Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain: A Sports Media Podcast
Kevin Fishbain, senior writer at The Athletic, interviews sports media personalities about their origin stories. Each week, reporters, columnists, play-by-play announcers, sports radio hosts, television anchors, producers and more will tell Kevin about their first jobs in the industry, and how they broke in.
Episodes
66 episodes
Sean McDonough, ESPN play-by-play broadcaster
In episode 65, Kevin chats with Sean McDonough, broadcaster for ESPN and the Boston Red Sox Radio Network. McDonough has been at ESPN since 1989. He's currently the voice of the Stanley Cup Finals and he can be heard on one of college football'...
Ryan Glasspiegel, reporter at Front Office Sports
In episode 64, Kevin chats with Ryan Glasspiegel, media and entertainment reporter at Front Office sports. Prior to his time at FOS, Ryan wrote for the New York Post. One of the top sports media reporters in the country, Ryan explains why the s...
Joe Healy, writer and podcaster at D1Baseball
In episode 63, Kevin chats with Joe Healy, writer at D1Baseball, co-editor of SEC Extra, D1Baseball's premium SEC subsite, and co-host of Highway to Hoover, D1Baseball's SEC-focused podcast. Healy has been writing about college baseball since n...
Chris Herring, author of "Blood in the Garden" on 90's Knicks; senior lecturer at Northwestern
In episode 62, Kevin chats with Chris Herring, senior lecturer at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and author of "Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks." Prior to his job at Northwestern, Herring cover...
Paul Tenorio, The Athletic’s senior soccer writer
In episode 61, Kevin chats with Paul Tenorio, senior writer at The Athletic covering soccer and author of “The Messi Effect,” available now. Before becoming one of the country’s authorities on soccer, Tenorio studied journalism at Northwestern,...
Jon “Boog” Sciambi, Chicago Cubs and ESPN broadcaster
In episode 60, Kevin chats with Jon “Boog” Sciambi, television voice of the Chicago Cubs on Marquee and national radio voice of “Sunday Night Baseball” on ESPN Radio. Sciambi is also a play-by-play broadcaster for ESPN’s college basketball. His...
Danny Parkins, host on Fox Sports 1
In episode 59, Kevin chats with Danny Parkins, co-host on FS!'s "First Things First". He can also be seen on "The Herd". Parkins has been at Fox Sports since 2024 after he spent nearly a decade hosting afternoon drive in Chicago on 670 The Scor...
Cory Provus, TV play-by-play for the Minnesota Twins
In episode 58, Kevin chats with Cory Provus, lead television voice of the Minnesota Twins. It's his third year in the Twins' TV booth after spending 12 seasons as their lead radio play-by-play broadcaster. Provus also broadcasts college footbal...
Nick Friedell, senior writer at The Athletic
In episode 57, Kevin chats with Nick Friedell, senior writer at The Athletic covering the Golden State Warriors and the NBA. Prior to joining The Athletic, Friedell spent 14 years at ESPN covering the NBA, including his time on the Chicago Bull...
Hannah Storm, ESPN studio host and Sportscenter anchor
In episode 56, Kevin chats with Hannah Storm, legendary sports broadcaster. Storm has been at ESPN since 2008, where she's served as an anchor across SportsCenter, NFL Live, NBA Today, and WNBA and NBA Countdown. She's hosted everything from th...
Dane Brugler, NFL Draft analyst at The Athletic
In episode 55, Kevin chats with Dane Brugler, national NFL writer at The Athletic who produces "The Beast," an annual draft guide. This year's version includes 402 scouting reports and almost 300,000 words. How did Brugler become everyone's mai...
Len Kasper, Chicago White Sox play-by-play broadcaster
In episode 54, Kevin chats with Len Kasper, radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox on ESPN 1000. Kasper is in his fifth season calling White Sox baseball following 16 seasons as the television voie of the Chicago Cubs. He was ...
