The Sports-casters

On the fourth episode of the sixth season of The Sports-Casters hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Adrian Dater (Bleacher Report) and Steven Hyden (Celebration Rock). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don look ahead to Super Bowl 50, riff about John Scott and the NHL All-Star game and Calvin Johnson's pending retirement. The book club formally introduces the new first book of 2016 called This is Your Brain on Sports: The Science of Underdogs, the Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn from the T-Shirt Cannon by Jon Wertheim and Sam Sommers. Finally, the show ends with Don chatting about the untapped market of e-sports and Steve talks about Joe Buck's love of Pearl Jam. -Adrian Dater is making his third appearance (00:23:23) on the podcast. Adrian talks about his recent Bleacher Report piece on Jack Eichel. Dater talks about Jack on and off the ice, tries to understand what drives him, and compares his rookie season to Nate McKinnon's. Dater also talks about the All-Star Game, the Kennedy Compo

On the third episode of the sixth season of The Sports-Casters hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Josh Levin (Slate, Shut Up and Listen) and David Shoemaker (Cheap Heat, ESPN). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don look ahead to Super Bowl 50, riff about Blake Griffin breaking his hand on the face of a Clippers staffer, and look at the NHL's league leaders at the All-Star break. The book club formally introduces the new first book of 2016 called This is Your Brain on Sports: The Science of Underdogs, the Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn from the T-Shirt Cannon by Jon Wertheim and Sam Sommers. Finally, the show ends with Don earning his spot in the nerd Hall of Fame and Steve bashing Pro-Bowl replaced-replacement-replacements. -Josh Levin is making his first appearance (0:25:56) on the podcast to talk about writing and editing at Slate.com and being the host of the awesome Hang Up and Listen podcast. Steve and Josh geek out on podcast talk covering topics such as being nervous, booking gu

On the second episode of the sixth season of The Sports-Casters hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Bryan Curtis (Grantland) and Mike Harrington (The Buffalo News). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don talk about the NFL playoffs, the large number of underclassman entering the NFL Draft, and the strange saga of John Scott and the NHL All-Star Game. The book club update calls for support of That Metal Show and looks ahead to a Jon Wertheim project. Finally, the show ends with Don asking about when he should bring his daughter to Pearl Jam and Steve comparing Patrick Kane to Neil Peart. -Bryan Curtis is making his fifth appearance (00:32:18) on the podcast to catch up and talk about the end of Grantland. Bryan talks about his relationship with Chris Connelly, Bill Simmons, and explains why he wasn't surprised the day Grantland ended. Bryan also talks about watching the NFL playoffs as a fan, gives his dream location to watch a Cowboys game, and reminisces with Steve about past Super Bowls. I'm po

On the season premier of the sixth season of The Sports-Casters hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome SL Price (Sports Illustrated) and Chris Trapasso (NFL.com, Comeback Sports). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don talk about Alabama winning another National Championship, the NFL Playoffs, and Alexander Ovechkin scoring his 500th NHL goal. The book club has no books so Steve shares an anecdote about NFL Confidential. Finally, the show ends with Don talking about his expectations for the Sabres and Steve waxing poetic about Sean Payton. -SL Price is making his seventh appearance (00:24:08) on the podcast. Price joins us to talk about his piece on Serena Williams for the SI Sportsperson of the Year Award. Mr. Price explains why he thinks Serena was the right choice despite another tennis player having a better season, why the horse would have been a bad choice, and how this piece compares to the Sportsperson piece he wrote about Dwayne Wade. Mr. Price also talks about the National Championship gam

On the season finale of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, Steve Bennett and Don Russ host the first ever clip show. Joe Buck, Linda Cohn, Anthony Cumia, and Molly Knight all are featured in a season five review. Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss the HGH speculation surrounding Peyton Manning, Oklahoma and Joe Mixon embarrassing themselves at the College Football Playoff media day, and the Yankees risky trade. The season closes with Don riffing on Christmas morning at the Russ house and Steve singing the praises of the great Drew Brees.

