The Sports-casters

On the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of The Sports-Casters hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Ben Reiter (Sports Illustrated, SI.Com), Blake J. Harris (Author) and Michael Beller (Sports Illustrated, SI.Com). Kicking off the show with 3Things, Steve and Don talk about the heartbreaking end to the World Cup for the United States, recap a busy first day of NHL free agency, and look back at all that happened while the guys were on summer vacation. Also on the show, the guys close out a busy month for the book club, talk mock drafts on five on fantasy, and end the show with one last thing. -Ben Reiter is making his seventh appearance (00:21:39) on the podcast to talk about this Sports Illustrated cover story on the Houston Astros rebuild. Reiter talks about pitching his longest story at SI to his editors and the Astros, his unprecedented access to the Astros draft room, and how their rebuild comparers to the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays. Reiter also chats about appearing on Chris Russo

On the eighteenth episode of the fourth season of The Sports-Casters hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Rob Stone (Fox Sports) and Matt Yoder (Awful Announcing). Kicking off the show with 3Things, Steve and Don talk about the NHL and NBA finals, California Chrome's disappointing run at the Belmont, and look ahead to the World Cup. Also on the show, the guys update a busy month for the book club and close it out with one last thing. -Rob Stone is making his first appearance (0:30:30) on the podcast. Rob joins us to preview the World Cup. Stone talks about the direction Jurgen Klinsmann is taking the United States, outlines a path out of the group for the Americans, and explains why imbalanced groups happen. Also, Stone is gentle despite the fact that Steve admits he is a traitor, highlights some of the teams most likely to win the tournament, and explains why he doesn't think the warm conditions will be that big of an advantage for the South American teams. -Matt Yoder is making his first appearance (0

On the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of The Sports-Casters hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Katie Baker (Grantland), Adam Rank (NFL Network, NFL.com, DDFP) and Pete Weber (Nashville Predators). Kicking off the show with 3Things, Steve and Don talk about the NHL and NBA finals, California Chrome's run for a triple crown, and a wrestler spreading STDs in the ring. Also on the show, the guys update a busy month for the book club, declare the greatest of all time from 1984, and close the show with one last thing. -Katie Baker is making her fourth appearance (00:21:06) on the podcast. Baker joins us as a New York Rangers super fan. Baker talks about the dilemma of being a Rangers fan while trying to cover the sport objectively. Baker talks about complaints from Rangers fans that she hasn't written about them this spring, considers overcompensating to protect he objectivity, and why writing for Grantland makes being a fan okay. Also, Baker talks about what it will take for the Rangers to defeat

On the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of The Sports-Casters hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome guest host Anthony Day (Yale Bulldog). The guys interview Tas Melas (The Starters), Brin-Jonathan Butler (Author) and SL Price (Sports Illustrated, SI.COM), and Tim Graham (The Buffalo News). Kicking off the show with 3Things, Steve, Don and Anthony talk about the NHL and NBA playoffs, Landon Donovan being left off of the United States World Cup team, and the tragic events that lead to the end of the Rory Mcilroy and Caroline Wozniacki engagement. Also on the show, the guys have some cool news about the book club, have a championship themed GOAT, and close the show with one last thing. -Tas Melas is making his fifth appearance (00:23:56) on the podcast to discuss the NBA playoffs. Melas explains why the Spurs have been able to put together another run towards the NBA Finals, what a loss to the Spurs would mean to the Thunder, and why things have been so easy for the Heat in the East. Melas also talks

On the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of The Sports-Casters hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Kenny Albert (NBC Sports Network, Fox Sports) and Richard Deitsch (Sports Illustrated, SI.com, themmqb.com). Kicking off the show with 3Things, Steve and Don talk about the NHL and NBA playoffs, the the NFL Draft, and Don tries to guess the top selling NFL jerseys since the draft. Also on the show, the guys have some cool news about the book club, give a new segment about uncommon opinions another shot, and close the show with one last thing. -Kenny Albert is making his twelfth appearance (00:30:51) on the podcast. Kenny talks about his busy spring calling NHL playoff games for the New York Rangers radio network and for the NBC Sports Network. Kenny has called four different playoff series this spring and explains how he prepares, keeps his voice healthy, and builds chemistry with his many different broadcast partners. Kenny also talks about working with a color man who is at ice level, how his unique