Pat Hughes, Chicago Cubs play-by-play broadcaster
In episode 53, Kevin chats with Pat Hughes, the legendary play-by-play broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs. He's called Cubs games since 1996, first on WGN radio and now on The Score in Chicago. Prior to joining the Cubs broadcast, Pat was in the ...
John Fanta, broadcaster at NBC Sports
In episode 52, Kevin chats with John Fanta, broadcaster at NBC sports where he does play-by-play for college basketball and the NBA, along with sideline reporting, in-studio hosting and podcasting. Fanta has been with NBC full-time since last s...
Jason Benetti, Sunday Night Baseball broadcaster on NBC and TV voice of the Detroit Tigers
In episode 51, Kevin chats with Jason Benetti, who was just named the lead play-by-play broadcaster for Sunday Night Baseball on NBC and Peacock. Benetti will remain the television voice of the Detroit Tigers, a role he has held since 2024. Pri...
Laurence Holmes, afternoon radio host in Chicago
In episode 50 — yes, 5-0 — Kevin chats with Laurence Holmes, radio host at 104.3 The Score in Chicago, where he's worked for nearly 30 years. Holmes, whose own podcast, "House of L," helped inspire this one, also teaches aspiring journalists at...
Dave Revsine, Big Ten Network lead studio host
In episode 49, Kevin chats with Dave Revsine, lead studio host and basketball play-by-play broadcaster at Big Ten Network. He is also the author of “The Opening Kickoff: The Tumultuous Birth of a Football Nation.” When BTN launched in 2007, it ...
Eric Edholm, NFL.com lead draft writer
In episode 48, Kevin chats with Eric Edholm, lead draft writer for NFL.com. Edholm has covered the NFL for more than two decades, including 11 years at Pro Football Weekly, where he overlapped with Kevin for the 2010-12 seasons. Edholm got his ...
J.A. Adande, Hall-of-Fame journalist; director of sports journalism at Northwestern
In episode 47, Kevin chats with J.A. Adande, the director of sports journalism at Northwestern's Medill School of journalism. Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024 as the Curt Gowdy Print Media Award winner, Adande spent several dec...
Mike "Doc" Emrick, Hall-of-Fame hockey broadcaster
In episode 46, Kevin chats with Mike “Doc” Emrick, one of the most famous hockey play-by-play broadcasters of all-time. Emrick called 22 Stanley Cups and is in seven Halls of Fame. Emrick originally wanted to be a baseball announcer before he w...
Peggy Kusinski and Dionne Miller, Chicago broadcasters and ESPN 1000 hosts
In episode 45, Kevin chats with Peggy Kusinski and Dionne Miller, hosts of "Peggy and Dionne" on ESPN 1000 in Chicago. Kusinski has been on the air in Chicago since the early 90's including two decades at NBC-5. She discusses what it was like a...
Mike Sando, senior NFL writer at The Athletic
In episode 44, Kevin chats with Mike Sando, senior NFL writer at The Athletic. Prior to joining The Athletic, Sando spent 12 years at ESPN. His first NFL beat was covering the Seahawks for the Tacoma News-Tribune, where he covered his first Sup...
James Brown, host of "The NFL Today" on CBS
In episode 43, Kevin chats with James Brown, the host of "The NFL Today" on CBS. A three-time Emmy Award-winner, JB has been an NFL pregame host for more than 30 years, having done 11 Super Bowls. This episode dropped on the Sunday morning of t...
Seth Wickersham, ESPN senior writer
In episode 42, Kevin chats with Seth Wickersham, senior writer at ESPN and author of "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback," a New York Times bestseller. Wickersham has won numerous awards for his writing and he's profiled the likes o...
Chris "Bear" Fallica, Fox Sports wagering expert
In episode 41, Kevin chats with Chris "Bear" Fallica, wagering expert at Fox Sports and host of the podcast "Bear Bets." Fallica appears on Fox's "Big Noon Kickoff" college football pregame show, and helps set up Monday's College Football Playo...