Rich Take On Sports

Episode 98: Nathan Whitaker | New York Times Bestselling Author & Speaker Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Nathan Whitaker Has always enjoyed speaking and when he worked for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers he was involved in speaking within the community He feels that its energizing to speak and really likes connecting with people Has always loved sports and as a kid, he would ride his bike to watch University of Florida Gators games Recruited by Duke for baseball and walked-on at Duke for football Went to law school and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School Never thought he wanted to have a career in sports and went to law school because he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do #1 trait is competitiveness Felt convicted to write Tony Dungy’s book and always appreciated Tony’s witness during times of the circus but Tony didn’t wa

Episode 97: Matt Stover | 19-year NFL Veteran Kicker & 2x Super Bowl Champion Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Matt Stover Co-founded the Player’s Philanthropy Fund which that enables athletes, entertainers and other philanthropists to create a dedicated fund that can accept tax-deductible contributions in support of any qualified charitable mission Has always been a hard worker even with somewhat of a privileged childhood Never wanted to have any regrets in life and Jeremiah [21:11] has been an impactful verse in his life In 1992, he suffered a herniated disk but continued to kick until he finally gave everything to God and his career took off in 1993 Would help the Ravens win Super Bowl XXXV Has always believed that the NFL was a quick start to life but not a means to an end Was more intimidated at home games when everything was very quiet and he

Episode 96: Steak Shapiro | Atlanta’s Longest Running Sports Talk Radio Host Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Steak Shapiro Has learned that people are passionate and emotional about food and sports Friends are amazed that he has been talking the same smack for over 40 years and is getting paid for it Grew up in Boston and lived and breathed the local sports teams even though his family was not a big sports family Knew early on as a child that he wanted to be in sports talk radio and convinced a local station to let him be on the air at 13-years old Attended Tulane University and eventually secured a job in Atlanta, however, he was fired shortly after moving to Atlanta Secured an investment of $1 million dollars to start his own radio station at the age of 29-years old and would eventually sell 790 The Zone 17 years later Has always been fascinated with

Episode 95: Sean Foley | PGA Golf Coach and Instructor Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Sean Foley Biggest mantra when coaching is very similar to a physician, “do no harm” Coaching is also like being a tailor as you have to tailor to the specific person rather than a cookie cutter approach Golf is the best microcosm of life because it’s just you and golf parallels life Pressure comes from within and we’re all just fighting that other person in our own head The defining moment for him for coaching was when he started coaching Stephen Ames Has now been coaching Justin Rose for 10-years Biggest thing learned from coaching Tiger Woods is just the simple fact that he played at such a high level for such a long time Favorite music is hip-hop where street poetry is infused over jazz beats Words of Wisdom from Sean Foley: “Be a Pro.&#

Episode 94: Debbie Antonelli | College Basketball and WNBA Analyst Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Debbie Antonelli Doesn’t feel that she’s worked a day in her life even after 31-years of calling basketball games Parents reinforced that they could never quit as a kid Boy’s little league baseball was her first team that she was on in High Park, NY Moved to Cary, NC in middle school and realized that she loved basketball watching NC State games and the fact that she could get a scholarship Still believes that Cheryl Miller was one of the best players in women’s basketball and would be a household in the WNBA today Lives by three power words, “Build, Serve, Empower” Broadcasting was never something that she ever thought about as a career, she wanted to be an athletic director She’s never had an agent but has a great hu

Episode 93: Tajh Boyd | Former Clemson University All-American Quarterback Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Tajh Boyd Biggest thing for a QB is to get into a rhythm and throughout his career, he always needed to take a hit to calm his nerves He’s been playing football since he was 7-years old but at first didn’t like football His dad was always pushing him as a QB and got him a book by Donovan McNabb and Jeff Trickey’s QB video So many athletes come from his hometown area of Hampton, VA like Bruce Smith, Ronald Curry, Alonzo Mourning, Cam Chancellor, Allen Iverson, DeAngelo Hall Feels that he was always willing to put in the work to be a better QB because he didn’t feel that he was as talented as others First offer was from Boston College but his last visit was to Clemson and it felt like home even though he told Ohio St. that he was go

Episode 92: Deebo Samuel | South Carolina All-SEC All-Purpose Player & WR Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Deebo Samuel Always dreamed of playing football on TV and fell in love with the Garnet and Black of South Carolina at an early age Basketball was his first love but things began to excel for him on the football in the 11th grade Committed to South Carolina during a recruiting visit but waited several days before he told his mom The university helped him grow and mature as a man and will forever will grateful for his time there It was a tough decision not to play in the Belk Bowl but after talking with his parents and Coach Muschamp, all agree that it is in his best interest to prepare for the NFL Draft https://richtakeonsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/IMG_9838.png () Words of Wisdom from Deebo Samuel: “Never stop doing what you put your m