On the fortieth episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Jimmy Traina (Fox Sports), and Ryan Aber (The Oklahoman, Newsok.Com). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Adam Lazarus (Don is absent today with a scheduled case of scurvy) discuss the injuries in the NFL, Derrick Henry winning the Heisman, and Pat Kane and the Warriors having their incredible streaks end. The book club features a new book by the Puck Daddy Greg Wyshynski and for the first time a CD. The show ends with the Steve droning on (as he did almost the entire episode) about why he thinks a horse should have been named Sportsman of the Year. -Jimmy Traina is making his third appearance (00:41:38) on the podcast. Traina is back to talk about Howard Stern and his announcement that he is returning to SiriusXM for another 5 years. Traina gives his initial reaction to the announcement, how he sees the future of the show, and if he agrees with the direction of the comedy. Jimmy also talks about

On the thirty-ninth episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Lee Jenkins (Sports Illustrated, SI.Com), and Don Jamieson (That Metal Show, Comic). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss the College Football Playoffs, the playoff picture in the NFL, and Pat Kane's record setting point streak. The book club features a new book by the Puck Daddy Greg Wyshynski and for the first time a CD. The show ends with the Steve and Don talking about the retirement of Neil Peart and the death of Scott Weiland. -Lee Jenkins is making his twenty-first appearance (0:20:16) on the podcast to discuss the first 20-ish games of the NBA season. Jenkins explains what makes the undefeated Warriors so good, the continued excellence of the Spurs, and who can challenge the Cavaliers in the eastern conference. Lee also talks about the last several first overall picks, the Knicks striking gold, and the career of Kobe Bryant. -Don Jamieson is making his first appearance (01

On the thirty-eighth episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Joe Buck (Fox Sports), and Dan Levy (The Comeback, Awful Announcing). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss Oklahoma securing a spot in the College Football Playoffs, the playoff picture in the NFL, and Pat Kane's record setting point streak. The book club features a new book by the Puck Daddy Greg Wyshynski and for the first time a CD. The show ends with the Steve talking about the future of Howard Stern. -Joe Buck is making his first appearance (00:29:08) on the podcast. Joe joins us to talk about calling the World Series in a three man booth, working with Troy Aikman, and tells a story about a special guest in the booth with him when the Saints won the NFC Championship Game. Joe also talks about his new show on the Audience Network, Undeniable. Joe talks about how the idea for the show came to be, we compare the interview style to the interviews done by Howard Stern, and Joe rev

On the thirty-seventh episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Jim Florentine (That Metal Show, Comedy Metal Midgets), and Greg Wyshynski (Puck Daddy, Author). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss Ronda Rousey being knocked out, the end of Jeff Gordon's career, and check in on the top teams in sports. The book club features a new book by the Puck Daddy Greg Wyshynski and for the first time a CD. The show ends with the Steve talking about a live edition of That Metal Show. -Jim Florentine is making his third appearance (00:17:35) on the podcast. Jim talks about his new CD with friend Don Jamieson, "Terrorizing Telemarketers, Volume 6." Jim explains why it took six years since the last CD, explains the legalities of publishing the phone calls, and how the business of selling CDs has changes since the last volume. Florentine also talks about what has gone wrong with the Dolphins, the development of Ryan Tannehill, and being annoyed with the NFL

On the thirty-sixth episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Adam Lazarus (Author), and Ed Sherman (Sherman Report, Chicago Tribune). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss injuries to Andrew Luck and Ben Roethlisberger, the NCAA investigating Leonard Fournette, and the NHL Hall of Fame class of 2015. The book club is back with this year's edition of The Best American Sports Writing Series and a new book by the Puck Daddy Grey Wyshynski. The show ends with the Steve talking about the injury to Seth Rollins. -Adam Lazarus has appeared as a guest and a host (00:32:03) on the podcast. Aaron stops by today to promote his new book, "Hail to the Redskins: Gibbs, the Disel, the Hogs, and the Glory Days of D.C.'s Football Dynasty." Adam and Steve also talk about the first half of the NFL season. Adam explains why he thinks the Patriots are the best, what he thinks when he watches Peyton Manning, and why he thinks the Giants are the NFL's sleeping beas

