Podcasts – Fansmanship

It’s another podcast episode! Cal Poly basketball teams are at the Big West Tournament this week and Cal Poly football begins their season on Friday. Owen talks to Chris Sylvester and Brint Wahlberg about the upcoming football opener against Southern Utah in what will be Beau Baldwin’s first game as the Cal Poly head coach since he was hired nearly 15 months ago. 

One of my favorite authors, Jeff Pearlman joins this edition of the podcast. Pearlman has written a ton of awesome books and has one coming out this week called “Three Ring Circus” about the Kobe-and-Shaq-era Lakers. We talked about the buildup to a championship team, how he (an east-coast native) perceives the Lakers and their fans, and the value (or maybe lack thereof) of having a “calming influence” guy on the roster. 

Donovan Fields is one of the most joyous basketball players I’ve ever covered. His smile on the court was always infectious while at Cal Poly. Along with some friends from his hometown of Newburgh, NY, Fields has started a podcast. We talked about Donovan’s journey to Division I basketball and his impressions of Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo. 

Jeff Troesch is a mental coach for athletes. He works with lots of college programs, including at Cal Poly, and his career as a sports psychologist is super interesting. I have been wanting to have Jeff on the podcast for probably a few years, but had never made it happen. Our conversation was wide-ranging. We talked about how Jeff got into the business of helping players with the mental side of the game, what he sees more of nowadays, and how his job has changed a little with athletes working to cope with the issues surrounding COVID-19. 

Joe Tutino is the long-time play-by-play voice of the LA Galaxy. In this Going on Break edition, Joe talks about what life was like with the Galaxy as things were canceled just prior to a road trip, what he’s been up to during the stoppage, and a number of other things. 

Cal Poly’s football coach joins the podcast on this episode. We talked about what life is like for him in a quarantined world, how missing spring practice will effect the team moving forward, and what we can expect from the Mustangs in the Fall. 

Bud Norris was at spring training with the Phillies in Clearwater, Florida when the news came down that the sports world was on fairly immediate lockdown. The Cal Poly alum joined Chris Sylvester and Owen Main to talk about what it was like in the days leading up to the shutdown and what life has been like as things have progressed. 

Dave Joseph is the in-arena Public Address Announcer for the LA Kings, Ontario Reign, and other Los Angeles-area sports venues. As someone who was in the Staples Center on the night Rudy Gobert was confirmed to have Corona Virus and Tom Hanks announced he had it too, Joseph joins Owen Main and Chris Sylvester to describe what it was like from his perspective the night before the sports world stopped. 

As a photographer, Matt Brown has covered just about every major sporting event in this country, including the Big West Tournament for most of the past 2-3 decades. Matt was covering the women’s side of the bracket early last week and preparing for four games at the Honda Center last Thursday morning when the news came that the sports world was at a standstill. Matt talked to Owen Main and Chris Sylvester about the feeling inside the Walter Pyramid earlier in the week and what the scene was as the decision came down at the Honda Center on Thursday.

When I first started taking photos seriously, Quinton Adlesh was the best player on the team I covered the most. Following his career to Columbia and then back to USC as a grad transfer this year has been really fun. Chris Sylvester and I talked with the grad transfer senior on a team that was going to make the NCAA Tournament this season about what the past few weeks have been like for him. 

On this episode of the Going on Break edition, Owen Main and Chris Sylvester are joined by Cal Poly head basketball coach John Smith. Coach Smith discussed the last week from the perspective of a Division I head coach and a parent of a Division I player across the country during the past week. 

In this episode, Kenny describes cover zero, calls an audible on his favorite hard seltzer, and Owen introduces a new segment with a new local fake sponsor. Big Sky picks by Nic Cage.

Like a lot of people in San Luis Obispo, I met Jessica Slate while on the sideline at high school and Cal Poly games locally. As someone who is a San Luis Obispo native and has a ton of NBA knowledge, the beginning of the NBA season was a perfect time to finally have Jessica on the podcast. We discussed the league, what it’s like growing up as a fan on the Central Coast, and a few players Jessica thinks could break-out this year. You can find Jessica on twitter @thejslate or on Instagram. 

In this episode we talk about how Cal Poly football can get back to their winning ways, the Bon and Viv moment of the week, and Big Sky picks from Jeff Goldblum. 

It’s a BIG 2019-20 Big West Men’s basketball preview! Cal Poly play-by-play man Chris Sylvester and Nick Wynne join the podcast to break-down preseason expectations for all nine Big West teams. Come for the Cal Poly fandom… stay for the breakdown of every single roster and schedule in the conference. 

On this edition of the podcast, Kenny advocates for more passing, there’s a new Bon and Viv flavor, and Kris Kristofferson makes his Big Sky Football Picks of the Week. 

Kenny Stevenson joined the fansmanship podcast again this week to try to describe what a pro-style offense looks like, we break-down the Horseshoe game this week, and the thing you’ve all been clambering for: more exciting hard seltzer talk. Meanwhile, Nic Cage gives his Big Sky football predictions for this week at about the 30 minute mark. 

Comedian and Cal Poly alum Kenny Stevenson joins the podcast this week for a spirited conversation about what exactly happens on a triple option play (hint, I’m not sure Kenny really knows), his favorite hard seltzers, and some unofficial sponsors.  A few notes – the audio quality is quite bad for significant portions of this show. Management is trying to work out some kinks so we can get Kenny on more often. We’ll try to shore that up when we record again next week. Sorry about it. Just trying to get 1 percent better every day. 

Caroline Walters has been through a lot at Cal Poly. In her first full season as head-coach this year, the Mustangs are ranked in the top-25 in the nation. We talked about her time on staff at Cal Poly for two coaches and as an interim coach, what it’s like to coach your sister, and where she sees the program headed moving forward. 

Eight weeks after he was announced as Cal Poly’s new men’s basketball coach, John Smith joins the podcast. We discussed his first few months on the job and his outlook on the Cal Poly men’s basketball program.