Sports media, from the inside lane.
Awful Announcing Podcast follows the personalities and pressure points of sports media. Brandon Contis talks with sports media figures about career turns, on-air choices, network politics, memorable calls, and the strange little stories that travel around the industry.
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Awful Announcing Podcast is a sports-media interview show with an eye for the machinery around the games. It is less about arguing the final score than asking how the broadcast, radio shift, column, podcast feed, or studio segment got made. Brandon Contis usually starts with a practical setup. Then the guest fills in the story. That approach fits people like John Jastrzemski, who can talk through leaving WFAN for Spotify and The Ringer, then explain what it means to keep a podcast feed alive after a career turn. It also fits Bill Raftery, where the conversation can move from March Madness assignments to catchphrases, old partners, and the social life around a broadcast crew. The show likes sports-media history, but it is not stuck in nostalgia. Keith McPherson's episode looks at WFAN's old guard and new guard, part-time radio, social media work, and what a modern media career can look like when the old ladder no longer explains everything. Spiro Didis brings the booth side of the job into focus, from Kobe Bryant's 81-point game to tournament schedules and the choice to leave one major opportunity for another. Kenny Mayne gives the show room for ESPN stories, Augusta trouble, odd jobs, and a foundation with a more serious purpose. Ethan Strauss pulls it toward reporting, Substack, NBA access, and the uneasy relationship between local beat writers and national insiders. Dan Orlovsky brings television pressure, ESPN, prayer on air, coaching ambitions, and the odd personality beats that make analysts feel human. Curt Menefee's appearance shows the show's interest in NFL television logic, including why the Dallas Cowboys keep getting airtime. The result is conversational and inside-baseball without sounding sealed off. It is for listeners who know the names and want the context behind them.
Made for: For sports fans who pay attention to broadcasters, radio hosts, analysts, writers, networks, and the business choices behind familiar voices. It especially suits listeners who enjoy career stories and media-beat detail more than hot-take scorekeeping.
What sets it apart: The show lets sports-media figures explain the job in their own cadence, then follows up on the practical details: contracts, stations, booth chemistry, platform shifts, and audience habits. It feels closer to a knowledgeable trade conversation than a polished promo circuit.
Join Brandon Contes as he interviews some of the biggest names and newsmakers in sports media each Thursday on "The Awful Announcing Podcast." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Brandon Contis makes sports-media careers, broadcast relationships, and platform shifts legible through detailed conversations with the people navigating them.
Awful Announcing Podcast treats sports media as a workplace with consequences. Brandon Contis interviews broadcasters and content creators about career decisions, changing platforms, on-air relationships, and the pressures behind familiar voices.
A WFAN job change gets the postgame treatment, and you hear the career story behind the microphone.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A candid New York sports audio episode about John Jastrzemski's WFAN-to-Ringer path and what comes next.
John Jastrzemski's jump from WFAN to Spotify and The Ringer gives this episode its spine. After a decade at WFAN and five years after Bill Simmons brought him over, he looks back on his Ringer run after his Spotify tenure ended last month.
Bill Raftery brings tournament history, barroom stories, and an easy affection for calling college basketball.
Bill Raftery's long college basketball life gives this Awful Announcing Podcast episode an easy focal point. At 82, he is still calling the Final Final and National Championship games with Ian Eagle and Grant Hill, and he talks about the job with the relaxed command of someone…
Keith McPherson talks about scaling back at WFAN, sports-radio change, baseball, and his viral John Heyman moment.
Keith McPherson's step back from full-time nighttime radio at WFAN gives this Awful Announcing Podcast episode a useful frame: what comes next after a major station slot.
Ethan Strauss connects NBA controversies with the shifting realities of sports-media reporting.
Brandon Contis's conversation with Ethan Strauss starts with the All-Star Game drawing unusually positive attention, then moves into NBA tanking, load management, and the lingering awkwardness of the Kevin Durant burner story.
Dan Orlovsky talks through staying with ESPN, praying for Damar Hamlin on air, and the next steps still on his mind.
Dan Orlovsky brings a useful tension to the Awful Announcing Podcast: he has stayed with ESPN, but he is still thinking about what might come next. Brandon Contis draws out a conversation about re-signing, how close Orlovsky may have been to leaving, working with Stephen A.
Swiss fame, with the polish loosened.
Loose mornings, local life, big-hearted detours.
Celebrity candor meets messy relationship calls.
Drag Race recaps with chaotic queer voltage.
Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts discusses HBO's documentary Miller Night Football with host Brandon Contes, recalling his two seasons in the booth with Al Michaels and Dennis Miller.
John Jastremski discusses his career moves from WFAN to The Ringer and back, his relationships with Bill Simmons and Mike Francesa, and the future of sports media.
Brandon Contis talks with Bill Raftery, who is 82 and still calling Final Four and national championship games with Ian Eagle and Grant Hill during the NCAA tournament.
Keith McPherson says leaving WFAN’s full-time nighttime slot gave him a better sleep schedule, more time with his wife and son, and less strain from commuting home after 2:30 a.m.
Brandon Contis interviews CBS and TNT broadcaster Spero Dedes about calling Kobe Bryant's 81-point game, March Madness, and his career journey.
Kenny Mayne discusses his career, including his ban from Augusta National, NFL tryout, and time hosting SportsCenter, on the Awful Announcing Podcast.
Ethan Strauss says the NBA’s problem is “gimmick versus reform,” not just tanking.
Dan Orlovsky discusses his new ESPN contract, TV work, food takes, and NFL insights on the Awful Announcing Podcast.
Curt Menefee discusses his role on Fox NFL Sunday, the UFL, and the enduring popularity of the Dallas Cowboys on the Awful Announcing Podcast.
Jon Rothstein discusses March Madness, Doug Gottlieb, Cooper Flagg, and other college basketball topics.
Jerry Ferrara discusses his role on 'Entourage,' his love for the NY Knicks, and co-hosting the 'Throwbacks' podcast with Matt Leinart.
Jeremy Schaap discusses his career hosting 'The Sports Reporters' and E60, his interview with Bob Knight, and his thoughts on Pat McAfee.