On the thirty-fifth episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Tim Graham (The Buffalo News), and Matt Yoder (Awful Announcing). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series, the injury to Connor McDavid, and the fall of Colin Kaepernick. The book club is back with this year's edition of The Best American Sports Writing Series and a new book by a podcast favorite. The show ends with the guys saying goodbye to Grantland. -Tim Graham is making his fifth appearance (00:38:47) on the podcast to discuss the fallout of the Patrick Kane case and his inclusion in this year's Best American Sports Writing anthology. Tim talks about covering the Kane case, dealing with trolls on twitter, and explains why he thinks it was handled fairly by the authorities. Tim also talks about the impact of his story on Darryl Talley, explains how it ended up being submitted for consideration by BASW, and explains why he was so prou

On the thirty-fourth episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Jeff Passan (Yahoo! Sports), and Eddie Trunk (That Metal Show, SiriusXM). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss the start of the World Series, the end of the Ryan Mallet era in Houston, and wonder if Jonathan Quick is a great goaltender. The book club is back with this year's edition of The Best American Sports Writing Series and a new book by a podcast favorite The show ends with one last thing on pass interference in the NFL and the television show, Fargo. -Jeff Passan is making his eleventh appearance (0:25:12) on the podcast. Jeff is literally headed from Kaufmann Stadium to the airport after game 2 of the World Series to sleep for a few hours and head to New York City. For some reason we start off with some chatter about Jackson Dell'Abate before getting into the first two games of the World Series. Jeff and Steve talk about the Royals stronghold on the series, second guess th

On the thirty-third episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, Steve is forced to host alone as Don battles yet another bout of scurvy. Steve welcomes guests Katie Baker (Grantland), and Jeff Pearlman (Author). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve sort of abandons 3Things out of fear of bombing and instead briefly explains why he has decided to avoid a planned bit with the first lady. The book club still features this year's edition of The Best American Sports Writing Series and Steve updates his attempts at luring Wright Thompson to the show for an interview. The show ends with Steve ignoring his intuition and doing the bit he knew would bomb with the first lady. The bit bombs. -Katie Baker is making her seventh appearance (0:06:01) on the podcast to talk about her week long stay in the most beautiful city in the world, Buffalo, NY. Katie talks about the development in the city thanks to that Pegula money, going to a Bills game, and Bufalo's love affair with Jack Eichel. Katie talks about 3 on 3 ov

On the thirty-second episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Adrian Dater (Bleacher Report), and Kenny Albert (Fox Sports, New York Rangers). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss the start of the NHL season, the baseball playoffs, and a slew of college football news. The book club is back with this year's edition of The Best American Sports Writing Series and a mid week podcast update. The show ends with Steve and Don making their predictions for the 2015-2016 NHL season. -Adrian Dater is making his second appearance (00:16:15) on the podcast. Adrian talks about transitioning from a team beat writer for a local newspaper to a national writer for Bleacher Report. Dater recalls his favorite moments covering the Avalanche for twenty years, dishes on the stories he is following at the start of the new NHL season, and makes a Stanley Cup prediction. -Kenny Albert is making his fourteenth appearance (01:06:45) on the podcast. Kenny joins us to g

On the thirty-first episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Mike Tirico (ESPN, Monday Night Football), and Jonah Keri (Grantland, Baseball Tonight). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss the Dolphins firing their coach, the start of the MLB baseball playoffs, and the daily fantasy sports scandal. The book club is back with this year's edition of The Best American Sports Writing Series, and the show ends with Steve's thoughts on Jimmy Graham. -Mike Tirico is making his fourth appearance (0:32:50) on the podcast. Mike talks about another crazy ending to a Monday Night Football game in Seattle, how the broken rule was discovered behind the scenes and the mechanics of bringing it to the air. Mike also talks about calling the U.S. Open, Serena Williams season, and the ESPN micro site, The Undefeated. -Jonah Keri is making his tenth appearance (01:11:58) on the podcast. Jonah talks the start of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Jonah explains why

