Let's Huddle with Ed Cunningham

Oscar and Emmy winning director TJ Martin discusses growing up with parents who were in a pioneering rock band in early ‘80s Seattle, making movies about beer pong, Tina Turner and a high school football team in Memphis, along with his process and goals of storytelling. If you want to prep for or follow up after listening with TJ’s work, a good start would be "Last Cup", "Undefeated", "LA92" and "Tina". This episode is meant for a mature audience, and there are discussions of assault and trauma.

Mexican filmmaker Louisa Merino is an open water, long distance swimmer who met the subject of her documentary, “Jerry’s Last Mission”, while training in the pool. The beautiful, deeply moving film is about the fighter pilot who flew the last combat mission over Japan in World War II and was confronted by his enemy decades after the war when his youngest son moved to Japan and married the daughter of a Kamikaze pilot.

Emmy winner Patrick McManus has directed just about every sport in America and beyond but it was his desire to try something new that led him to “America Ninja Warrior” and opened up a whole new career path. We discuss his transition to the reality competition format, the challenges of bringing to life one of the most beloved shows on television, and what he is looking for out of a football announcer.

Golf lifer Doug Smith was the first Black player at the University of Louisville and recently worked on an all minority broadcast team covering a tournament for the Golf Channel – a first for a sport still struggling to connect with and promote diverse players and industry professionals. After finally giving up his dream of playing on the PGA Tour, it was the business of golf that pulled Doug into his adult life where he hosts two golf podcasts, works for a golf technology company, and just recently, as a golf analyst and reporter. Doug’s story is inspiring and his grit and ingenuity shine through. As they say in golf, Doug is a grinder. He just sort of figures things out.

Longtime sports radio host Doug Franz took his wife to Cooperstown on their honeymoon and then bounced around from market to market as he built his career before a cold tryout with a new partner in Phoenix led to one of the Valleys most successful, longest running morning shows. With “The Doug and Wolf Show” gone, and his wife unwilling to move again, Doug now hosts a podcast, “Doug Franz Unplugged”. He was kind enough to let me borrow this episode, as it was mostly him interviewing me for his show, but we also dug into Doug and his process. He is smart, does good radio and we talk about the Oscars, the NFL, amateur athletics and, of course, The Boz.

Legendary sportswriter E.M. Swift spent over thirty years writing for Sports Illustrated with a specialty in covering the Olympics. It was his coverage of the 1980 gold medal winning USA Olympic hockey team that cemented them and their against-all-odds victory as one of the greatest miracles in sports history. We talk about his background as a college hockey player, how he got started at S.I. and the one article – a retrospective of how a group of amateurs defeated the best teams in the world – that established Swift as a key source for our understanding and appreciation of sports long before the 24-hour news cycle and explosion of outlets covering the games that we play.

Award winning artist John Costacos helped cement sports stars as pop culture icons with inventive, stylized posters of players like Charles Barkley, Mark McGuire, Bo Jackson and Troy Aikman. Leaning into the aesthetics and mass-media sensibilities of the ‘80s and ‘90s, John and his brother’s company – the Costacos Brothers – were so good at what they did that they went from chasing deals to having stars call them asking for a poster of their own. We talk about how the company started, some of the biggest names and best photo shoots, their poster series featuring Don James, the legendary college football coach, and my favorite poster – The Land of Boz – which featured the viral-before-viral Brian “The Boz” Bosworth.

Three time Emmy winning director Greg Whiteley joins the show to discuss the smash hit Netflix series “Cheer”, and how season two was nearly derailed by the pandemic and then rocked by news that a star from season one was accused and charged with multiple crimes, including sexual exploitation of children. Whiteley and his team, the ones behind “Last Chance U” also on Netflix, pressed on and have created a new season set in the world of competitive college cheerleading that will be talked about and debated long after its release. Warning – the episode includes spoilers from “Cheer” season 2 and has discussions of sex crimes. It is intended for mature audiences.

ESPN’s trailblazing broadcaster Beth Mowins – the first ever woman to call play by play for an NFL and NBA game – grew up an athlete in a sports-loving family when she realized that very few woman were working to call games. Rather than seeing closed doors, she saw an opportunity. Now one of the best and most active game callers in the business, the former college point guard – who still leads her school in assists – is a master at setting up the action and her production teammates.

Ex-Raider and current Raider broadcaster Lincoln Kennedy was my teammate at the University of Washington and went on to an All-Pro NFL career on the field while becoming an entrepreneur and broadcaster off it. Learn about his rough start in the pros, his love of Raider Nation, his close relationship with Al Davis and how he transitioned into media and business.