Former MLB Outfielder Johnny Damon played in the big leagues from 1995-2012. He came up with the Kansas City Royals and after a short stint with the Oakland A's, Damon signed a four-year contract with the Boston Red Sox. During his Red Sox tenure, he participated in the iconic ALCS between the Red Sox and the New York Yankees in 2003 and 2004. He also was a part of the '04 World Series championship, erasing the team's 86-year-old “Curse of the Bambino.” In 2006, he signed a free-agent contract with the archrival Yankees, ultimately winning his second World Series championship in 2009.In this episode, Damon discusses a new venture he's involved in with a new sports drink entitled “A-Game.” He also explains the process of leaving Boston for New York and how the Red Sox didn't offer him a contract. He also explains in detail the impact of former teammate Cory Lidle's untimely death from a plane crash in 2006 had on his life and career. He also talked about the 2005 movie “Fever Pitch,” and the impact that had on the 2004 team, and the fandom that followed it. Finally, he discusses the changes he sees in baseball since his playing career, including the recent mega-contract that Juan Soto signed with the Mets.For more information about A-Game: https://drinkagame.com/

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Longtime CBS Sports football and basketball studio host Adam Zucker is also a Syracuse alum. Continuing the string of having Syracuse alums on this podcast, Zucker graduated in 1998. After doing local TV and radio, he began working for a fledgling upstart cable network called College Sports Television or CSTV. CSTV was eventually acquired by CBS and has morphed into what is now known as the CBS Sports Network. Zucker has been a part of CBS football and basketball broadcasts.In this episode, Adam discusses his career ascension. He also weighs in on the recently released bracket for the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. He also discusses the growth of the NCAA basketball tournament, and the impact conference realignment has had on that sport.

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Claire Smith is a pioneer in sports writing. She was the first ever female Major League Baseball beat writer, covering the New York Yankees for five seasons starting in 1982. She became a national columnist and worked at the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, and later ESPN. In 2017, she was the first female to win the Baseball Hall of Fame's BBWAA Career Excellence Award, formerly the J. G. Taylor Spink Award. She is currently a professor at Temple University.In this episode, Smith tells stories from her illustrious career. She tells stories of both racism and sexism, including a 1984 incident where she was asked to leave the San Diego Padres clubhouse during the NLCS because she was a woman. She told stories about dear friends and allies Steve Garvey, Dave Winfield, Don Baylor, Dusty Baker, and countless others. She is an icon in her profession.

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Brian Geltzeiler is the founder of Hoopscritic, an NBA blog. He is a financial advisor who created a broadcasting career from that blog. Hoopscritic led to many radio appearances and eventually a job with Sirius/XM NBA Radio. He has also appeared on NBA TV.

In this episode, Geltzeiler explains his fantastic origin story. He goes into great detail about how his blog led to his radio appearances. He also talks about the NBA's recent new national broadcasting contracts and the recent deal to move the award-winning TNT show “Inside the NBA” to ESPN next season. He also covers the story of Bronny James' rookie season playing with his father, LeBron James. Also discussed is the race in the NBA's Eastern Conference between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.

In November 2024, longtime baseball announcer Dave Sims was named the new radio play-by-play voice of the New York Yankees. Sims replaces John Sterling who held the position since 1989. Sims has been the TV/Radio voice of the Seattle Mariners from 2007-2024. Sims has an extensive career and is one of the first voices on WFAN radio, the flagship station of Yankee games.In this episode, Sims tells the story of leaving Seattle for New York, and how this is all full circle for him. He discusses all of his stops along the way, having grown up in Philadelphia, and worked primarily in New York. Dave has called NFL football and NCAA college basketball in addition to baseball. He's also one of the original voices of MLB Radio in 2000/2001 and was instrumental in helping Seth leave Seattle ironically, and head to MLB.

