stories about his dealings with legendary coach Herb Brooks.

In the film, a former student basketball player, now an adult struggling with alcoholism, is offered a coaching job at his alma mater. As the team starts to win, he may have a reason to confront his old demons.

Additionally, 4 other cast members appear on this podcast. Will Ropp, Brandon Wilson, Melvin Gregg, Charles Lott Jr all play members of the high school basketball team.  All four of them discuss playing basketball players, and how they had to have some basketball ability during the audition process.

The Way Back is in theaters March 6, 2020.

238. Ben Affleck and the Cast of "The Way Back"

Every guest is a friend. Or a friend of a friend.  (We play Jewish Geography)

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John Smoltz was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015 after a 21-year career, 20 of which were spent with the Atlanta Braves.  Smoltz is currently the lead analyst for MLB Coverage on FOX Sports. Smoltz is an 8-time All-Star and a 1995 World Series champion. He won the NL CY Young Award in 1996 with a blistering 24-8 record. After an arm injury, he converted to a reliever in 2001 and set NL saves record in 2002 with 55. He is the only pitcher in history to record 200 career wins,150 saves, and 3,000 strikeouts.

Smoltz is participating in the Invited Celebrity Classic which is a nationally televised PGA Tour Champions competition that features 78 PGA Tour Champions and 40 sports and entertainment stars. The event occurs between April 19-21, 2024, at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas.  It is live on the Golf Channel all three days. Golfers include Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Retief Goosen, Lee Janzen, and Colin Montgomerie.  Other sports athletes include Smoltz teammates Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux.  Former Sports with Friends guests Derek Lowe, Mark Mulder, and Pudge Rodriguez. Also, former players Jon Lester, Joe Carter, Kevin Millar,  Tony Romo, Albert Pujols, Brian Urlacher, Adam Thielen, and Robbie Gould.

In this episode, Smoltz talks about how the younger fans know him from his announcing days on FOX. He also talks about the evolution of the sport, and what works and what doesn’t. He talks extensively about playing for Bobby Cox and the role Golf played both during his baseball career and in the years since he retired.

450. MLB Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz

In 2023, Phil Nevin held his first major league managerial position, managing the Los Angeles Angels. Before that, Nevin played 12 big league seasons between 1995 and 2006 for the Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, Anaheim Angels, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, and Minnesota Twins. He has previously served as a coach for the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees.

Nevin joined the show to discuss both his playing and managing career. He also offered unique first-hand insight into Shohei Ohtani, whom he managed with the Angels. He also discussed Aaron Judge, who he coached with the Yankees in 2022.

Nevin was also a mutual friend of the late Darryl Hamilton. Part of the conversation is sharing stories of Hambone.

Nevin is participating in the Invited Celebrity Classic which is a nationally televised PGA Tour Champions competition that features 78 PGA Tour Champions and 40 sports and entertainment stars. The event occurs between April 19-21, 2024, at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas.  It is live on the Golf Channel all three days. Golfers include Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Retief Goosen, Lee Janzen, and Colin Montgomerie.  Other sports athletes include Nevin, Tom Glavine, Jon Lester, Joe Carter, Kevin Millar,  Greg Maddux, Tony Romo, Albert Pujols, Brian Urlacher, Adam Thielen, and Robbie Gould.

Next week, hall-of-famer John Smoltz, who is participating, joins the show.

449. Former MLB Player/Manager Phil Nevin

Jim Duquette was a longtime baseball executive. He served as General Manager of both the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles. He began working as a broadcaster first for MLB.COM, then Sirius/XM Satellite Radio.  In 2009-2010, he hosted “Power Alley” with Seth Everett. Recently, he has also been a baseball analyst for Sportsnet New York (SNY).

In this episode, Duquette reflects on the transition from the front office to the broadcast booth.  He also discussed the various shows that he hosted with Seth. He then gives his take on the current way baseball is played, and how analytics have changed the overall product.

In 2012, Duquette was in the Mets radio booth for Johan Santana's no-hitter, the first no-hitter in New York Mets history.

Finally he gives a medical update on his daughter, who is thriving after Jim donated his kidney to her, also in 2012.

448. Former GM-turned-Broadcaster Jim Duquette

Ronnie Lane is a longtime talk show host in many markets over his long and illustrious career.  For the last decade, he has been a host on “Ronnie and TKras” on WDAE sports radio in Tampa, Florida.  Recently, Ronnie announced he was leaving the long-running talk show to take a hosting role in Tampa Bay Rays and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coverage for the station.

In this episode, Ronnie explains what led to this decision, and how the role has evolved over the years. He also talked about the ability to discuss the state of the Rays franchise and their stadium woes as well as on-field daily stories. He also explained how in the post-Tom Brady era, Bucs football is at an all-time fever pitch in the city.  He also laments that the Tampa Bay Lightning have created an event around their games, and the fan base has taken off just as the population in Tampa/St. Petersburg has grown.

447. WDAE (Tampa) Host Ronnie Lane

Everett Fitzhugh has been the radio voice of the NHL's Seattle Kraken since the team's inception in 2021.  Fitzhugh has the distinction of being the first and only African American play-by-play announcer in the NHL or any other level in hockey.  His career began in various minor leagues including stops in Cincinnati and Youngstown.  He called a pre-season game between the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins in 2018.

In this episode, Fitzhugh speaks about the significance of being the first black NHL announcer.  He tells the story about how he got connected to the Kraken and his upbringing in Detroit.  His fandom for the Red Wings in the mid-90s sparked his passion for hockey.

Fitzhugh also has the distinction of being the first “Everett” interviewed on Sports with Friends.

238. Ben Affleck and the Cast of "The Way Back"

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