The Backyard Banter Podcast

Status update - Season 1 and what to expect going forward by Matt Harmon

Rotoworld's Patrick Daugherty, better known as RotoPat, joins the podcast for "The Jack Bauer Episode". The venerable blurb master digs into his backstory that brought him to his position in the industry, while reflecting on the state of the business at large. Pat not only brings excellent perspective on what you need to do to crack into the football world, he does so with a dash of humor and quick wit.

Highlights from this episode include:

- Another perspective on whether pursuing a degree in journalism school is worth the trouble, and what the real keys behind it are.

- Bringing humor into your writing, and why we might not want to take this all so seriously.

- Why reading makes your writing better, so keep on doing it.

- The importance of saying yes to every potential opportunity that comes down the line, no matter how small.

- The foolishness both of us embody on Twitter.

If you haven't noticed, I have/had a lot of bosses in this life. In episode 23 of the podcast, we were joined by Eric Galko, the Owner of and Scouting Director at Optimum Scouting. As so many aspire to do, Eric grew a team of writers into a full-blown scouting service that provides an asset to several pro teams and All-Star game companies. The Optimum Scouting model provides a great template for aspiring members at multiple layers of the football industry. Whether you desire a scouting, writing or business position, you will gain a wealth of insight from Galko's appearance.

Highlights from this episode include:

?- How a background in finance and law influenced Eric to take more interest in the business side of football.

- Why Eric enjoys some of the "off internet" portions of the job, including working with agents and thinking from a team perspective.

- The importance of character in the evaluation process, but why it is complicated and his experience with Connor Cook's parents this season.

- Eric notes that scouts are paying attention to interviews, why they are becoming important for Optimum Scouting and story on talking to Braxton Miller this draft season.

- Taking an interest in not only the players we cover as human beings, but also why Eric loves helping grow the following of lesser known analysts on Twitter by hiring them at Optimum Scouting.

Episode 22: TJ Hernandez - In some roundabout way by Matt Harmon

In a long anticipated episode, my NFL Fantasy colleague and roommate Alex Gelhar makes his appearance on the podcast. Alex shares the winding path that took him from a fledgling career in the entertainment industry, to working for the NFL as a digital features producer, and eventually landing in the fantasy department. There is a ton of great advice for start-up writers in addition to fun stories about Alex and the fantasy team's inner-workings at NFL.com.

Highlights from this episode include:

- Growing up in Wisconsin in Packers culture, and how Alex's positions as "beer boy" eventually got him a spot in his first fantasy league.

- Alex's start in the entertainment industry and his eventual landing with the NFL.

- A peak into some of the more corporate aspects of our job and his politicking leadership role with our team.

- Taking the time to immerse yourself in you side interests and why that is important to staying sane and driven while covering sports.

- Staying hungry and never being satisfied with where you are.

For episode 20 we get triple the fun as all three members of The Fantasy Footballers podcast stop in to discuss how they built up their hit show. Mike Wright and Andy Holloway go over the origins of the show as a mere private league trash talk tool, before Jason Moore shares the perspective he brought to round out the program. The trio's collective vibe, but also individual personalities certainly show through in their appearance as they share the experience of a grassroots podcast that made it big.

Highlights from this episode include:

- How the ballers' show originally started as just a medium to discuss their own private league.

- What each individual member of the show brings and the value in forming a tight-knit team.

- Why it is key to make sure you show appeals to all audiences, simple enough for beginners but intelligent enough for advanced players.

- Always staying true to being fans of the game and keeping perspective in your interactions with others.

- Being true to yourself while never staging anything is the best way to grow an audience.

Episode 19 brings us Jessica Kleinschmidt of FanDuel Insiders, to dish on her backstory and place in the industry today. Jess and I discuss navigating some of the more niche parts of the industry, at least when we aren't sparring about baseball. She brings a unique perspective on being a woman in the business, but also just how to always stay positive and confident in all of life's dealings.

Highlights from this episode include:

- What led Jess to leave her comfortable government job to work in sports full-time.

- The complications that followed that decision but why it was always the right call.

- Jess' feelings on the #MoreThanMean video and what her experience is as a female in the sports world.

- How she uses her unique perspective as a woman to an advantage and makes herself an asset by doing so.

- Why confidence in yourself will always be the most important trait regardless of your field.

We get titanic as industry giant Evan Silva, the senior football editor of Rotoworld, joins us for the 18th episode of the podcast. Evan takes a look back at his own beginning and explains why the industry looks much different now than it did in those days. Through the layers of our discussion Evan reveals why he takes some of the approaches he does and what he looks for in other writers.

Highlights from this episode include:

- How a good amount of pestering led Evan to get his foot into the door at Rotoworld.

Why Evan is always willing to boost other writers up and never hesitates to share good work.

- The importance of podcasts and constantly consuming information in a convenient way.

- A discussion on whether there should even be a war between film and metrics analysts, or if the two sides are better off together.

- Evan's thoughts on DFS and whether the money or the puzzle it creates is the true appeal behind the game.

Episode 17: Jeff Risdon - It's hard to be in the middle by Matt Harmon

NFL Insider for FM1043 The Fan in Denver and senior writer for Footballguys, Cecil Lammey joins the podcast for the sixteenth episode. Cecil not only played a pivotal role in the beginnings of my story, but also shares the details of his own to provide a guide to aspiring writers. In one of the more inspirational episodes yet, Cecil brings fantastic perspective to not only growing in this industry, but also to approaching life as a whole.

Highlights from this episode include:

- Cecil's background growing up in the country and how it brought him to love football with his family.

- How his setbacks in the comic book industry changed his course into chasing a dream as a radio analyst.

- Why Cecil believes the most important thing in life is to just be good to other people.

- His relationship with his mentors and what he believes is the biggest reason they helped him along his path.

- Being good to players, and remembering that this is their story and they deserve the glory in this all.