Play-by-playcast

Gary Hahn is the 30-year voice of the NC State Wolfpack, but before that he was the voice of the Ohio State Buckeyes and worked on the Louisville and Alabama Networks ... oh, and he had a stint on national radio with NBC in New York.  One of the giants of the collegiate space is this week's guest on PxPCast.

Andrew Allegretta is the newest voice to the FBS scene as the Voice of the Green Wave at Tulane. This week he joins the podcast to talk making the jump to being an FBS voice, why Tulane was the right fit and how he knew, what makes a perfect call, his influence from Bill Roth and more.

Courtney Lyle is one of the youngest full-time broadcasters on the ESPN roster, still not yet 30 years of age.  The Tennessee grad got her start with the SEC Network and working local news before beginning to work her way up the ESPN ladder.  Today we talk travel stories, cracking the network level, broadcasting on twitter and more.  Follow Courtney @Sportney_Lyle.

Brett Dolan worked his way up in the broadcasting world through MiLB, eventually cracking the Majors with the Expos and Diamondbacks on a fill-in basis and then the Astros full-time.  How did he make it to the majors?  Well, we discuss the road this week and how you know you're ready to make that leap.

Well, I've got a soccer broadcast this weekend and it's my first in a decade. How did I prepare? I called one of the better soccer broadcasters right now in Jenn Hildreth and figured out exactly what I'm doing. Want an idea of what to do when you're tackling a new sport to your repertoire? Want to know how to call soccer?  This is the episode for you.  

Jeff Munn is the voice of ... well ... a lot of things.  A PA voice of the Olympics, Fiesta Bowl, World Series and more, Jeff has also called pxp in the NBA, MLB, Alliance of American Football and NCAA.  He's also skilled at media relations and wears more hats than you could imagine.  All of it provides an awesome perspective on this week's PxPCast.

Greg Wrubell has been around BYU athletics for almost all of his adult life ... and he truly is a standard when it comes to looking at what we do in this field as an art and a craft to be honed.  We talk this week about his multi-faceted role at BYU, his prep, constant review and more.

This week on PxPCast we talk about the best ways to help make a television broadcast work as a PxP broadcaster....through the eyes of the other side.  ESPN producer/director Dave Tasca sits down with Joel at the LLWS of Softball regionals and talks about his role and how a PxP guy fits into the puzzle of a TV broadcast.

Quint Kessenich is the lead lacrosse analyst for ESPN but in his time with the network he has expanded that role to include sideline reporting and, more recently, play-by-play itself.  He gives a great perspective on the craft this week, diving into preparation, teamwork and more.

John Walters always wanted to be in play-by-play, working his way up through television and as the radio voice of the Drake Bulldogs.  When he took over for the Cyclones he replaced his longtime friend and mentor who had passed away suddenly.  On this episode we talk about he relationship with Pete Taylor, being humble, working in TV and radio simultaneously and operating Cyclones.tv.

Sam Farber is one of the most respected names in PxP in Los Angeles covering high school sports and college athletics across a variety of TV platforms.  Sam and I met through broadcasting the CrossFit Games in 2018 after years of knowing his name.  On this pod he'll detail his rise through the ranks out west, how he calls a high school game, his prep in general, watching games back and more.

Tony Castricone just completed his second season as the voice of a Pac-12 team, years after being laid off from a job and traveling the country playing open mic nights.  He talks his journey to the pinnacle of college sports and what makes a great broadcast on this week's pod.

What is a Sod Poodle? Sam Levitt knows...no, seriously, the guy went out onto the prairie this week and met some.  You can find it on social media.  The AA Padres voice is very active on social media both on and off the air and is super creative in ways he covers his team.  We dive into that, his voice, not becoming a doctor and more!    

The late Auburn Tigers PxP voice Rod Bramblett lived for his team.  His passion oozed through every word he announced.  Recently Rod tragically passed away in an automobile accident and many of you have tweeted or emailed that you'd like us to repost the Rod Bramblett episode ... and here it is, Episode 108 with Auburn's Rod Bramblett.  He was so enthusiastic about coming on the pod, and I was excited to have had the opportunity to have him.

Deene Ehlis is one of the deans of Triple-A baseball, having served with the Iowa Cubs since 1990.  He's seen everybody from Mark Prior to Kerry Wood and Rod Beck's RV in the parking lot.  Deane talks about his career and his approach to calling games throughout his career.  We also play some name association with players he's seen throughout his career.

So this week's episode needs very little introduction...Kevin Harlan is simply one of the best play-by-play announcers in the business.  On this week's episode he breaks down how he calls a football game, a little look into how he prepares a story arc going into a game, big calls about LeBron having no regard for human life and more.

Ben Wagner was my first boss in broadcasting when I worked for the Buffalo Bisons in 2009. Ten years later he's in the Major Leagues. Coincidence? I think not. But seriously, Ben spent more than a decade as one of the most well respected voices in MiLB before he got his break at the Major League level. On this episode we talk about his climb, if he thought the break would ever come, what makes a good call on the radio, handling no-hitters and how he handles building relationships and interacting with players and coaches in the bigs.

Harry Donahue is the voice of the Temple Owls, but he's also so much more. A fixture of KYW news radio in Philadelphia for almost four decades, Donahue covered the biggest sports and news in Philly and also served as PxP voice of the USFL's Stars for their two year stint in the city...which in a roundabout way earned him a Hollywood movie credit later in life.

Tom Hart began his career in Minor League Baseball before working his way into television and with the Atlanta Braves.  Hart's now the lead voice for college football on Saturday nights for the SEC Network.

Mike Crispino is in his first voice as the voice of the UConn Huskies, but he's no stranger to big time airwaves. A former voice of the New York Knicks and face on MSG Networks for two decades, Crispino is a well known voice around the metro New York market.