Episode 91: Morgan Cox | Baltimore Ravens Two-Time Pro-Bowl Long Snapper Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Morgan Cox Still amazed that it has been 9-years that he’s been playing in the NFL especially knowing that he never truly thought that it was a realistic goal Grew up in a sports household and starting in the 5th grade he got the long snapping job on his team because no one else really wanted to do it or had any experience Long snapping is like a golf swing as it’s individualized to each person Remembers telling a friend that he would get a tattoo if he ever won the Super Bowl and although he did win a Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2013 he still hasn’t gotten that tattoo Grew up a Tennessee Vols fan and his parents still have the message from Coach Wade at Tennessee offering him the opportunity to walk-on at Tennessee Loudest game in coll

Episode 90: Scott Shapiro | Vice President, Fox Sports Radio Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Scott Shapiro Still feels amazing to be in Los Angeles working in radio even though it took a leap of faith moving from the east coast with a pregnant wife The promise of the opportunity with Fox Sports Radio of working with the brand and the people has been even more than he could have imagined Grew up in Minneapolis and loves all Minnesota teams even though they seem to always disappoint Knew early on that he wanted to be on the business side of things within radio Attended Emory University in Atlanta and eventually took a job with ESPN for a short period of time before moving back to Atlanta to work at 790 The Zone Never thought that he would leave Atlanta but ESPN came calling and he spent almost 9-years in Bristol, CT Most memorable moment for him was in 2008 af

Episode 89: LaChina Robinson | Women’s Basketball Analyst Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: LaChina Robinson Stories and storytelling have always intrigued her and it’s one of the reasons that she was led to media Hard to believe that it’s been 1o years she started in sportscasting Mentors in her career even if they didn’t know that they were mentors include: Carolyn Peck, Bernadette (Bernie) McGlade and Robin Roberts has always been an inspiration Has always loved watching sports and remembers as a kid watching all sports even figure skating and golf Her connection to sports was always the competitiveness as she’s always been a competitive person Growing up was tough at times because at the age of 14 she was 6’4″ and she never felt that she “fit in” which caused her to have low self-esteem After being push

Episode 88: John O’Donnell | Johnnie-O Clothing Brand Founder Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: John O’Donnell Grew up in the midwest with 6 brothers and sisters and still misses the midwest but has fully embraced the California lifestyle Introduced to golf at an early age and realized that golf was an avenue for him to compete Fell in love with UCLA as a kid after his family moved to California for a couple of years Walked-on the UCLA golf team and would move back to the midwest to start a career in tv/radio ad sales Eventually worked with the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox before taking an opportunity in Los Angeles with the Golf Channel A good friend had a logo concept that John thought would be a great idea as the logo for a preppy west coast clothing brand Never wanted to call the brand Johnnie-O but family and friends convinced him that

Episode 87: Michael T. Pinkey | Combine Performance Founder & Performance Specialist Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Michael T. Pinkey Has always been a creative thinker and enjoys building things Challenging childhood with an absentee father early in his life and didn’t have a whole lot growing up Saved up enough money to buy a ticket to Japan with a return flight from England and backed a backpack and left and that trip changed his life Began his journey as a golf instructor and golf coach but always felt that his clients were still missing something After spending time at IMG Academy he started to see that there was more that could be dedicated to instruction from the performance side Founded Combine Golf initially but decided to focus more on the mental side of performance and changed the name to Combine Performance Combine Performance doesn

Episode 86: Bob Harig | ESPN Senior Golf Writer Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Bob Harig Doesn’t have much of an off-season because golf really doesn’t have a long enough break between seasons Bob believes that golf needs a longer break to help build anticipation for a new season He fell in love first before journalism and after becoming a caddy as a kid he started to find a passion for golf Eventually became a caddy at Inverness Golf Club and would earn the Evans Scholarship given annually to a designated caddy which he used at Indiana University Bob feels that the movie Caddyshack embodies the true spirit of all caddies While at Indiana he knew he wanted to be in print journalism and was fortunate to get a job with the St. Petersburg Times covering all sports Today, anyone looking at a career in journalism needs to be well versed in all platfo

Episode 85: William McGirt | PGA Tour Pro Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: William McGirt Has always had this unique ability to remember every shot he’s hit Baseball was his first passion even though he started playing golf at an early age Stopped playing golf at 8-years old and remembers starting to play golf again on his 15th birthday after his grandfather asked him if he wanted to play He would soon be able to beat his grandfather and all of his friends Attended Wofford College with coach Dan O’Connell Didn’t turn pro until 2004 even though he finished college in 2001 Finally earned his PGA Tour card in 2010 and would win his first tournament (The Memorial Tournament) in 2016 Well-documented story of Tiger Woods telling William that he was an idiot after Tiger heard William didn’t look at the leaderboard during tournaments He fell

