EPISODE 400: Hall of Fame Broadcaster Steve Albert

It's our 400th, so we’re going big with a guest who’s called it all, seen it all, and somehow lived to laugh about it.

Steve Albert ("A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Broadcast Booth") -- Hall of Fame broadcaster and proud member of the legendary Albert sportscasting family (including nephew/Episode 320 guest Kenny) -- joins us for a deep dive into his one-of-a-kind, 45-year ride through the wilds of professional sports. From vanished leagues to unforgettable fights, from Brooklyn bedrooms-turned-broadcast-booths to center stage at Showtime Championship Boxing, Albert's stories are equal parts history and hilarity.

In this special milestone episode, we retrace Albert’s journey through memorable stops like:

  • The WHA’s Cleveland Crusaders, where his broadcast partner was the coach’s elbow-needling wife;

  • The MISL’s New York Arrows, where goal-scoring was nonstop and whiplash an occupational hazard;

  • The final ABA game ever played, which he and his older brother Al called from opposing sides;

  • 30+ years across the NBA, including 20 seasons with the New York and New Jersey versions of the Nets, and a career-capping, Emmy-winning turn with the Phoenix Suns;

  • Local New York TV sports anchor stints, where juggling 6 o’clock newscasts and rush-hour traffic to call evening games became an art;

  • And, of course, his nearly quarter-century ringside seat with Showtime Championship Boxing -- including the infamous Tyson–Holyfield (II) “Bite Fight”

We also talk about growing up in a house where three brothers fought over the mic instead of the remote, how a botched bathroom door nearly derailed a broadcast, and why the strangest moments in sports often happen outside the lines of the game.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Broadcast Booth - Buy Book Here

EPISODE 390: Sports Broadcaster Jim Lampley

It's a bucket-list conversation this week with legendary sports broadcaster Jim Lampley as he shares insights and anecdotes from his new memoir, "It Happened!: A Uniquely Lucky Life in Sports Television." 

With a career spanning five decades, Lampley takes us behind the scenes of some of the most indelible moments in modern-day sports broadcasting, offering a first-person, blow-by-blow account of history-making assignments, iconic calls, and never-before-told stories - including: 

  • Becoming the first live sideline reporter for a nationally televised college football game;

  • Rising to ABC Sports heir apparency behind legends like Jim McKay and Howard Cosell;

  • Covering an astonishing 14 Olympic Games across multiple networks, including ABC, NBC, and Turner; AND

  • Hosting HBO’s Wimbledon telecasts and reaching Hall of Fame status as the 30-year voice of HBO World Championship Boxing (including his unforgettable call during George Foreman’s miraculous victory over Michael Moorer)

BUT, OF COURSE, we naturally drag "Lamps" back to some of his more “forgotten” stops made along the way, including:

  • Play-by-play and studio host for the original USFL;

  • First-ever host at ground-breaking all-sports radio station WFAN/New York; AND

  • Local news anchor at CBS's Los Angeles O&O flagship KCBS-TV 

It Happened!: A Uniquely Lucky Life in Sports Television - buy here