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The southeast United States was impacted heavily by two hurricanes in October 2024. Hurricane Helene and Milton affected lives and property in many states, including Florida. On October 9th, Hurricane Milton destroyed the fiberglass roof of the ballpark this month, leaving it open to the elements. With the Rays set to open the season at home on March 27, there's unlikely time to put on a new roof. Adding to the issue is a plan for a new ballpark, tentatively scheduled to open in 2028. That begs the question, why repair the Trop just to tear it down? If the Rays cannot play there in 2025, where could they play?Tampa Bay Times reporter Marc Topkin joined the podcast to discuss the facts of the situation and present all the options for the baseball team. Topkin has covered the Rays for the Tampa Bay Times (formerly St. Petersburg Times) and http://tampabay.com since the very beginning. He offers a unique perspective on the problem facing the ballclub and has insight as to what options the team actually has and why.Disclaimer: This conversation is about a sports topic and it is not intended to put the needs of a baseball team ahead of the numerous people who have been impacted by both hurricanes. Donate to the American Red Cross here: https://www.redcross.org/

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The southeast United States was impacted heavily by two hurricanes in October 2024. Hurricane Helene and Milton affected lives and property in many states, including Florida. On October 9th, Hurricane Milton destroyed the fiberglass roof of the ballpark this month, leaving it open to the elements. With the Rays set to open the season at home on March 27, there's unlikely time to put on a new roof. Adding to the issue is a plan for a new ballpark, tentatively scheduled to open in 2028. That begs the question, why repair the Trop just to tear it down? If the Rays cannot play there in 2025, where could they play?Tampa Bay Times reporter Marc Topkin joined the podcast to discuss the facts of the situation and present all the options for the baseball team. Topkin has covered the Rays for the Tampa Bay Times (formerly St. Petersburg Times) and http://tampabay.com since the very beginning. He offers a unique perspective on the problem facing the ballclub and has insight as to what options the team actually has and why.Disclaimer: This conversation is about a sports topic and it is not intended to put the needs of a baseball team ahead of the numerous people who have been impacted by both hurricanes. Donate to the American Red Cross here: https://www.redcross.org/

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Chad Finn is a sports and sports media columnist for the Boston Globe. He is the editor of “The Boston Globe Story of the Red Sox” and the recently released “The Boston Globe Story of the Celtics.'' Finn joined the Globe from the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire in 2003 as a sports copy editor and page designer before moving to the writing side and taking over the sports media beat in 2009. He has won multiple Associated Press Sports Editors awards, including for a multimedia project in 2018 on LeBron James's time in the NBA summer league in Boston.In this episode, Finn discusses the process of gathering archival coverage of the Celtics and putting together the recent book. He also talks about the emergence of former Patriots greats Tom Brady and Bill Belichick on television. He also discusses the state of sports radio, specifically in Boston, and the future of Major League Baseball on television with upheaval surrounding the regional sports network and an upcoming negotiation with ESPN.Order The Boston Globe Story of the Celtics here: https://a.co/d/flWtNwW

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Former NBA Center Etan Thomas makes his second appearance on the show. At the time of this episode's release, the NBA season will commence in six days. This is the final season of the NBA on TNT, as there is a new television contract starting next season.Thomas played in the NBA from 2000 to 2011, mostly with the Washington Wizards. In college, he was a star at Syracuse. Now, he is a television commentator, blogger, author, and political and social activist.In this episode, Thomas discussed the unique situation in Los Angeles where LeBron James is playing with his son Bronny. He commented on the importance of the New York Knicks being competitive and if the Boston Celtics are primed for a repeat championship. He also discussed the emergence of the WNBA in popularity and ratings.

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Kevin Brown recently completed his 6th season calling Orioles games on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). Brown is a graduate of Syracuse University and worked in Syracuse with the AAA-baseball team, the Syracuse Chiefs. He is also a play-by-play announcer for ESPN.In this episode, Brown tells the story of his ascension to his current position with the O's. He also addressed the controversy last year where he was removed from the booth for a short time and the outpouring of support from the baseball, broadcast, and fan community. He also talked about the unique brethren Syracuse alums are in the broadcast industry, and comments on the various Cuse alums in the baseball broadcast industry.

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