Sports With Friends

Continuing a trend of having top-flight play-by-play announcers who under normal circumstances are too busy traveling around the country to do the podcast, this episode features 3rd-year radio voice of the New York Knicks, Ed Cohen.

Ed recently became a father and is in the midst of his 3rd season calling Knicks games. He talked about TV vs. radio, what being with the Knicks and Madison Square Garden means to him, and his thoughts on the current state of the NBA. Plus, they go over the various plans on how sports can and should be returning.

In the 250th episode of Sports with Friends, longtime play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle joins the show. Ian currently calls play-by-play for the NFL on CBS, the NBA on TNT, and the Brooklyn Nets on the YES Network. He also calls NFL games for Westwood One and also calls matches for the Tennis Channel.

In 1994, Seth interned for Ian at WFAN. In this episode, they discuss those times together. Eagle clears up a discrepancy in the history between the two. He also discusses his busy play-by-play schedule, his time at Syracuse University, and his start at WFAN.

His son, Noah Eagle, is the radio voice of the Los Angeles Clippers and came on this show back on Episode 217.

One of the busiest broadcasters in sports today, Kenny Albert is stuck at home during the COVID-19 quarantine, so he had time to join the show. The conversation started with the state of the sports world, but the majority of the chat was about his busy life.

Albert is a play-by-play announcer for the NFL on FOX, the Rangers and Knicks on MSG Network (radio and television), and the NHL on NBC. Albert discusses his amazing schedule, how he manages to maintain his preparation, and how he followed in his iconic father Marv Albert's footsteps.

They also get into all the story parallels between their lives and basically play Jewish Geography.

Follow Kenny @KennyAlbert

2 longtime Major League Baseball veterans reunited for a show on Seth's new Twitch channel. The original plan was for Jones to hang out on Twitch and then welcomed in his longtime Minnesota Twins teammate. The conversation turned into an in-depth open conversation about the possibility of having an MLB in the time of COVID-19. The chat evolved into an honest chat about the Astros cheating scandal, the proliferation of Home Runs and Strikeouts in MLB, and how the game has changed since their playing days.

Hunter played for the Twins, the Los Angeles Angels, and the Detroit Tigers from 1997-2015. He was a five-time All-Star and won nine consecutive gold gloves. Jones played for the Twins, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, and Cincinnati Reds from 1999-2008.

In the time of COVID-19, the impact on Minor League Baseball has been felt as much as any small business. MiLB owner and native New Yorker Gary Green is the owner of the Montgomery Biscuits, Omaha Storm Chasers, and Richmond Flying Squirrels. He's also Baseball America Managing Partner, and USL Soccer team owner, Gary has donated 45,000 masks to medical facilities in the Omaha-area.

In this episode, Green addresses the threat of both the Coronavirus and MLB in trying to contract up to 40 Minor League teams and how the shutdown of MLB has impacted that activity.

Follow Gary on Twitter @UnionChasersCEO

In this time of quarantine, the sports world has stopped. What about the new media? What about the viewers? What happens when sports come back? With the viewing habits constantly changing, what will the halt in entertainment mean for the sports fan? Will digital streaming services make sports a priority upon its eventual return?

All these questions were posed to Media and Technology Analyst Rich Greenfield of Lightshed Partners. Greenfield recently took part in an NYVC Sports event and has been covering media for years.

Follow Rich on Twitter @RichLightShed.

On March 12, 2020, after a player in the NBA tested positive for COVID-19, the league suspended operations. The Denver Nuggets were playing the Dallas Mavericks on ESPN that night and were live when the historical announcement was made, changing the entire sports landscape. Ryan Ruocco and Doris Burke were calling that game.

Ruocco is a play-by-play announcer for ESPN and the YES Network calling NBA, WNBA, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Yankees. He goes back with Seth for over a decade from their days at 1050am ESPN New York together.

Follow Ryan on Twitter @RyanRuocco

Investigative Reporter TJ Quinn joins the show to discuss the current state of sports in the coronavirus pandemic. Quinn joined ESPN in November 2007 as an investigative reporter for ESPN's Enterprise Unit, which is charged with developing long-form, investigative features to be presented across multiple platforms.

In addition to discussing sports' role in this unbelievable time in the world, but as the conversation transferred to his illustrious career, the subject of the 20-year long friendship between Seth and TJ came up. The thread was the late Darryl Hamilton. Quinn covered Hambone during his time as a Mets beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Seth and Bone began their friendship in 2003. Both Seth and TJ told amazing tales of their time with Darryl. The diversion is both fun and sentimental as the tangent became the best part of the episode.

Acclaimed baseball writer Jared Diamond makes his 2nd appearance on the show. This recording was at the end of March 2020, and was supposed to coincide with the opening of the 2020 Baseball season. The coronavirus pandemic made that impossible, so Diamond opens the show with the latest on MLB's hopes to save the season.

Then, they get into his 1st book, "Swing Kings: The Inside Story of Baseball's Home Run Revolution." They talk about the new methods that take place in baseball, and the unique origins and methods used to change the game. That also becomes a debate on whether all these changes are good for the sport.

2 days before he was the first NBA Player and Sports Rudy Gobert tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus, he was at a press conference where he playfully touched a bunch of reporters' microphones. One of the people who were in that room, Ben Anderson, joins the show for this special episode.

Anderson covers the Utah Jazz for KSLsports.com and does Jazz pre and post-game shows for select games.

On the show, he explains Gobert's intentions, which were very criticized when the video of him went viral. He also explains his personal reaction when he heard that Gobert tested positive and that he had had such direct connection to him just days before.

Anderson also explains his reaction to the NBA suspending its season, and offers suggestions about what to do when its finally time to resume sports.