Episode 84: Mark Packer | SiriusXM & ESPNU Radio Sports Talk Host Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Mark Packer His career in radio doesn’t feel like work and Mark doesn’t view it that he talks on the radio as he values listening more than anything The people he’s met, the places that he’s visited, and the relationships that he’s developed are what is so special There was some pressure being the son of Billy Packer one of the most well-known college basketball color analysts but it was never truly negative Would get to travel with his dad to one game each year but the most memorable was the game with Indiana at North Carolina and the night before the game during dinner with Dean Smith, Al McGuire, and a young broadcaster at the time Bob Costas Decided to attend Clemson University after visiting the campus to watch Clemson play N

Episode 83: Austin Ernst | LPGA Tour Pro & NCAA Champion Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Austin Ernst Loves college football and picked LSU over Georgia and Alabama to play golf at because Clemson did not have a team at the time Won the NCAA Individual Championship as a freshman while carding her first ever hole-in-one She grew up around the game as her brother Drew played junior golf and her dad Mark is a golf pro at Cross Creek Plantation in Seneca, SC One of her favorite memories growing up is getting autographs at the Masters which made her realize how she wanted to play golf when she grew up Her competitive spirit and love for the game of golf helped fuel her drive and she always wants to compete for something while playing Becoming an NCAA Champion gave her the confidence that she could play on the LPGA Tour and hearing words of encouragement from M

Episode 82: Bruce Gradkowski | 11-Year NFL Veteran Quarterback Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Bruce Gradkowski Juggling many things in life right now with podcasting, broadcasting, being an entrepreneur, and husband and father to 3 kids Decided to retire after sitting in meetings and felt the desire to play wasn’t there once you start factoring in injuries and business opportunities were starting to materialize Always enjoyed broadcasting and is enjoying being on 93.7 The Fan and NFL Radio on SiriusXM Grew up a Dan Marino fan but was a Penn State football fan instead of Pittsburgh Panthers Was never recruited by Pittsburgh and the University of Toledo just felt like home even though he had committed to Eastern Kentucky He was also offered to play basketball at the University of Richmond by John Beilein One of his favorite memories at Toledo was a soph

Episode 81: Stewart Cink | PGA Tour Pro and 2009 “The Open” Champion Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Stewart Cink Great honor to be named to Alabama Sports Hall of Fame even though he never set out to have that as a goal First memories of sports was actually seeing pictures of himself as a toddler with a golf club Loved playing soccer but his passion was golf once he was old enough to play at the municipal course in his hometown Three school choices for playing golf in college were Stanford, Auburn, and Georgia Tech but felt that Georgia Tech was the best fit for him Life changing event for him occurred as a Sophomore at Georgia Tech when he found out that he would be a father He and Lisa got married and his golf game rose to new levels due to the intense focus on time management of being a husband, father, student, and golf athlete Turned pro in

Episode 80: Jim Abbott | 10-Year MLB Veteran Pitcher Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: Jim Abbott Continues to workout but focuses more on cardio than weights and feels that he should have focused more on flexibility during his playing days One of the biggest challenges of being a starting pitcher is maintaining positivity after a bad performance because you have to wait until you get to play again Seemed to be friends with the guys in the clubhouse who were pranksters like Robin Ventura Growing up in Flint, MI sports was a big part of the community and he wanted to be involved but often times felt lonely due to his disability of being born without a right hand Could always throw things but even as a major league pitcher he had self-doubt of his ability Some of the toughest hitters he faced were George Brett, Edgar Martinez, and Dave Henderson Game before Sept

Episode 79: C.J. Spiller | NFL Veteran and Former Clemson All-American Subscribe on http://apple.co/2qdc4AB (Apple Podcast) | http://bit.ly/2r8lKvs (Google Play) | http://bit.ly/2qnGiRP (Stitcher) Rich Take On Sports Show Notes: Rich Spotlight: C.J. Spiller Not officially retired at this point from the NFL but even he was retired he will continue to stay in shape and workout Tough not being a training camp because that is such a normal feeling for him Faith has been a big part of his life thanks to his grandparents and especially his grandmother Grew up a Warrick Dunn and FSU fan while his and grandmother was a Fred Taylor and Florida fan Alabama never offered him a scholarship and he feels that it’s so ironic now that there is such a battle between Clemson and Alabama Tough decision to choose Clemson but he always felt comfortable with that decision because he knew it was his decision Biggest moment for him at Clemson was the first touchdown he scored in college against Boston College Even