On the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of The Sports-Casters hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Robert Klemko (Sports Illustrated, TheMMQB), Jonah Keri (Grantland, Baseball Tonight), and Sean McIndoe (Down Goes Brown, Grantland). Kicking off the show with 3Things, Steve and Don talk about the NHL and NBA playoffs, the the NFL Draft, and try to guess who might be this year's Hard Knocks team. Also on the show, the guys update the book club featuring Jonah Keri's Expos book, debut a new segment about uncommon opinions, and close the show with one last thing. -Robert Klemko is making his first appearance (00:21:25) on the podcast. Robert stops by to talk about the NFL Draft. Klemko explains why he is concerned about Jadeveon Clowney's character, why Khalil Mack might be the safest pick in the first round, and what makes this year's wide receiver class so deep. Klemko also explains why the league's decision to push back the draft has resulted in several players taking high interest loans, why he th

On the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of The Sports-Casters hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome SL Price (Sports Illustrated, SI.Com), and Chris Burke (Sports Illustrated, SI.Com). Kicking off the show with 3Things, Steve and Don talk about the NHL and NBA playoffs, the NBA's decision to ban Don Sterling for life, and Don tries to guess the top selling NFL jerseys. Also on the show, the guys update the book club featuring Jonah Keri's Expos book, and close the show with one last thing. -SL Price is making his fourth appearance (0:27:38) on the podcast to discuss the retirement of Gary Smith, the future of long form writing on the internet, and the direction of Sports Illustrated under Jon Wertheim and Chris Stone. Price talks about the origin of his piece on Richard Ben Cramer and Alex Rodriguez. Price explains why he is never quite satisfied with his work, why he waits several months to read it, and when to let go. Also, Price is finally on twitter, he isn't going to Wimbledon, and an update o

On the twelfth episode of the fourth season of The Sports-Casters hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Lee Jenkins (Sports Illustrated, SI.Com), and Ben Reiter (Sports Illustrated, SI.Com). Kicking off the show with 3Things, Steve and Don talk about the start of the NHL and NBA playoffs, talk about a handful of NFL stories including an announcement of an announcement, and shockingly take Colin Cowherd's side on a poor attempt at race baiting by Deadspin. Also on the show, the guys update the book club featuring Jonah Keri's Expos book, and close the show with one last thing. -Lee Jenkins is making his seventeenth appearance (00:36:13) on the podcast to discuss the start of the NBA Playoffs. Jenkins explains why he thinks the Oklahoma City Thunder will win the West, why it only took him one game to change his pick in the East from Indiana to Miami, and why he thinks Joakim Noah deserves MVP consideration. Jenkins also tries to explain why the West is so much better than the East, why he always expects col

On the eleventh episode of the fourth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Greg Wyshynski (Puck Daddy Blog, Yahoo! Sports) Damon Hack (Golf Channel) and Sam Coatta (Union Dutchmen, National Champions) to the podcast. Kicking off the show with 3Things, Steve and Don look back at the Masters, look ahead to the Stanley Cup and NBA Playoffs, and talk about a Phil Ivey taking down a Casino for 12 million dollars. Also on the show, the guys preview and make picks for the first round of the NHL playoffs, start Jonah Keri month for the book club, and close the show with one last thing. -Greg Wyshynski is making his eighth appearance (0:19:21) on the podcast. Greg joins us to preview the first round of the NHL playoffs. Greg talks about the new playoff format and if he thinks brackets will be good or bad for the NHL. Greg also explains why he thinks that the Sharks vs. Kings is the best first round playoff matchup, talks about players that could potentially break out this spring, and

On the tenth episode of the fourth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Chris Ballard (Sports Illustrated, SI.Com) Jeff Pearlman (Author) and David Shoemaker (Grantland) to the podcast. Kicking off the show with 3Things, Steve and Don look back at the NCAA basketball tournament and UConn's 4th National Title since 1999, look ahead to the Frozen Four, and talk about a Masters without Tiger Woods. Also on the show, the guys declare six more things the greatest of all time (1991), look ahead to a busy few months for the book club, and close the show with one last thing. -Chris Ballard is making his third appearance (0:22:45) on the podcast. Chris joins us to talk about SI Longform, his piece on a dubious streak, and how Longform represents a new direction at SI. Ballard talks about the origin of his story, explains expectations at Division III schools, and talks about his own experience as a college athlete. -Jeff Pearlman is making his fourth appearance (0:41:57) on the podca

Season 4 Episode 9 by Steve Bennett

Season 4 Episode 8 by Steve Bennett

Season 4 Episode 7 by Steve Bennett

Season 4 Episode 6 by Steve Bennett

Season 4 Episode 5 by Steve Bennett

Season 4 Episode 4 by Steve Bennett

Season 4 Episode 3 by Steve Bennett

Season 4 Episode 2 by Steve Bennett

Season 4 Episode 1 by Steve Bennett

Season 3 Episode 36 by Steve Bennett