On the thirtieth episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Richard Deitsch (Sports Illustrated, SI.com), and SL Price (Sports Illustrated, SI.com). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss injuries to Drew Brees and Tony Romo and losses by the Saints and the Bills. Also, they look at the races for a spot in the MLB playoffs and put over Jaromir Jagr for thwarting an extortion attempt. Five on Fantasy returns and show closes with Steve and Don discussing their favorite stand up comedians. -Richard Deitsch is making his thirteenth appearance (00:28:13) on the podcast. Deitsch joins us to talk about the return of Bill Simmons. Who does Deitsch expect Simmons to have on his first podcast? What does Deitsch know about his deal with HBO? Also, Deitsch talks about the success of the MMQB and other spin off websites, the merits of several NFL broadcasting teams, and the success of his new podcast. -SL Price is making his sixth appearance (01:32:29) on t

On the twenty-ninth episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Ty Schalter (Bleacher Report), and Dan Wolken (USA Today). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss the first week of the NFL season, Oklahoma's big win over Tennessee, and the U.S. Open. The book club update focuses on Adam Lazarus' book about the Washington Redskins. The show closes with Steve and Don giving their predictions for the NFL season. -Ty Schalter is making his second appearance (0:24:06) on the podcast to talk about the first week of the NFL season. Ty explains why he is excited about Marcus Mariota, down on the Bills, and pumped about the future of Ameer Abdullah. Ty also explains why he is interested in Chip Kelly and the Eagles and skeptical that Sam Bradford will hold up. Steve and Ty also talk about the Saints and Lions playoff game from the 2011 season and Ty explains why the game may have been fixed by the NFL. -Dan Wolken is making his eighth appearance (0:52:20)

On the twenty-eighth episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome David Shoemaker (Grantland), and David de Sola (Author). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss the end of the Fred Jackson era in Buffalo and the news that Tyrod Taylor will start for the Bills at QB. Also, Steve and Don talk about the Pat Kane trade rumors and the start of the U.S. Open. The book club updates the Tom Brady news and talks more about Adam Lazarus' book about the Washington Redskins. The show closes with Steve ranting about his disgust for the video online that paints Danielson and the bad guy in The Karate Kid. -David Shoemaker is making his fifth appearance (0:23:38) on the podcast to talk about the business of professional wrestling. Shoemaker talks about SummerSlam, John Cena, and the screwy finishes at the end of the show. David also talks about the Jimmy Snuka case, Hulk Hogan's apology, and explains why a wrestler's ability to "always be working" blurs the lin

On the twenty-seventh episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Aaron Schatz (Football Outsiders), and Adam Lazarus (Author). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss the Jordy Nelson injury, Chris Carter's ridiculous advice, and Curt Schilling's dumb tweet. The book club talks more about the fantastic Alice in Chains book by David De Sola, and the show ends with OLT on a PC Howard Stern. -Aaron Schatz is making his fourth appearance (00:27:39) on the podcast. Aaron talks about the 2015 Football Outsiders Almanac and helps to preview the NFL season through the eyes of Football outsiders. Aaron explains why the Patriots win total doesn't change much if the Brady suspension is upheld or overturned, when the Rams are the sixth most likely team to win the Super Bowl, and how his website can help fantasy football players. -Adam Lazarus has appeared as a guest and a host (01:10:31) on the podcast. Aaron stops by today to promote his new book, "Hail to

On the twenty-sixth episode of the fifth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Lana Berry (The Lana Berry Podcast), and Bryan Curtis (Grantland). Starting the show with 3Things, Steve and Don discuss the injuries to Kelvin Benjamin and LeSean McCoy, Jason Day's dominance at the PGA Championship, and the race for the A.L. East title between the Blue Jays and the Yankees. The book club talks more about the fantastic Alice in Chains book by David De Sola, and the show ends with Steve and Don discussing SummerSlam. -Lana Berry is making her first appearance (00:22:40) on the podcast to talk about the Lana Berry Podcast featuring Lana Berry. Lana talks about why she started the show, how she got @lana on twitter, and how she build her impressive follower count. Lana also talks about how her looks have been a factor in her career, being a woman in the sports media, and makes some predictions for the rest of the baseball season. -Bryan Curtis is making his fourth appearance (01:01: